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Improvement of Electron Probe Microanalysis of Boron Concentration in Silicate Glasses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2019

Lining Cheng ,
Chao Zhang Open the ORCID record for Chao Zhang [Opens in a new window] ,
Xiaoyan Li ,
Renat R. Almeev Open the ORCID record for Renat R. Almeev [Opens in a new window] ,
Xiaosong Yang  and
Francois Holtz
Lining Cheng
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, 100029 Beijing, China Institute of Mineralogy, Leibniz University Hannover, Callinstr. 3, 30167 Hannover, Germany
Chao Zhang*
Affiliation:
Institute of Mineralogy, Leibniz University Hannover, Callinstr. 3, 30167 Hannover, Germany State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Department of Geology, Northwest University, 710069 Xi'an, China
Xiaoyan Li
Affiliation:
Institute of Mineralogy, Leibniz University Hannover, Callinstr. 3, 30167 Hannover, Germany State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Department of Geology, Northwest University, 710069 Xi'an, China
Renat R. Almeev
Affiliation:
Institute of Mineralogy, Leibniz University Hannover, Callinstr. 3, 30167 Hannover, Germany
Xiaosong Yang
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, 100029 Beijing, China
Francois Holtz
Affiliation:
Institute of Mineralogy, Leibniz University Hannover, Callinstr. 3, 30167 Hannover, Germany
*
*Author for correspondence: Chao Zhang, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The determination of low boron concentrations in silicate glasses by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) remains a significant challenge. The internal interferences from the diffraction crystal, i.e. the Mo-B4C large d-spacing layered synthetic microstructure crystal, can be thoroughly diminished by using an optimized differential mode of pulse height analysis (PHA). Although potential high-order spectral interferences from Ca, Fe, and Mn on the BKα peak can be significantly reduced by using an optimized differential mode of PHA, a quantitative calibration of the interferences is required to obtain accurate boron concentrations in silicate glasses that contain these elements. Furthermore, the first-order spectral interference from ClL-lines is so strong that they hinder reliable EPMA of boron concentrations in Cl-bearing silicate glasses. Our tests also indicate that, due to the strongly curved background shape on the high-energy side of BKα, an exponential regression is better than linear regression for estimating the on-peak background intensity based on measured off-peak background intensities. We propose that an optimal analytical setting for low boron concentrations in silicate glasses (≥0.2 wt% B2O3) would best involve a proper boron-rich glass standard, a low accelerating voltage, a high beam current, a large beam size, and a differential mode of PHA.

Keywords

boronelectron probe microanalysishigh-energy backgroundsilicate glasstourmaline
Type
Materials Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 874 - 882
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2019 

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