Progress in Background Subtraction and Spectral Interference Correction in Electron Probe Microanalysis

Background subtraction and interference correction are the crucial processes to improve the precision and the resolving power of the electron microprobe analyzer. So the theories and methods involved the two processing issues were reviewed in this paper. The methods, software and corresponding effects about interference correction were summarized, which includes the methods of estimate interference factor, elemental simulating spectrum, least-square fitting and spectral deconvolution, etc. The emphasis was focused on the origins of background, as well as the development of the theories and methods for the non-linear background correction. Moreover, a brief prospect was predicted about the methods of background correction and interference correction. 62 references were cited.