Texture Analysis via EBSD

Summary

In the 1970’s Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) was a technique used by just a few researchers. At that time, a single EBSD pattern was recorded using film in the SEM and then analyzed with a protractor and a calculator. However, as computers began to be used for image analysis, Professor David Dingley at the University of Bristol built a computer system allowing a user to click on a few key features in the patterns to aid an operator in analyzing the patterns. When David presented his work to the texture community at the 8th International Conference of Textures of Materials (ICOTOM) in Santa Fe in 1987 the community recognized the potential of this “new” EBSD technique to quantitatively characterize the crystallographic texture of polycrystalline materials. Professor Brent Adams at Brigham Young University further recognized that the technique could allow the texture to be linked to the microstructure and his research group began working to automate the technique. The first fully automated maps we are familiar with today were achieved over the December 1991 semester break. A modern EBSD system is now assumed to be an automated tool capable of rapidly measuring individual crystallographic orientations for characterizing the microstructure of crystalline materials. Dr. Stuart Wright, a key member of the original team responsible for automating EBSD, will revisit the original motivation beyond those development efforts 30 years ago now; namely in characterizing crystallographic texture. The outline for the webinar will be as follows:

• Introduction to Crystallographic Texture
• Orientation Distribution Function
• Fiber Textures
• Texture Components
• Statistical Reliability
• Case Study

Speakers

Dr. Stuart Wright
Senior Scientist EBSD
EDAX

Stuart was first introduced to EBSD as an undergraduate student at Brigham Young University working with the first system in North America. Stuart then moved on to Yale University to purse a PhD under Professor Brent Adams. His thesis research focused on automating the EBSD technique. This effort led to the first fully automated EBSD scans performed in the fall of 1991. The research group named this automated EBSD technique Orientation Imaging Microscopy or OIM. After graduating, Stuart joined Los Alamos National Lab and continued work in micro-texture and texture analysis using both the OIM technique and conventional X-Ray diffraction. Shortly after TSL was founded, Stuart left Los Alamos and joined the startup company commercializing the OIM technique working primarily on software development. He has continued in this role through the purchase of TSL by EDAX. The original OIM system at Yale could index approximately one pattern in approximately 3 seconds. Modern systems have come a long way since those early days with speeds now exceeding 1000 indexed patterns per second. Stuart is closely involved in the continued development of the technique as well as in working with scientists all over the world in applying the technique to their materials’ research.