Damage-free preparation of a porous Zn alloy with a Cu coating

Instruments used

PECS™ II broad beam ion mill and EDAX^® Hikari Super EBSD system with EDAX APEX™ software

Background

Metallic or ceramic coatings are often applied to protect or strengthen an underlying base material. Microstructural analysis of such materials in cross-section by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) requires that the contact between the substrate and the coating is planar, and the true structure of both phases is undistorted and continuous to the surface. Specimens with porous substrate materials are especially challenging to prepare because of the increased risk of pulling out grains and retaining coarse polishing particles inside the pores that cause scratches during subsequent polishing steps.