Electron probe microanalysis inverse modeling

A method was developed which allows one to, extract structural information from results of a set of electron probe microanalysis experiments performed under different experimental conditions. The method is based on the minimi zation of the chi (2) deviation between experimental and theoretical charac teristic X-ray intensities. A Monte Carlo code was implemented to provide a theoretical model describing the signal formation in electron probe microa nalysis for a known sample structure. The technique of simulated annealing was identified as an advantageous approach for minimization in the present context. As a first test, the method has been successfully applied to model data of several different types of sample structures. A specific example, the determination of depth and size of embedded particles, is presented and illustrates the implemented approach. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All r ights reserved.