This article describes a simple shield that can be placed on typical commercial heating holders to reduce the thermal signal during heating to reasonable levels for in situ energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. The improved temperature capability provided by the shield is demonstrated by initial compositional analysis results obtained across a solid–liquid interface on Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy powder particles. Considerations in the design of and improvement for the shield are discussed.

An experimental high-resolution image of a solid–liquid interface of solid Si and liquid Al–Si alloy has been compared with theoretical images obtained by computer simulation. It has been concluded that the solid–liquid interface has a transition layer, the structure of which is compatible with the 1 × 1 Si-{111} surface.