Gipronickel Institute Ltd

L. N. Ertseva, Chief Researcher, Laboratory of Pyrometallurgy

In the middle of the last century all produced equipment could be conditionally divided into two groups — scanning electron microscopes and microanalyzers. They were different in terms of their technical characteristics and intended for different purposes. Accordingly two methods — electron microscopy and microanalysis — though having general backgrounds developed in parallel. During 1970–1980 two important changes took place — on the one hand automated instruments had appeared using special software for results processing, diffe rent for variong f ields of investigations. On the other hand, due to better quality of semi conductor detectors classic microanalyzers started to be displaced by “microscope + microana lysis system”, complexes widely used nowdays. The paper considers in short the theoretical backgrounds of scanning electron microscopy and electron probe micro analysis. There are described stages of the use of the equipment implemented in Gipronickel Institute starting from 1969, and there are investigated characteristic features of the studies conducted with the use of detectors based on wavelength dispersive analysis and those on the basis of power dispersion. The examples of the procedures worked out in the process of each type of the equipment adaptation for solving theoretical and technical problems of non-ferrous metallurgy are given.