Application of Electron Backscatter Diffraction to Phase Identification

The identification of crystalline phases in solids requires knowledge of two microstructural properties: crystallographic structure and chemical composition. Traditionally, this has been accomplished using X-ray diffraction techniques where the measured crystallographic information, in combination with separate chemical composition measurements for specimens of unknown pedigrees, is used to deduce the unknown phases. With the latest microstructural analysis tools for scanning electron microscopes, both the crystallography and composition can be determined in a single analysis utilizing electron backscatter diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. In this chapter, we discuss the approach required to perform these experiments, elucidate the benefits and limitations of this technique, and detail via case studies how composition, crystallography, and diffraction contrast can be used as phase discriminators