JPH0378036B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (a) Industrial application field The present invention is based on EPMA (Electron Probe Micro
Concerning contour line display devices in analytical instruments such as Analyzer).

(b) Prior art Generally, in analytical instruments such as EPMA,
When investigating the secondary distribution of elements contained in a sample, a so-called contour line display is sometimes used in which points of the same X-ray intensity are connected continuously to facilitate observation. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional device a for displaying contour lines includes a control calculation section b,
It is equipped with an external storage device c and a display device d such as a CRT. Then, the X-ray intensity is measured while the EPMA's electron beam or sample stage is two-dimensionally scanned in the XY2 directions, and the intensity measured at each point and the data of its position It is stored at a predetermined address location in external storage device b. At the end of the measurement, the external storage device c
The intensity data is sequentially read out from the control calculation unit b, and after level comparison and calculation between the read intensity data and a predetermined value, the intensity data at a constant intensity level is displayed on the display d at a TV scanning speed. , and the contour lines are displayed.

by the way. In such a conventional device a, the control calculation unit b needs to read intensity data for each pixel from the external storage device c and perform calculation processing, so the access required for screen configuration increases as the number of pixels on the display device d increases. It takes a long time. In addition, since calculation processing must be performed at the TV scanning speed, the control calculation section b needs to use a circuit with excellent high-speed response, resulting in problems such as increased cost.

(c) Purpose It is an object of the present invention to solve the conventional problems and to obtain a contour line display device which requires a short calculation time for contour line display and is relatively inexpensive.

(d) Configuration In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following features:
It is equipped with a plurality of frame memories in which intensity data measured by an analytical instrument such as EPMA is stored according to these intensity levels, and a display device that displays the intensity data stored in these frame memories as an image. A frame memory read selection circuit for selecting reading of the intensity data from the frame memory is provided between the frame memory and the display to constitute a contour line display device.

(E) Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

In this example, EPMA was used as the analytical instrument.
We will explain the case where it is applied to.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an EPMA and a contour line display device installed in this EPMA. In the same figure, 1
is EPMA, and 2 is a contour line display device. 4 is
This is a control calculation unit that controls the writing and reading of the X-ray intensity (count value) measured by the EPMA 1 and each measurement data of the scanning positions X and Y indicating the X-ray intensity, and also performs various calculation processes. 6a~
Reference numeral 6n denotes a frame memory in which the intensity data output from the control calculation unit 4 is divided and stored into n bits (n is an integer of 2 or more) according to these intensity levels, and frame memories 6a to 6n for each bit are stored.
has a storage area corresponding to a pixel of a display device 8, which will be described later. Reference numeral 8 denotes a CRT display for displaying an image of the intensity data stored in each of the frame memories 6a to 6n. 10 each frame memory 6a to 6n
A frame memory read selection circuit for selecting read intensity data from the frame memory 6a.
6n and the display 8, and the interval between the contour lines is set by the same circuit 10. This frame memory read selection circuit 10 is the third one in this example.
As shown in the figure, comparators 12a to 12 are individually provided corresponding to each frame memory 6a to 6n.
n, one R circuit 14, and each comparator 12a to 1
2n and a reference power source. In addition, 18a
~18n is an input terminal for intensity data read out from the frame memories 6a~6n, and 20 is a switching circuit 1.
Input terminals 22a to 22n are input terminals for control signals from the control calculation unit 4 for switching operation of the comparators 12a to 22n.
12n is the input terminal of the reference power supply, and 24 is the output terminal to the display 8.

Next, by the contour line display device 2 having the above configuration,
The operation of each part when displaying EPMA X-ray intensity data as contour lines will be explained.

EPMA 1 measures the X-ray intensity at each point on the sample surface while scanning the sample stage or electron beam two-dimensionally in the X and Y directions. This X-ray intensity data and its scanning position data are sequentially taken into the control calculation section 4. The control calculation unit 4
One frame memory 6a-6 corresponding to this intensity level based on the value of the X-ray intensity from EPMA1
n and the specified frame memory 6
For a to 6n, a predetermined address is designated based on the data of the scanning positions X and Y, and the value of the X-ray intensity is stored in the designated address position. Therefore, the X-ray intensity data is stored in the frame memories 6a-6n corresponding to the intensity level, and at the address corresponding to the sample position in the frame memories 6a-6n. Next, when reading out the intensity data stored in each of the frame memories 6a to 6n, the control calculation unit 4 sets the contour line intervals for display in advance, so that the switching circuit 16 of the frame memory read selection circuit 10 selects the frame memory data. Outputs selection control signal. As a result, the reference power is applied to the predetermined comparators 12a to 12n, so that the intensity data read out only to the comparators 12a to 12n can pass through. On the other hand, the intensity data in each frame memory 6a to 6n is stored in the control calculation unit 4.
n bits are read out in parallel in synchronization with the TV scanning signal of the display 8. However, since the frame memory read selection circuit 10 has already selected the frame memories 6a to 6n from which the intensity data should be read, the selected frame memories 6a to 6n
Only the intensity data of 6n is outputted to the display 8 via the R circuit 14. In this way, contour lines continuously connecting points of the same X-ray intensity are displayed on the screen of the display 8. When changing the interval between contour lines, a frame selection control signal line is output from the control calculation unit 4 to the frame memory read selection circuit 10, and the switching unit 16 of the circuit 10 is operated to switch the frame memories 6a to 6a to read intensity data. 6n may be selected appropriately.

In this example, EPMA was used as the analytical instrument.
Although the case has been described, it goes without saying that the present invention can be broadly applied to other analytical instruments such as IMA and SAM.

(f) Effects As described above, according to the present invention, intensity data is stored in each frame memory according to its intensity level, and the contour line interval can be freely set using the frame memory readout selection circuit. This greatly reduces the calculation processing time for contour line display. Moreover, it has the excellent effect of being able to achieve this with a relatively inexpensive circuit.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a conventional example, and FIGS. 2 and 3 show embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing details of the frame memory read selection circuit. 1... Analysis instrument (EPMA), 2... Contour line display device, 6a to 6n... Frame memory, 8... Display device, 10... Frame memory read selection circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Equipped with a plurality of frame memories in which intensity data measured by an analytical instrument such as EPMA is stored according to these intensity levels, and a display device that displays images of the intensity data stored in these frame memories. A contour line display device for an analytical instrument, characterized in that a frame memory readout selection circuit for selecting readout of the intensity data from the frame memory is provided between the frame memory and the display.