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A Pattern Processing Method to Map Nanoscale Phases by EBSD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2022

Etienne Brodu Open the ORCID record for Etienne Brodu [Opens in a new window] ,
Aimo Winkelmann  and
Marc Seefeldt
Etienne Brodu*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Engineering, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium
Aimo Winkelmann
Affiliation:
Academic Centre for Materials and Nanotechnology, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30 Mickiewicza, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Marc Seefeldt
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Engineering, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium
*
*Corresponding author: Etienne Brodu, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The crystallographic analysis of nanoscale phases with dimensions well below the spatial probing volume of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) traditionally rely on electron microscopy in transmission (either in SEM or TEM), because EBSD patterns are invariably dominated by the matrix phase contribution and present seemingly no trace from such nanoscale phases. Yet, this study shows that such nanoscale features generate a very faint but valuable secondary diffraction signal which can be retrieved. A diffraction pattern postprocessing method is presented which focuses on the detection of such secondary signal emitted by nanoscale minority phases in overlapped patterns dominated by a dominant matrix signal. The predominant, majority phase contribution in EBSD patterns is removed by a close-neighbor pattern subtraction routine, after which both the conventional Hough indexing method as well as pattern matching methods can be used to reveal the crystallography, spatial distribution, morphology, and orientation of nanoscale minority phases initially absent from EBSD maps. Nanolamellar pearlitic steel, which has long been out of reach for EBSD, has been chosen as an application example.

Keywords

cementiteelectron backscatter diffraction (EBSD)overlapped patternspattern matchingpearlitespatial resolution
Type
Software and Instrumentation
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , June 2022 , pp. 716 - 722
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Microscopy Society of America

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