Probing Crystalline Defects Using an EBSD-Based Virtual Dark-Field Method

Crystalline defects such as dislocations and grain boundaries are key features of interest when characterizing the mechanisms of plasticity in metals. To visualize these defects, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) based techniques, with labor-intensive sample preparation procedures, are usually required. The result is typically a limited field of view and often an unrealistic defect morphology due to the lack of constraint in thin TEM samples. To address these problems, we propose to use an Electron Backscattered Scanning Diffraction (EBSD) -based technique combined with virtual aperture dark field imaging [1] to visualize defects in bulk materials. The proposed method has a potential to be a viable complement to TEM-based techniques.