No abstract

Micro x-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) analysis gives elemental maps by repeating EDS analysis in the interesting region. However, in some cases, the obtained XRF images of trace elements are not clear due to high background intensity. To solve this problem, we applied principal component analysis (PCA) to XRF spectra to reduce the background intensity. We focused on the improvement of quality of XRF imaging by applying the PCA. Standard deviations of XRF intensities in PCA-filtered image were improved, leading to clear contrast of objective image on low background. Also, we confirmed that the spatial resolution in XRF images was improved by applying PCA. This improvement of XRF image was effective in the case where the XRF intensity was weak.