In the last 10 years the development of new polymer type detector window materials has dramatically increased the opportunities for light element analysis with Energy Dispersive Spectrometers (EDS). With the introduction of light-element analysis the need also arises to accurately quantify X-ray spectra. Traditional quantification techniques, using a probe current measuring device and pure elemental standards, have been introduced into the field of EDS, but these techniques prevented much of the conveniences of the EDS techniques with respect to speed and ease of use. Many users are therefore willing to sacrifice part of the maximum achievable accuracy in return for a method that is more convenient: standardless analysis.

With EDS analysis the widely published ZAF and φ(ρz) models can be used to convert relative intensities into weight percentages, but for standardless analysis the inaccuracy of the result is mainly caused by the reference intensities.