The capability of Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction technique for characterizing nano-grained oxide scales formed on a FeCrAl stainless steel

This letter focuses on the capability of Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction (TKD) in Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for obtaining microstructural and micro-textural information from nano-grained oxide scales formed on a FeCrAl alloy. Orientation maps, with an indexing rate of 85%, showed the formation of grains in the range 20–300 nm. TKD revealed the existence of an orientation relationship at the alloy/oxide interface as well as the presence of a single grain (40 nm) with spinel structure in the alumina scale. A pre-tilted sample holder was designed for TKD investigations at short working distances with minimized mechanical drift of the thin foils.