Orientation Microscopy Using the Analytical Scanning Electron Microscope

In only two decades, EBSD has become a powerful tool in the field of quantitative characterization of solid surface microstructures in materials and earth sciences as part of the major advancements in camera and computer technology. Measurement speed already reaches more than 1 000 individual orientations per second, so that one obtains detailed orientation distribution images by scanning the sample surface (“orientation microscopy”) and may analyze the crystallographic texture. The spatial resolution is a few 10 nm. EBSD is a largely automated and user-friendly method. The current development moves towards a 3D orientation microscopy by combining EBSD and a selective layer-by-layer surface removal by means of ion sputtering/FIBing (FIB, Focused Ion Beam) as well as towards a phase discrimination by combining EBSD with analytical methods such as EDS, the evaluation of the yield of backscattered electrons, and the integration of additional information such as the morphology and contrasting techniques.