Most materials contain structures that are volumetric in three-dimensions. Electron-beam instruments collect images and enable two-dimensional microanalysis. Any understanding of the three-dimensional nature of the material is traditionally modeled or inferred from these data.
A focused ion beam can be used to remove a “slice” of material to permit the investigation of a new surface layer. Ion beam instruments have been combined with electron-beam microscopes so that the sectioning and microanalysis acquisitions can be automated. This combined capability of sectioning and analysis permits the full-characterization of the true 3D structure of the sample.
This webinar will start with a brief description of automated 3D serial sectioning for EDS analysis and will concentrate on how such characterization is significantly enhanced when the 3D visualization software used to assemble the series of 2D serial sections into a single data set allows for true microanalysis of individual features within the 3D structure. We will draw examples from a variety of samples, such as corrosion products in steels and particles in superalloys.
Speakers
Patrick Camus, Director of Research and Innovation, EDAX
Baptiste Gault (Moderator), Materials Science Publisher