Note
Further explanations and examples in a recently published article in the Microscopy & Microanalysis journal: pdf | bib
EBSD-Image is a free open-source software to analyze EBSD diffraction patterns and mappings. It is built on top of RML-Image, an image analysis freeware. It therefore combines image analysis routines and tools specific to EBSD such as an engine capable of analyzing EBSD diffraction patterns. It is written in Java (cross-platform) and has a graphical and command line interface.
EBSD-Image was developed as part of the master’s thesis project of Philippe T. Pinard at McGill (Montréal, Québec, Canada) under the supervision of Prof. Raynald Gauvin and the active collaboration and support of Marin Lagacé and Pierre Hovington from the Research Institute of Hydro-Québec (Varennes, Québec, Canada).
The objectives of this project were to develop a platform for the EBSD community to further improve the technique. In contrast with other EBSD software, EBSD-Image is flexible and extensible. Users can decide how to analyze diffraction patterns by having access to the sequence of operations and all the parameters. New algorithms can be easily implemented inside the engine. Furthermore, all file formats used are either human readable or public (easy to implement in other software). Finally, all the features are well documented inside this wiki.
Installation package for Windows, Mac OS and Linux Debian are available to Download, as well as a Java executable jar. For more information, please refer to the Documentation page. To collaborate to this project, please visit the Collaboration page or our SourceForge project website.
EBSD (electron backscatter diffraction) is an electron microscope technique that is used to characterize the crystallographic texture of materials. In particular, it can be used to determine the crystal orientation. It has the potential to be used in metallography, and is especially useful for measuring plastic strain.
EBSD is conducted using an SEM equipped with an EBSD detector. The scanner scans the sample at a specified angle and gathers phase and orientation data from a grid of points. The data are often displayed in a map form. These maps are useful for identifying materials, determining crystal orientation, and studying texture.
The EBSD detector is usually a low-light CCD camera with a phosphor screen at the bottom. The electron beam must hit the sample at a very shallow angle to obtain a diffraction pattern. The tilt axis of the sample is approximately 70 degrees, limiting the EBSD spatial resolution to 20 nm for dense materials. The pattern area is about elliptical, with a major axis perpendicular to the tilt axis. The major axis is a three-fold symmetry of the minor axis.
The diffraction pattern is binned for texture measurements, allowing for a much smaller computational cost. The pattern can also be indexed. The indexing algorithm uses the modified Hough transform to detect pattern bands. The EBSD data is then displayed as an orientation map or pole figure.
An EBSD map consists of a set of composite grain boundaries. Generally, the reference region is the lowest KAM value. However, it is often necessary to obtain a larger EBSD map to identify the crystal orientation.
EBSD is a technique that provides microstructural information about the crystallographic texture of materials. It is an extremely versatile technique that can be used in a variety of industries. This technique can provide information on grain size, orientation, and the distribution of crystallographic phases.
EBSD is commonly performed with an SEM equipped with an EBSD detector. The detector typically contains a low light CCD camera. This camera captures diffraction patterns. These patterns are then processed by a computer. The computer uses a mathematical routine to identify the pattern bands. These patterns are then binned for texture measurement.
EBSD can be used to determine grain boundaries without etching. It can be used to evaluate the growth mechanism of modifications in metallic materials. It can also be used to determine the microstructural properties of materials after heat treatment. The technique can also be used to examine the crystalline orientation of bulk samples.
It can be used to characterize the microstructure of molybdenum sheets after heat treatment. It can also be used to analyze the microstructure of steels after rolling. This technique has proven extremely useful for many steel investigations.
EBSD is a technique that complements 3D techniques in TEM. However, TEM requires larger sample areas and more sample preparation. It is also useful in observation of processes during mechanical loading of materials.
In order to obtain the best results, EBSD should be performed on a clean, damage free surface. This is often achieved using ion etching. Ion etching is particularly effective for eliminating the surface stress layer of materials.