Rotation contour contrast reconstruction using electron backscatter diffraction in a scanning electron microscope

Abstract

The microstructure of a deformed Mg–Al–Ca alloy was imaged using an electron-beam energy of 20 keV in a cold field-emission scanning electron microscope. The backscattered electron (BSE) micrographs showed a non-uniform contrast, the simplest being in the form of parallel contours inside a number of grains. This contrast is described as rotation contour contrast (RCC) and is attributed to local rotation of the crystal during the deformation of the grain. A model is presented to relate the rotation of crystal planes about one rotation axis to the channeling contrast in the channeling pattern and, consequently, to RCC in the BSE micrograph. This model was validated with the electron backscatter diffraction technique such that the RCCs in the BSE micrograph were reconstructed using the electron backscatter diffraction pattern intensities. The appearance of the RCCs was attributed to the change in the electron-beam position across a Kikuchi band due to local crystal rotation.