Energy dispersive x-ray analysis has become an extremely useful analytical tool. The technique provides for the direct observation of x-ray emission spectra, eliminating the need for a dispersive crystal. The purpose of this reported investigation was to study the use of the technique with a simple pulse height analyzing system and to develop a routine method for correcting Interferences due to adjacent element spectral overlap and matrix effects.

The analyzing system consists of a radioisotope source, a lithium drifted silicon detector, a preamplifier, an amplifier, two single channel analyzers and two digital ratemeters. In order to obtain results suitable for quantative measurement, a two-step empirical method was employed for the correction of peak overlapping and matrix effects. If two peaks in a spectrum overlap at their tails, one can set up a channel width of the analyzer to a region where there are no overlapping pulses. It is then possible to calibrate the ratio of the intensity obtained from this channel to that obtained from the whole peak in its pure state, i.e. without the appearance of a neighbor peak. The actual intensity of the peak in the overlapping spectrum is, therefore, the observed counts multiplied by the ratio. The next step is the correction of matrix effect by means of conventional empirical methods using standard samples. Two types of the samples, Zn-Cu powder mixtures and Ee-Cu in aqueous solutions, were studied to illustrate this method. The usefulness of applying the analyzing system and technique to industrial measurements, either on-line or batch, will also be discussed.