title: Orientation mapping by transmission-SEM with an on-axis detector.
abstract: Conventional orientation mapping in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a valuable technique for characterizing crystalline materials, but its application to ultrafine or nano-grain materials is limited by its spatial resolution. The resolution can be increased by collecting transmission diffraction patterns in SEM. In previous works, such patterns were collected using off-axis detectors in nearly vertical position. To avoid some drawbacks of such arrangement, a new configuration was devised in which the scintillator is located underneath the thin foil on the optical axis of the microscope, and the light is reflected towards the camera by a mirror. This simple configuration gives intense patterns even at very low probe currents, and can be potentially used for collecting maps of relatively high spatial resolution. Example maps reveal details with dimensions of about 5nm. Because of its resolution and geometric simplicity, the proposed configuration will open new opportunities in SEM-based characterization of nanocrystalline materials.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Etude des Microstructures et de Mécanique des Matériaux (LEM3), UMR CNRS 7239, Université de Lorraine, 57045 Metz, France; Laboratory of Excellence on Design of Alloy Metals for low-mAss Structures (DAMAS), Université de Lorraine, 57045 Metz, France. Electronic address: jean-jacques.fundenberger@univ-lorraine.fr.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Fundenberger
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Etude des Microstructures et de Mécanique des Matériaux (LEM3), UMR CNRS 7239, Université de Lorraine, 57045 Metz, France; Laboratory of Excellence on Design of Alloy Metals for low-mAss Structures (DAMAS), Université de Lorraine, 57045 Metz, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bouzy
authors.affiliation: Bruker Nano, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goran
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Etude des Microstructures et de Mécanique des Matériaux (LEM3), UMR CNRS 7239, Université de Lorraine, 57045 Metz, France; Laboratory of Excellence on Design of Alloy Metals for low-mAss Structures (DAMAS), Université de Lorraine, 57045 Metz, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guyon
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Etude des Microstructures et de Mécanique des Matériaux (LEM3), UMR CNRS 7239, Université de Lorraine, 57045 Metz, France; Laboratory of Excellence on Design of Alloy Metals for low-mAss Structures (DAMAS), Université de Lorraine, 57045 Metz, France.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morawiec
keywords: Nanostructure; Orientation mapping; Scanning electron microscopy; Spatial resolution; Transmission Kikuchi diffraction