Limitation of micro-X-ray fluorescence for chemical quantification in nanocrystalline films

Chemical elemental quantification plays an important role in investigating the physical and chemical properties of materials. There are many techniques used for elemental quantification, but the most common is based on the interaction of X-ray and electron beams with materials. Choosing the appropriate method can significantly increase the accuracy of analysis results. In this communication, the elemental quantifications obtained from micro-X-ray fluorescence and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopies were compared, specifically in the case of nanocrystalline films. As a result, the good matching between the crystal/grain size of the films and the spot size of the incident excitation beam makes the result obtained from the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy more accurate and reasonable.