The effect of particle height on the analysis of precipitates in alloy foils

Abstract

The relative height of small second-phase particles within a thin alloy foil can have a significant effect on the characteristic x-ray signal obtained from the particle during microanalysis in a STEM. Figure 1 illustrates this for the case where the energy dispersive x-ray detector attached to the STEM views the sample on the side entered by the incident electron beam. If the particle is located below the top foil surface, as in Fig. 1a, beam spreading may reduce the total current striking the particle, thereby reducing the generated signal. The x-ray spectrun of the particle may be further reduced and distorted by matrix absorption en route to the detector. Clearly the optimal position for microanalysis is shown in Fig. 1b: The particle to be analyzed should be on the sample surface facing the beam and x-ray detector.These considerations were demonstrated in an experiment performed on a sample of Alloy 800, a high-allqy austenitic steel. The STEM used was a JEQL 200CX operated at 200kV. The second phase particles (Ti-carbides in this case) in the Alloy 800 electropolished at different rates from the matrix during sample preparation. Those particles located at the surface of the foil after thinning therefore produced surface relief and could be imaged using the secondary electron detector on the STEM. Figure 2 shows a mixed secondary electron/transmitted electron image of the TiC particles analyzed for this experiment.