Calibration method for quantitative elemental analysis
First Claim
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1. A method of calibrating an analytical tool, comprising:
- preparing a calibration standard having a known concentration of an element;
obtaining a layer of the calibration standard with a focused beam, the layer being representative of the concentration of the element;
providing an analytical tool; and
calibrating the analytical tool with the layer.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method of calibrating an analytical tool. The method, in a illustrative embodiment, includes preparing a calibration standard having a known concentration of an element and obtaining a portion of the calibration standard with a focused beam, wherein the calibration standard is representative of the concentration. The portion of the calibration standard is then used to calibrate an analytical tool.
21 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of calibrating an analytical tool, comprising:
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preparing a calibration standard having a known concentration of an element;
obtaining a layer of the calibration standard with a focused beam, the layer being representative of the concentration of the element;
providing an analytical tool; and
calibrating the analytical tool with the layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), microcalorimetry, auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
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10. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein obtaining a layer includes obtaining a thin layer having a thickness of between about 50 nm and about 5000 nm.
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11. The method as recited in claim 10 wherein obtaining a thin layer includes obtaining a thin layer having a length of about 20000 nm and a depth of about 5000 nm.
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12. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising placing the layer in a sample holder, the holder comprising:
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a main body having first and second opposing major surfaces, a recess in the first major surface and a main body aperture narrower than the recess and extending from a base of the recess to the second major surface; and
a plug that engages an inner wall of the recess to fix the plug with respect to the main body and fix a grid containing the sample between the base and the plug, the plug having a plug aperture extending therethrough that aligns with the main body aperture to form a path to and through the sample for a beam from a selected one of multiple analytical tools.
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13. The method as recited in claim 1 further including determining a detection limit of the analytical tool and wherein preparing a calibration standard includes determining the concentration with a first analytical tool and determining a detection limit of the analytical tool includes determining a detection limit of a second analytical tool.
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14. The method as recited in claim 13 wherein the first analytical tool is a secondary ion mass spectrometer and the second analytical tool is selected from the group consisting of:
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energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), microcalorimetry, auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
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15. A system for calibrating an analytical tool, comprising:
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a first analytical tool capable of determining a concentration of an element located within a calibration standard;
a focused bean apparatus;
a layer extracted from the calibration standard with the focused beam apparatus, the layer being representative of the concentration of the element;
a second analytical tool having a measurement limit of the element less than its concentration, the layer being used to calibrate the second analytical tool. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), microcalorimetry, auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
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20. The system as recited in claim 15 wherein the layer is a thin layer having a thickness of between about 50 nm and about 5000 nm.
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21. The system as recited in claim 20 wherein the thin layer has a length of about 20000 nm and a depth of about 5000 nm.
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22. The system as recited in claim 15 wherein the second analytical tool has a sample holder bay and the system further includes a sample holder configured to hold the calibration standard and cooperatively engage the sample holder bay.
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23. The system as recited in claim 22 wherein the sample holder comprises:
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a main body having first and second opposing major surfaces, a recess in the first major surface and a main body aperture narrower than the recess and extending from a base of the recess to the second major surface; and
a plug that engages an inner wall of the recess to fix the plug with respect to the main body and fix a grid containing the sample between the base and the plug, the plug having a plug aperture extending therethrough that aligns with the main body aperture to form a path to and through the sample for a beam from a selected one of multiple second analytical tools.
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Specification