A high-resolution serial sectioning specimen preparation technique for application to electron backscatter diffraction

A high-resolution serial sectioning specimen preparation technique is descr ibed for acquisition of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data. The p rimary objective is to develop a method to reproducibly remove a controlled thickness of material from a polycrystalline Ta sample while producing qua lity surfaces for EBSD orientation imaging. This is integrated with the abi lity to accurately measure the amount of material removed with each iterati on and experimentally register the ensuing EBSD scans. To facilitate enhanc ed accuracy of this method, a metrology device containing high-precision et ching patterns is fabricated using standard lithographic techniques. This m etrology device allows for the sub-micron measurement of the serial section slice thickness and approximately 1 mum registration accuracy of each EBSD scan. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.