Dear Sir,
I want to study about mineral identification by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and really need some textbook or publication. I already have searched some publications but many of them were specific in some cases.
Is there any books/publication that suitable for beginner?
Thank you very much for your help
Unfortunately, I can't point you to a single source of information. I was fortunate to have very good SEM instructors in university. You have to use the back scattered electron image to get a sense of hydrous vs. anhydrous minerals (brighter vs. darker) and then some good mineral chemistry data from your EDS system. A full quantitative assay is much more informative than a semi-quantitative assay if available, because low assay totals can indicate the presence of water (or other elements such as B, Be or CO2) in the mineral structure. Then my favorite go to reference is the various Deer Howie and Zussman volumes, which have extensive tables of mineral chemistry to compare with your assay. All this was learned many years ago however, and maybe someone else has had experience with a single book or publication.
Thank you very much for your answer.
I will have the SEM Training in next April and hopefully before that I already have understood the basic.
Dear Sari,
I can recommend the excellent "SEM Petrology Atlas" by Joann E. Welton which I attached. The identification of all mineral groups are described in this atlas and good hints for sample preparation and the analytical procedure are provided as well on more than 230 pages.
Furthermore, the Mineralogy Database (http://webmineral.com/) can help to identify minerals by SEM. By using the function "Mineral Element Composition Search" it is possible to identify minerals (like minerals of the feldspar group and many others) by the element concentration (wt%) of the three main elements. O.k., SEM-EDS yields only semquatitative results, however, this tool is helpfull even for beginners.
Hope this helps!
All the best,
Elmar
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