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PUBLICATIONS

Microanalysis: What Is It, Where Did It Come From, and Where Is It Going?

Published

Author(s)

Dale E. Newbury

Abstract

"Microanalysis" in the parlance of the Microanalysis Society (MAS) refers to spatially-resolved elemental and molecular analysis performed at the micrometer to nanometer to picometer scales by any combination of excitation and analytical spectrometry that yields useful information. MAS evolved from the Electron Probe Analysis Society of America (EPASA), founded in 1966 because of intense interest in electron-excited X-ray microanalysis (EPMA) with wavelength dispersive spectrometry (WDS), the first successful elemental analysis technique with micrometer resolution.
Citation
Microscopy and Microanalysis
Pub Type
Journals

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Keywords

electron probe X-ray microanalysis, elemental analysis, materials characterization, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray spectrometry
Materials and Composition and structure

Citation

Newbury, D. (2017), Microanalysis: What Is It, Where Did It Come From, and Where Is It Going?, Microscopy and Microanalysis, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=923091 (Accessed October 17, 2025)

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Created August 4, 2017, Updated September 29, 2025
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