title: Averaging of Backscatter Intensities in Compounds.
abstract: Low uncertainty measurements on pure element stable isotope pairs demonstrate that mass has no influence on the backscattering of electrons at typical electron microprobe energies. The traditional prediction of average backscatter intensities in compounds using elemental mass fractions is improperly grounded in mass and thus has no physical basis. We propose an alternative model to mass fraction averaging, based of the number of electrons or protons, termed "electron fraction," which predicts backscatter yield better than mass fraction averaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1272.
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Donovan
authors.affiliation: Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968-0555.
authors.forename: Nicholas E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Pingitore
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-4767.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Westphal
keywords: atomic fraction; atomic number correction; backscatter; elastic scattering; electron fraction; electron scattering; mass averaging; mass effect; mass fraction; microanalysis; multi-element compounds; quantitative microanalysis