Method of Crystal Structure Identification by Using Kikuchi Diffraction Patterns

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) is an important microstructure analysis method in the field of inorganic materials research. The Kikuchi pattern obtained through EBSD is an intuitive reflection of the internal microscopic crystal structure of the material. In this study, a method of crystal symmetry analysis and crystal structure identification by using Kikuchi patterns was proposed by recognizing the symmetry axis though Kikuchi patterns and using the law of crystal symmetry. The symmetry and crystal structure of three unknown samples were successfully determined by this method. One of the samples was identified to the right crystal system that it naturally belongs, and the other two were fixed on some certain point groups. Through the determination of crystal system and point group, some phase identification results which do not conform to symmetry were excluded. It is indicated that the symmetry analysis of Kikuchi patterns is an effective way to identify the crystal structure and can significantly filter the phase database. Compared with the existing methods, this method greatly reduces the retrieval range of phase identification, and significantly improves the accuracy and reliability of phase identification. It is a promising indexing technique for the new generation of EBSD devices.