Characterization of Nano-Crystalline Materials Using Electron Backscatter Diffraction in the Scanning Electron Microscope

Abstract

EBSD should now be considered a standard analytical accessory for the SEM. The spatial resolution of EBSD is quite high (as high as a few nm, depending upon material) and is suitable for the study of many nano-crystalline materials. For applications of EBSD where the highest spatial resolution is required, an SEM with a field emission electron source is mandatory as the resolution of the technique is most directly determined by the electron beam size. Further developments the electron optics of the SEM should allow even higher spatial resolutions. For nano-crystalline materials, EBSD is most useful for the mapping of grain orientations and grain boundary misorientations as demonstrated in the examples shown in this chapter.