Geologists, geophysicists and environmental engineers in mineral and mining companies turn to electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis to understand the microstructure and chemical composition of geological samples.
A key technology that provides elemental analysis of microstructures is X-ray microanalysis. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) is ideal for sample surveys and compositional mapping, while wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDS) provides excellent spectral resolution for measuring the L- and M-lines of heavier elements critical to good geological analysis.
X-ray microanalsyis will be on display at the upcoming Microscience and Microscopy Congress 2014 (MMC 2014). This international conference is Europe’s largest event dedicated to microscopy and imaging. The program will feature the best from both worlds in the microscopical sense – from the life and physical sciences, and from light and electron microscopy. And it will be presented in a variety of venues: four parallel sessions, pre-congress workshops, poster presentations, a huge exhibition, and a fully-equipped teaching and learning zone.
Spectral imaging has fundamentally changed the way X-ray microanalysis is used. With a complete spectrum acquired at every point, it is the ideal platform for X-ray mapping, linescans and data processing. The show is organized by the Royal Microscopical Society – known throughout the industry as always being at the forefront of new ideas and developments in microscopy and imaging. We will be showing the latest advances in EDS mapping routines, including quantitative element mapping, elemental phase mapping, and spectral phase mapping. In addition, we’ll show how electron backscatter diffraction technology can be fully integrated with scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) and EDS to examine the crystallographic orientation of SEM samples.
To take a closer look at X-ray microanalysis, make sure you register for our lunchtime seminar where you will learn how to specify an EDS detector. With the introduction of the silicon drift EDS detector, many of the parameters related to EDS performance have changed, while EDS vendor grabble with better ways to demonstrate these improvement and guide purchasers toward the best solution. Stop by Booth 1101 where will be demonstrating our integrated solutions for EDS, WDS and EBSD.
If you are planning to stay an extra day or two, make sure you visit the Astley Green Colliery Museum which was the site of a fully operational mine until 30 years ago. The museum has large collection of underground mining locomotives, the largest collection of its type in the United Kingdom. According to the museum website, “The coal seams at Astley Green are very deep and overlain by 100 feet of wet and unstable ground. These factors made the sinking of the shaft a very expensive proposition. The novelty of many of the requirements tested the ingenuity of the engineers during the construction, so much so that a paper, on the sinking of the shaft, was presented to the Institute of Mining Engineers.”
At another attraction, Worsley Village, you’ll discover that the canal linked the Duke of Bridgewater’s mines in Worsley to Manchester, enabling enough coal to reach the city centre to kick start the industrial revolution.
If you can’t make the show, feel free to leave your questions in the comment field below.
Show Details:
Microscience Microscopy Congress 2014
Booth 1101
FREE Lunchtime Seminar: How to specify an EDS detector Tuesday 1 July 13:15 – 14:00
Register
Leave a Reply