Combined application of electron backscatter diffraction and stereo-photogrammetry in fractography studies

Facet type determination based on combined atomic force microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction

The distribution of facet types affects the functionality of the surfaces of polycrystalline films. However, we are not aware of a previously published convenient method to determine their distribution. This work describes and demonstrates a process to determine and map the Miller indexes (hkl) of crystal facets exposed at the surfaces of polycrystalline films. To find facet types in non-trivial cases, one must know the orientation of the crystal and the direction in which the facet is facing. The method presented here combines the crystal orientations obtained with electron backscatter diffraction with the topography of the same sample area measured with atomic force microscopy. A challenging step is to transfer the data from the two instruments into a common coordinate system. The sequence of steps in the data processing is presented, with methods to verify the results. The process is illustrated with the analysis of an etched copper clad laminate (CCL) and an electroless Cu film deposited on the CCL. This example relates to facet selection in electroless and galvanic plating processes in printed circuit board production, where an uncontrolled transition from epitaxial to non-epitaxial growth can lead to surfaces with unacceptable roughness.

Application of combined EBSD and 3D-SEM technique on crystallographic facet analysis of steel at low temperature

Electron backscatter diffraction has been increasingly used to identify the crystallographic planes and orientation of cleavage facets with respect to the rolling direction in fracture surfaces. The crystallographic indices of cleavage planes can be determined either directly from the fracture surface or indirectly from metallographic sections perpendicular to the plane of the fracture surface. A combination of electron backscatter diffraction and 3D scanning electron microscopy imaging technique has been modified to determine crystallographic facet orientations. The main purpose of this work has been to identify the macroscopic crystallographic orientations of cleavage facets in the fracture surfaces of weld heat affected zones in a well-known steel fractured at low temperatures. The material used for the work was an American Petroleum Institute (API) X80 grade steel developed for applications at low temperatures, and typical heat affected zone microstructures were obtained by carrying out weld thermal simulation. The fracture toughness was measured at different temperatures (0°C, -30°C, -60°C and -90°C) by using Crack Tip Opening Displacement testing. Fracture surfaces and changes in microstructure were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. Crystallographic orientations were identified by electron backscatter diffraction, indirectly from a polished section perpendicular to the major fracture surface of the samples. Computer assisted 3D imaging was used to measure the angles between the cleavage facets and the adjacent polished surface, and then these angles were combined with electron backscatter diffraction measurements to determine the macroscopic crystallographic planes of the facets. The crystallographic indices of the macroscopic cleavage facet planes were identified to be {100}, {110}, {211} and {310} at all temperatures.

Quasi-cleavage fracture planes in spheroidized A533B steel

Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) has been used to acquire crystal orientation information around unusual microcracks induced by tensile deformation of notched specimens of spheroidized A533B steel. This unusual fracture mode has been called quasi-cleavage and occurs at relatively low temperatures with fracture energies below that of the upper shelf. EBSD measurements on sectioned samples showed that the quasi-cleavage cracks were intragranular. A two-dimensional analysis technique was used in which EBSD measured crystal orientations were combined with secondary electron imaging to obtain the trace of the crack facet on the section plane. The measurements revealed that the observed crack facets were consistent with crack propagation along the {001} and {011} planes.

Image distortions in SEM and their influences on EBSD measurements

The high sample tilt angle commonly necessary for an orientation determination by EBSD (electron back-scatter diffraction) is responsible for some simple geometrically caused, but nevertheless essential, image distortions. First of all, the influence of the tilt correction and also the trapezium distortion which appears at low magnifications will be discussed. In the second part, an additional rhomboidal distortion will be introduced which is independent of the magnification used. This distortion appears if the scanned sample surface is out of plane to the tilted stage. Even a small deviation from the parallelity produces an approximately three times bigger error of the Euler angle phi(1) when the sample alignment is based on the image captured from the highly tilted sample. This effect especially concerns small samples (e.g. FIB-lamellae) since they cannot be exactly aligned, but the measurements of bigger samples can also be influenced. As an example a correction procedure is described in detail, based on a repetition of the measurement after a 180 degrees sample rotation.

Selective Reductive Desorption of a SAM-Coated Gold Electrode Revealed Using Fluorescence Microscopy

The reductive desorption of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of a fluorescent thiol molecule (BodipyC10SH) from Au was characterized using electrochemistry and epi-fluorescence microscopy. Molecular luminescence is quenched near a metal surface, so fluorescence was only observed for molecules reductively desorbed and then separated from the electrode surface. Fluorescence imaging showed that reductive desorption was selective, with desorption occurring from different regions of the Au electrode depending on the extent of the negative potential excursion. When desorbed, the molecules were sufficiently mobile, diffusing away from the electrode surface, thereby preventing oxidative readsorption. At sufficiently negative desorption potentials, all of the thiol was desorbed from the electrode surface, resulting in fluorescence at the air/solution interface. The selective removal of the thiol monolayer from distinct regions was correlated to features on the electrode surface and was explained through potential-dependent interfacial energies. This in situ electrofluorescence microscopy technique may be useful in sensor development.

The role of misorientation and phosphorus content on grain growth and intergranular fracture in iron-carbon-phosphorus alloys

The relationship between the crystallography of intergranular fracture and phosphorus segregation has been investigated in a Fe-0.06wt%P-0.002wt%C alloy aged for 1 h at temperatures between 600 degrees C and 1000 degrees C. Two novel techniques were devised for the investigation: first, electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) across the reconstructed fracture surface and, second, a combination of Auger electron spectroscopy, stereophotogrammetry and microscopy to measure phosphorus and carbon on fracture facets combined with EBSD measurements direct from the fracture surface. In total, 700 misorientations were measured from across the reconstructed fracture surface and in 'control' areas away from the fracture. It was found that Sigma 3s were in general more resistant to brittle fracture than were random boundaries, and it was suggested that alloys of this type could be grain boundary engineered to improve fracture resistance by a short anneal in the austenite region to increase the final proportion of Sigma 3s. Sixteen fracture facets yielded combined Auger/EBSD data. The combined Auger/EBSD methodology to acquire joint crystallographic and segregation information from facets was shown to be feasible, although laborious. There were significantly more [110] planes than any other type in the sample population of facets from which combined segregation/crystallography data had been collected. The data suggested that there was on average lower phosphorus segregation on fracture facets that were near [110] than on other intergranular fracture facets.