TY - JOUR A1 - Rackwitz, Vanessa A1 - Krumrey, M. A1 - Laubis, C. A1 - Scholze, F. A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan T1 - New reference and test materials for the characterization of energy dispersive X-ray spectrometers at scanning electron microscopes JF - Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry N2 - Checking the performance of energy dispersive X-ray spectrometers as well as validation of the results obtained with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) at a scanning electron microscope (SEM) involve the use of (certified) reference and dedicated test materials. This paper gives an overview on the test materials mostly employed by SEM/EDX users and accredited laboratories as well as on those recommended in international standards. The new BAM reference material EDS-CRM, which is currently in the process of certification, is specifically designed for the characterization of EDS systems at a SEM through calibration of the spectrometer efficiency in analytical laboratories in a simple manner. The certification of the spectra by means of a reference EDS is described. The focus is on the traceability of EDS efficiency which is ensured by measurements of the absolute detection efficiency of silicon drift detectors (SDD) and Si(Li) detectors at the laboratory of the PTB using the electron storage ring BESSY II as a primary X-ray source standard. A new test material in development at BAM for testing the performance of an EDS in the energy range below 1 keV is also briefly presented. KW - EDX KW - EDS KW - Performance check KW - SEM KW - Test materials KW - Spectrometer efficiency PY - 2015 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-014-8242-5 SN - 1618-2642 SN - 1618-2650 VL - 407 IS - 11 SP - 3045 EP - 3053 PB - Springer CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-33025 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -