A method and system for spectrum data analysis

Abstract

A method and system for spectrum data analysis. The method comprises the steps of collecting a spectrum of an unknown material; providing a set of element data templates; calculate optical least squares weights for the element data templates in approximating the spectrum; removing one or more of the templates having negative weights in approximating the spectrum; and re-calculating an approximation of the spectrum with said one or more templates removed.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention generally relates to methods and systems for spectral data analysis. Background technique [0002] In many applications, information about a sample is determined by accumulating radiation from the sample over a period of time. Properties of the radiation, such as its energy profile or its diffraction pattern, can often be correlated to the type of material present in the sample. For example, a sample, when bombarded by electrons, emits characteristic x-rays whose energies are related to the components in the sample. Similarly, crystals produce a characteristic diffraction pattern when bombarded with x-rays, and the spectrum of gamma rays and other rays is used by astronomers to study the composition of the universe. The term "sample" is used herein to broadly include objects being observed. [0003] In one widely used application, scanning electron microscopes can be used to determine the elemental composition of unknown materi...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The task of analyzing spectra at low counts is more difficult because there is too much variability in the underlying spectrum and the peaks per element are not Gaussian

Therefore, the techniques used by existing methods are not suitable for low-count spectroscopic analysis for mineral identification, as they usually exhibit smooth spectra

[0027] On the other hand, element quantification is less accurate for low count spectra

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