Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Planar Deformation Features from Single Electron Micrographs

• Published in: Metallurgical and materials transactions. A, Physical metallurgy and materials science Vol. 51; no. 3; pp. 1163 - 1172
• Main Authors: León-Cázares, F. D., Kienl, C., Rae, C. M. F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.03.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Burgers vector; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Crystal defects; Crystal dislocations; Crystal structure; Edge dislocations; Electron micrographs; Materials Science; Metallic Materials; Nanotechnology; Nickel; Nickel base alloys; Plastic deformation; Reconstruction; Single electrons; Stacking faults; Structural Materials; Superalloys; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films; Vector analysis
• ISSN: 1073-5623; 1543-1940
• DOI: 10.1007/s11661-019-05595-1

Dislocations are crystal defects responsible for plastic deformation, and understanding their behavior is key to the design of materials with better properties. Electron microscopy has been widely used to characterize dislocations, but the resulting images are only two-dimensional projections of the real defects. The current work introduces a framework to determine the sample and crystal orientations from micrographs with planar deformation features (twins, stacking faults, and slip bands) in three or four non-coplanar slip systems of an fcc material. This is then extended into a methodology for the three-dimensional reconstruction of dislocations lying on planes with a known orientation that can be easily coupled with a standard Burgers vector analysis, as proved here in a nickel-based superalloy. This technique can only be used in materials that show specific deformation conditions, but it is faster than other alternatives as it relies on the manual tracing of dislocations in a single micrograph.