Microanalysis - EDS, ELS and beyond

This paper examines the current state of energy dispersive X-ray (EDS), and electron energy-loss (ELS), spectroscopies. It is shown that advances in instrumentation have enhanced the sensitivity of EDS analysis while, at the same time, extending the range of the periodic table accessible to it. As a result, EDS is now competitive with ELS even for the analysis of the light elements. While advances in ELS, such as the development of parallel detection systems, will lead to improved performance, it is argued that the possibilities for improvements in EDS performance are still greater