Spatial Resolution in ACOM - What Will Come After EBSD

Abstract

Automated Crystal Orientation Microscopy (ACOM) on a grain specific level has proved to be an invaluable new tool for characterizing polycrystalline materials. It is usually based on scanning facilities using electron diffraction , due to its high sensitivity and spatial resolution, but also attempts have been made which rely upon X-ray or hard synchrotron radiation diffraction. The grain orientations are commonly mapped in pseudo-colors on the scanning grid to construct Crystal Orientation Maps (COM), which represent “images” of the microstructure with the advantage of providing quantitative orientation contrast. In a similar way, misorientations across grain boundaries, Σ values of grain boundaries, or other microstructural characteristics are visualized by mapping the grains in the micrograph with specific colors. The principal objectives are the determination of quantitative, statistically meaningful data sets of crystal orientations, misorientations, the CSL character (Σ) of grain boundaries, local crystal texture (pole figures, ODF, MODF, OCF) and derived entities, phase discrimination and phase identification.