UMD Scanning Electron Microscopy Laboratory

EDS Oxford Inca xAct

The Oxford Instruments Energy 250 energy dispersive spectrometer system (EDS) is attached to the SEM and allows for the examination of the chemical composition of materials. The system is equipped with a silicon-drift energy dispersive x-ray detector and is capable of extremely high rates of data acquisition. It can be used for point analysis (qualitative or quantitative) of very small areas of interest (down to 1 micrometer in diameter). It can also be used to assemble element distribution maps and line scans to show the spatial distribution of elements within a sample.