This award will provide half of the funding to make it possible for Caltech to acquire a new four-crystal spectrometer for their electron microprobe. This new four-crystal spectrometer contains state-of-the-art layered dispersion element pseudocrystals that enable analysis of very light elements (beryllium through carbon) with high efficiency. Caltech is committed to provide the additional funds needed for this acquisition. The acquisition of this state-of-the-art spectrometer/crystal system will (1) significantly improve the PIs capability to analyze Be, B, and C which will be of importance for a variety of geologic investigations such as determining the carbon dioxide content of glasses and B substitution in silicates; and (2) enable these investigators to develop superior quantitative analysis correction procedures for the very light elements and soft X-ray lines. As in the past, these investigators indicate that they plan to make these correction procedures widely available to other interested investigators.
