SANDIA TASK8: a subroutined electron microprobe automation system
TASK8 is a Flextran program designed to provide instrument control, data acquisition, and data reduction for electron microprobes and scanning electron microscopes equipped with up to seven wavelength-dispersive spectrometers and up to four stage motions (X, Y, Z, and rotation). Instrument control and data acquisition are achieved through a group of mnemonic commands which can be combined into storable subroutines to provide automatic control. TASK8 also acts as a host program for specialized auxiliary routines which are automatically called as a particular command needs them. Through the use of this technique, it is possible to perform an entire quantitative analysis by issuing the command QUANT and answering the few questions which follow. SANDIA TASK8 is a systems approach to microprobe automation. Since the majority of the code is in subroutines which are stored in virtual memory, its expansion capabilities are limited by the user's imagination rather than the memory of the machine. The program set currently encompasses TASK8, the master program with its subroutines for machine control nd data collection and analysis; CONFIG8, a program for defining instrument operating conditions; and various quantitative analysis programs with their subroutines. Bence-Albee, ZAF, and phi(rhoZ) quantitative techniques are supported. Up to 50 oxides may be analyzed by Bence-Albee or 30 elements by the other techniques. Of special interest to geologists are the abilities to automatically perform end-member calculations and to perform a quantitative analysis by specifying its mineral code. The SANDIA TASK8 software system is now being used on Cameca MBX microprobes with 2, 3, and 4 spectrometers, on 3, 4, and 5-spectrometer JEOL-733's and on a 5-spectrometer ARL-SEMQ.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 6232504
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-85-2037; ON: DE86003791
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
BA85: A Bence-Albee oxide analysis routine with mineral code capabilities
SANDIA-TASK '78: an electron microprobe automation program