Quality of determinations by X-ray microanalysis using standard samples of basalt glass enterprises and copper-containing alloys

Nine copper-based alloys and five man-made basalt glasses are characterized as reference samples (RS) for X-ray electron-probe microanalysis (EPMA). It is shown that the uniformity of the reference samples affects the accuracy of EPMA. The information obtained on the basis of abundant experimental data for silicate minerals, glasses, alloys, and oxides suggests that the characterized RS can be used in EPMA for analytical works, the certification of procedures, and the control of the data quality. The optimum conditions of measurements were found using the dependence of the analytical line intensity and the detection limits of the elements on the conditions of excitation and the registration of the analytical signal. The accuracy the results obtained corresponded to class 2 analyses, which suggests that the characterized RS are competitive for glasses certified as international reference samples for EPMA.