4.6.3 Available software for spectrum deconvolution
The first software for EDXRF spectrum fit (AXIL) was developed in 1977 by Prof. P. Van Espen and co-workers for Digital PDP-11 computers. It was written in FORTRAN, without any graphical display and difficult to use. As part of an IAEA coordinated research program the QXAS package was developed in the early 90´s, integrating the AXIL with different quantification procedures and running in a DOS environment. Later, a Windows version was prepared in the late 90´s. Both QXAS and WinQXAS have been since then freely distributed to many laboratories around the world. In 2007 the multiplatform code PyMca was released by the Software Group of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and is also freely available.
Commercial software apparently based in the AXIL algorithms have been released, including Canberra (WinAxil) and BrightSpec (bAxil). Different spectrum fitting tools are also embedded in many dedicated software packages and are provided with commercial instruments.
A comparison of the available features is provided below:
|
QXAS |
WinQXAS |
PyMCA |
WinAxil |
bAxil |
|
|
Released by |
IAEA |
IAEA |
ESRF |
Canberra |
BrightSpec |
|
Availability |
Free upon request |
Free upon request |
Free download |
$$$$ |
$$$$ |
|
Operating Environment |
DOS (a) |
Win 95 |
Win XP |
Win 95-XP |
Win 7-8 |
|
Multiple ROIs(b) |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
|
Scatter peaks fit |
Basic models |
Basic models |
No |
Advanced |
Advanced |
|
Spectrum format conversion |
Old formats |
*.asc (ASCII) |
Different options |
Multiple Canberra & Ortec, *.asc, *.spe |
*.asc, *.spe, *.spc, *.txt, *.csv, *.mps, *.xml, *axml |
|
Batch run |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Quantitative tools |
Multiple |
Elemental sensitivity |
Fund. Par. |
Elemental sensitivity |
No |
Notes:
(a) Possibility of running on DOS Box for Windows
(b) Capable of selecting multiple Region of Interest for fitting