BAM-S005 Type A and B: New Silicate Reference Glasses for Microanalysis

To test whether the silicate reference glasses BAM-S005-A and BAM-S005-B from BAM (The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Germany) are suitable materials for microanalysis, we investigated the homogeneity of these reference glasses using the microanalytical techniques EPMA, LA-ICP-MS and SIMS. Our study indicated that all major and most trace elements are homogeneously distributed at micrometre sampling scale in both types of glass. However, some trace elements (e.g., Cs, Cl, Cr, Mo and Ni) seem to be inhomogeneously distributed. We also determined the composition of BAM-S005-A and BAM-S005-B. The EPMA data of major elements confirmed the information values specified by the certificate. With the exception of Sr, Ba, Ce and Pb, our trace element data by LA-ICP-MS were also in agreement with the certified values within the stated uncertainty limits. The reasons for the discrepancy in these four elements are still unclear. In addition, we report new data for twenty-two further trace elements, for which the concentrations were not certified. Based on our investigation, we suggest that both of these materials are suitable for many microanalytical applications.