LOGICAL STEPS IN THE AUTOMATED LACHANCE - TRAILL XRF MATRIX CORRECTION METHOD UTILIZING AN ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEET

The XRF community is very specific because the basic XRF Matrix Corrections software is either supplied with the newer equipment or did not exist at all when the equipment was purchased 10 + years ago. It is true that such software can be purchased from third parties and the spectrometer can be upgraded. However, all the matrix corrections can be done on the popular electronic spreadsheet and that should be the first and perhaps the last choice for the software upgrade. The popular electronic spreadsheets are very handy because they allow one to introduce a new life into the older spectrometers and they can be used as an other choice for the newest XRF spectrometers. Some XRF analysts are so busy with day-to-day tasks that they have not any time left for any new developments. In such a case they have to be satisfied with the existing manufacturer’s software; however, they should at least be aware that spreadsheet methods could shed new light on the matrix correction methods. Many times in the past this spreadsheet approach was criticized and the following questions were asked: “ I know, you use a spreadsheet, but what about the matrix corrections? You are missing that part”. The answer here is that the matrix corrections are done here automatically, they do exist and we use them. However, the matrix corrections are implemented here slightly differently, we adjust the coordinates we are working with to implement the Lachance-Trail1 equation for the matrix correction process. This method is simpler and mathematically is justified and preferred as was shown in previous publications. 1,8-13 With any new software method one has to learn the basic logical steps of how to use it properly. The role of this paper is to discuss these steps so the picture of the Spreadsheet Application will be very clear. This should encourage the readers to use the Spreadsheet Program at ease when XRF matrix corrections are required. The list of all Spreadsheet Applications for XRF would be very long. The basic steps in tuning electronic spreadsheet for XRF Matrix Correction tasks will be revealed. Examples will be given for Quattro Pro @ Version 6.0 for Windows 3.1 or Version 8.0 for Win 95. Transfer them to the Lotus l-2-3 @ or Excel @ can be done easily.

[1]  H Hinterberger.  Computer-aided data analysis: by W. R. Green, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1985. , 1986 .

[2]  John D. McKenzie,et al.  Number Cruncher Statistical Systems (NCSS) , 1985 .

[3]  K. F. J. Heinrich,et al.  Calibration for interelement effects in x-ray fluorescence analysis , 1974 .

[4]  J. W. Gorman,et al.  Fitting Equations to Data. , 1973 .

[5]  R. Cranley,et al.  Multivariate Analysis—Methods and Applications , 1985 .

[6]  Anthony J. Klimasara.  A Mathematical Comparison of the Lachance - Traill Matrix Correction Procedure with Statistical Multiple Linear Regression Analysis in XRF Applications , 1992 .

[7]  Craig Stinson,et al.  Running Microsoft Excel 5 for Windows (4th ed.) , 1994 .

[8]  S. Chatterjee,et al.  Regression Analysis by Example , 1979 .

[9]  William J. Orvis,et al.  1-2-3 for scientists and engineers , 1987 .

[10]  Dean P. Foster,et al.  Fitting Equations to Data , 1998 .

[11]  A. Klimasara.  XRF ANALYSIS - THEORY, EXPERIMENT, AND REGRESSION , 1997 .

[12]  Anthony J. Klimasara.  Mathematical Modeling of XRF Matrix Correction Algorithms With an Electronic Spreadsheet , 1993 .

[13]  3-D graphing of XRF matrix correction equations , 1994 .

[14]  Nathalie Audebrand,et al.  Copyright (C) JCPDS International Centre for Diffraction Data 1999 , 1999 .

[15]  R. Greensmith,et al.  Statistical Methods in Research and Production , 1973 .

[16]  Shelley O'Hara,et al.  Using Excel version 5 for Windows , 1994 .

[17]  F. Claisse,et al.  Quantitative X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis: Theory and Application , 1995 .

[18]  Alan Jennings,et al.  Matrix Computation for Engineers and Scientists , 1977 .

[19]  G. J. McCarthy,et al.  JCPDS-International Centre for Diffraction Data , 1981 .

[20]  Ron Jenkins,et al.  Quantitative X-Ray Spectrometry , 1981 .

[21]  Louis M. Mezei.  Practical spreadsheet statistics and curve fitting for scientists and engineers , 1992 .

[22]  Cuthbert Daniel,et al.  Fitting Equations to Data: Computer Analysis of Multifactor Data , 1980 .

[23]  R. Tertian,et al.  Principles of Quantitative X-ray Fluorescence Analysis , 1982 .

[24]  Robert G. Parks.  Quattro Pro® for Scientific and Engineering Spreadsheets , 1991 .

[25]  Irvin H. Kral.  Excel Spreadsheet for Engineers and Scientists , 1992 .

[26]  Anthony J. Klimasara.  Automated Quantitative XRF Analysis Software in Quality Control Applications , 1991 .

[27]  R. Van Grieken,et al.  Handbook of x-ray spectrometry: Methods and techniques , 1993 .