Segmentation Mapping

method background segmentation mapping is a unique measurement mode originally developed by amics's founder for the original mla analysis platform the theory behind the segmentation mapping mode is to make use of the bse image to identify different phases, as different grayscales reflect a difference in average atomic number and therefore a possible difference in phase the advantage of this mode is for coarse grained specimens to reduce the total number of x ray points needed to fully describe the specimen, by avoiding collecting multiple x ray data for the same phased grain additionally, the classification matched to the acquired x ray is then assigned to the segmented area, which results in the matched image having the same resolution as the bse images, which is generally higher resolution than from matrix or hypermapping the image above shows the schematic of the segmentation mapping mode, with the first step being the acquisition of the high resolution bse, which is then segmented into regions of similar bse based on a watershed segmentation algorithm the middle image shows the resultant segmentation map based on a difference in the bse gradient amics will then locate a centralized location in each segment and assign an x y coordinate for follow up x ray analysis this can be seen in the final image showing the red x ray crosshairs measurement set up as with other mapping modes, the first setting is metadata related to the specimen, including the name of the specimen and measurement however, the specimen name can only be changed if no existing data is present (i e new specimen) otherwise, the data will need to be removed before the specimen name can be changed the termination setting for the measurement can also be set here, based on total run time, field number, or total selected area as with matrix mapping, the next section for imaging will determine the field analysis order using the sequence setting the quality setting is similar to sem scan speed and will affect the image quality of the acquired bse image, and because segmentation mapping uses the bse to define similar areas it is important to acquire an appropriate quality image to achieve proper segmentation it is generally advised not to go below 16us for this setting the size setting will determine the number of pixels in each field image, and be reflected in the micron resolution of the image the final setting, intersect (percentage), will define the percentage overlap between adjacent fields, which is needed for field stitching the next section of settings, image processing, contains all the variables to adjust the watershed segmentation of the bse image as with matrix mapping, the first two settings will define a background window based on bse levels this will ensure unwanted materials are excluded from the analysis to speed up analysis time the first option, bg grey level low, will define the lower limit, while bg grey level high, will define the upper limit to further reduce irrelevant materials smaller particles can be ignored using the "smaller particle filter (um2) the next two settings are specific to segmentation mapping mode, and how segments are determined the first setting, seg grey level factor, can be set from 0 to 100 and defines the greyscale gradient threshold between two adjacent pixels for amics to define define a new segment this setting is a measure of the sensitivity of the watershed, with higher sensitivity generally resulting in more segments to lower sensitivity the next setting, seg are factor, sets a maximum size of any segment before a new segment will be defined this setting will avoid under segmentation, and therefore potentially missing subtle changes in specimen phases the final option, extra settings, will provide access to “reduce image noise”, which is an image process that will “blur” out edges mainly used to minimize over segmentation due to sample defects there is also access to the option to “collect both channel images” which will instruct amics to record data from a secondary video input (if set up in esprit) while the setting above this, segment filter trigger, will bring up a new interface to add more flexibility to the segmentation mapping mode more information about segmentation trigger https //app archbee com/docs/ulnx6skegc8ehmpkog5xe/ltqzepeyf ajs9yjjh4h9 the next “xray” section will then define how amics will acquire the x ray data the first setting, space (um), will define the interval between x ray points to be collected, and will then become the cell size used to display the final material map the following radio switch, collect by count, will toggle between using a fixed dwell time, which is set in the “x ray ac time (ms)” setting, and fixed total counts per point using different dwell times, which is set in the “target count” setting which will replace the “x ray ac time (ms)” setting the following three settings, reliability factor, as used for the preliminary matching during data acquisition, more information on these settings can be found https //app archbee com/docs/ulnx6skegc8ehmpkog5xe/b7zegccwrngyos0gffoxp the final option is to allow amics to collect new reference spectra during data acquisition, with more information provided https //app archbee com/docs/ulnx6skegc8ehmpkog5xe/bybc telxnuovl3zwavcn