Please, let me dream.
May be number of questions about accuracy and precision will decrease if we can adjust MAN BG curve to current equipment parameters.
What does it mean?
It means we should make 2 working steps.
Step 1. We need develop a perfect MAN BG curve with 5, 10, ...., n standards. It is common step for nowadays.
The shape of the curve is quite stable which were discussed a lot. We can even create the equation of the curve and place it to the database.
Good job! let’s have a rest a day, a month, a year...
Step 2. We need to measure just few (1-3) MAN standards in the session with our unknowns and adjust the whole MAN curve (without changing the shape/equation) which we developed earlier to current equipment parameters (off course, the energy, current should be the same; beam size close to).
For extremally worrying researchers the operation could be repeated each several hours of their measurements with different standards.
If I am right, today we can only check the MAN BG curve for current session or add from current session some extra points to earlier collected points set. But we haven't option "adjust MAN curve without its shape changing".
I am very sorry if it is already realised (or doesn't make sense) but I don't know about it - could you shortly correct my view.
Thank you!
Dream on!
Seriously, your suggestion is unnecessary for several reasons.
1. The MAN standard intensities are automatically drift corrected in time.
This means that if your MAN background intensities did change over time, the software will automatically calculate this intensity drift for each data point based on its time of acquisition. Assuming of course that you have MAN standard intensities acquired at some time both before and after the samples. This is why there is a "Acquire Standard Samples" and a "Acquire Standard Samples (again) option in the Automate! window.
However if your MAN background intensities are noticeably drifting, you have bigger problems, i.e., your primary standard intensities! So you will need to re-acquire them!
2. If you want to re-use your MAN standard intensities in another probe run, simply use the Load File Setup option from the Acquire! window | New Sample/Setups button.
And when asked if you want to load standard intensities, just click "Yes". This will automatically load all primary, interference and MAN standard intensities for that sample. Take a few mouse clicks and you are ready to go with new unknown samples. Many users say this is one of the best features in Probe for EPMA.
If you suspect for some reason that your standard intensities might have drifted, simply re-acquire those standard intensities. In practice I find that at most only one or two primary standard intensities (for major elements) might possibly have drifted enough to be noticeable.
One can disable the Use Standard Drift Correction option from the Analytical | Analysis Options dialog, (in which case only the standards acquired before the sample in question are utilized for analysis). But I always leave it on, except in very special circumstances, for example when analyzing samples acquired for the constant k-ratio method to be used for calibration of ones detector dead times.
https://probesoftware.com/smf/index.php?topic=1466.msg11196#msg11196https://probesoftware.com/smf/index.php?topic=1466.msg11858#msg11858But hey, we can all dream!
