Abstract
Dislocations are crystal defects responsible for plastic deformation, and understanding their behavior is key to the design of materials with better properties. Electron microscopy has been widely used to characterize dislocations, but the resulting images are only two-dimensional projections of the real defects. The current work introduces a framework to determine the sample and crystal orientations from micrographs with planar deformation features (twins, stacking faults, and slip bands) in three or four non-coplanar slip systems of an fcc material. This is then extended into a methodology for the three-dimensional reconstruction of dislocations lying on planes with a known orientation that can be easily coupled with a standard Burgers vector analysis, as proved here in a nickel-based superalloy. This technique can only be used in materials that show specific deformation conditions, but it is faster than other alternatives as it relies on the manual tracing of dislocations in a single micrograph.
Highlights
MULTIPLE electron microscopy techniques allow the visualization of plastic deformation features such as dislocations, stacking faults, and twins
A set of equations to acquire the crystal orientation of an scanning electron microscope (SEM) or transmission electron microscope (TEM) fcc sample was derived, which relies on measuring the angles that planar deformation features show on a 2D micrograph accounting for the tilt of the specimen
The orientation framework was expanded into a technique for the 3D reconstruction of plastic deformation features with a planar nature from their 2D projections
Summary
MULTIPLE electron microscopy techniques allow the visualization of plastic deformation features such as dislocations, stacking faults, and twins. Information regarding the depth of these features can be inferred within a transmission electron microscope (TEM), but the true three-dimensional (3D) geometry remains hidden due to the nature of the technique. Elaborate methodologies have been built to recreate the real shape of the deformation features, motivated by the need to understand the complex deformation mechanisms taking place in crystalline materials. These tools are typically time-consuming and labor-intensive. The current study aims to minimize the time and work required to obtain a realistic model of the region imaged for the case of fcc crystals where the deformation features are planar in nature
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