Automated Inclusion Microanalysis in Steel by Computer-Based Scanning Electron Microscopy: Accelerating Voltage, Backscattered Electron Image Quality, and Analysis Time

Automated inclusion microanalysis in steel samples by computer-based scanning electron microscopy provides rapid quantitative information on micro-inclusion distribution, composition, size distribution, morphology, and concentration. Performing the analysis at a lower accelerating voltage (10 kV), rather than the generally used 20 kV, improves analysis accuracy and may improve spatial resolution, but at the cost of a smaller backscattered electron signal and potentially smaller rate of generation of characteristic X-rays. These effects were quantified by simulation and practical measurements.