Assessing phase discrimination via the segmentation of an elemental energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy map: a case study of Bi2Te3 and Bi2Te2S

Abstract

The present case study critically assesses the efficacy of a previously proposed segmentation methodology as a means to discriminate phases via post-processing the image of an elemental map. In the Bi₂Te_2.5S_0.5 multiphase compound, the reference spectra of the Bi₂Te₃ and Bi₂Te₂S phases are distinct enough to effectively distinguish two phases during map acquisition. Since the counts of the sulphur-K peak in the X-ray emission data are significantly higher for Bi₂Te₂S compared to Bi₂Te₃, the segmentation methodology exploits this variation and enables successful phase discrimination via post-processing the image of the elemental map.