3D microstructure analysis with analytical microscopy at high resolutions

There is a need to study material microstructures in ever higher resolutions. This pushes the limits of microscopy such as electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) and Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis in nano-meter resolution. However there are new tools available in microscopy to enable such analysis, these include better SEMs and detectors. Consequently there is a need to develop techniques to utilise these tools effectively. These include high resolution EBSD by using new detectors and novel sample preparation. Therefore the conditions for ultimate resolution of EBSD and EDS need to be studied and novel techniques such as sample preparations to do transmission analysis in the SEM and compare to TEM. This development is vital in the analysis of ultra-fine microstructures such as in corrosion products and deformed surfaces in automotive and nuclear materials. Such materials include Aluminium and Zirconium.

The next step is to apply these methods to three dimensions. We have tools such as X-ray tomography and 3D EBSD that can help to answer questions that are impossible to access in 2D. These include grain connectivity and grain boundary morphology in materials such as cobalt binder in WC, which are closely related to mechanical properties of these tool materials. The project will aim to study and improve the data acquisition and 3D EBSD analysis techniques.