Resolution of transmission electron backscatter diffraction in aluminum and silver: Effect of the atomic number

Abstract

This work aims to investigate the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the physical resolution of the transmission electron backscattered diffraction technique (t-EBSD) in aluminum and silver. Here, we focus on the intrinsic factors, namely, atomic number and thickness of the specimen, and extrinsic set-up factors, which include the electron beam voltage, working distance, and specimen tilt. The working distance and tilt angle, which are selected as 12 mm and 60° for Al and 12 mm and 50° for Ag, respectively, reveal a sharp pattern with high contrast. The physical resolutions at the lateral and longitudinal directions depend on the depth resolution. The depth and lateral and longitudinal resolutions increase in Al but decrease in Ag with increased accelerating voltage. The decrease in specimen thickness for Al and Ag from 400 nm to 100 nm reduces the lateral and longitudinal resolutions. The most ideal depth and lateral and longitudinal resolutions obtained under a thickness of 100 nm are 22.7, 18.9, and 33.7 nm at 30 kV for Ag and 34.7, 22.8, and 36.6 nm at 15 kV for Al, respectively.

Keywords: Aluminum; Atomic number; Depth resolution; Silver; Spatial resolution; t-EBSD.