The Use of Ion Milling for Surface Preparation for EBSD Analysis

Abstract

An electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) method provides information about the crystallographic structure of materials. However, a surface subjected to analysis needs to be well-prepared. This usually requires following a time-consuming procedure of mechanical polishing. The alternative methods of surface preparation for EBSD are performed via electropolishing or focus ion beam (FIB). In the present study, plasma etching using a glow discharge optical emission spectrometer (GD-OES) was applied for surface preparation for EBSD analysis. The obtained results revealed that plasma etching through GD-OES can be successfully used for surface preparation for EBSD analysis. However, it was also found that the plasma etching is sensitive for the alloy microstructure, i.e., the presence of intermetallic phases and precipitates such as carbides possess a different sputtering rate, resulting in non-uniform plasma etching. Preparation of the cross-section of oxidized CM247 revealed a similar problem with non-uniformity of plasma etching. The carbides and oxide scale possess a lower sputtering rate than the metallic matrix, which caused formation of relief. Based on obtained results, possible resolutions to suppress the effect of different sputtering rates are proposed.

Plasma Surface Modification of 3Y-TZP at Low and Atmospheric Pressures with Different Treatment Times

“…In previous investigations related to plasma sterilization [9,39], they demonstrated that continuous pumping in the vacuum chamber could remove by-products without re-contamination. The high-energy electron beam in a high vacuum system can be suitable for ion beam etching or doping processes [40]. Based on the results of this study, the vacuum plasma treatment can be effectively used as a surface nitriding technique through high-energy ion bombardment.…”

Parametric simulation of electron backscatter diffraction patterns through generative models

“…Although being widely used, characterization of a material's texture via EBSD does pose some challenges. On the one hand, the requirement of a flat surface to maximize the backscatter yield makes sample preparation time-consuming and leads to a danger of introducing extra deformation in the near-surface region 9 . On the other hand, the field of view studied in EBSD is typically limited to a few square millimeters (and, often, significantly less than that) which makes it difficult to collect sufficient data to fully characterize a material's texture.…”