Re: Can an optical emission spectrometer be calibrated to national/ International std
Timothy, they should be using more than just drift correction standards. Certified standards are available from a number of sources depending on the material/materials being melted. (Some more info regarding that would be helpful - steel/cobalt alloys/nickel alloys/copper alloys/aluminum alloys/?) Sources include NIST, Brammer Standards, Analytical Reference Materials Inc., (all 3 in the US) MBH Analytical in Great Britain and the Bureau of Analyzed Samples Ltd. also in Great Britain.
We run both OES and XRF spectrometers analyzing various steels, cobalt alloys, nickel alloys, monels and copper alloys. Most of the non iron based alloys run on the XRF, as well as iron powder mixes. Most of the steels run on the optical emission spectrometers. We used certified reference materials to set up the curves on the XRF spectrometer, and check it regularly with them for drift. With the OE spectrometers, we have the drift standards from the supplier (Thermo-Fisher) that we check and use to update, but we also do a lot of type standardization for individual alloys using a certified reference material - for example, we have a separate type standardization curve for 17-4 PH stainless steel, one for M-2 tool steel, etc.
We are registered to both ISO-9001 and ISO/TS 16949. Hope the above information helps.