EBSD Data Processing and Results

Phase maps are among the most important results from EBSD analysis, especially when characterizing materials with multiple phases. They prove crucial for understanding the material's properties by providing information about the phases present in the field of view and their distribution. Additionally, phase maps often indicate the proportion of each phase in the analyzed area. When phase characterization is conducted across thermal treatments or mechanical deformation, these maps can reveal information about phase transformations.

Grain boundaries are the interfaces where crystals of different orientations meet, significantly influencing material properties such as strength, toughness, corrosion resistance, and conductivity. Analyzing the distribution of these boundaries provides insights into the material's history, including deformation and recrystallization processes. Grain boundary distribution maps, generated from EBSD orientation data, visually represent different types of boundaries (low-angle and high-angle) using distinct colors or line types.

Grain size maps offer a quantitative measure of the size and distribution of grains within a material. Grain size can be represented as the average diameter, area, or equivalent circular diameter of the grains. These maps are often color-coded based on grain size, allowing for a visual assessment of size variation and distribution.

Inverse pole figure (IPF) maps provide information on grain orientation. Colors indicate the crystal direction, with each map having a reference sample direction. The color assignment is based on the crystal orientation and the selected viewing direction. This information is crucial for understanding a material's preferred orientations or textures.

Pole figures (PF) graphically represent the orientation of specific crystallographic planes or directions relative to the sample coordinate system using a stereographic projection. They are essential for understanding material texture, which describes the preferred orientation of grains in a sample. For polycrystalline materials with texture, crystal axes are not randomly distributed. To create a PF, a specific crystal direction (the pole) is chosen for each crystal relative to a set of directions in the material. Complete texture determination requires plotting two PFs for planes that are not parallel and do not have the same diffraction angle.

Euler maps provide detailed information about the crystallographic orientation of grains in a polycrystalline material, visualized using Euler angles. Euler angles define the orientation of a crystallographic plane or direction relative to a fixed coordinate system, describing the rotation needed to align the crystal’s coordinate system with the sample’s coordinate system. Each set of Euler angles corresponds to a unique color, creating a map where each grain or crystal orientation is represented by a specific color. The resulting Euler map visually represents the spatial distribution of crystallographic orientations across the sample.

Kernel average misorientation (KAM) maps quantify and visualize local variations in crystallographic orientation, making them useful for assessing the degree of plastic deformation and for identifying areas of local strain within a material. KAM measures the average misorientation between a central point and its neighboring points within the kernel (a small neighborhood around each measurement point on the sample), indicating local lattice distortions. KAM values are mapped using a color scale in which different colors represent varying degrees of misorientation.

Image quality (IQ) maps display the quality of the diffraction patterns obtained from the sample. Image quality refers to the clarity and sharpness of these patterns, with high-quality patterns having well-defined Kikuchi bands, while low-quality patterns may be blurred or indistinct. IQ is quantified using metrics based on the contrast and sharpness of Kikuchi bands. High IQ values generally correlate with reliable and accurate crystallographic orientation data, while low IQ values may highlight defects or variations in the sample's surface preparation.