Microstructure is strongly related to all kinds of material’s properties, including mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical, magnetic and environmental resistance. In general microstructure study is about the size, shape and distribution of each phase in a polycrystalline and/or multiphase material. Microstructure is largely developed during processing and may change in response to service conditions. In materials formed from a melt (most metals) the casting conditions and subsequent treatments (cold work and annealing, hot working, annealing, etc.) determine the microstructure. In materials made via powder processing, powder characteristics (size, shape and surface impurities) along with the time-temperature history tend to determine microstructure. In polycrystalline thin films the deposition parameters (pressure, substrate temperature, etc.) and annealing conditions tend to determine the microstructure. Application at high temperatures may alter the microstructure since grain growth, evaporation of volatile components, oxidation and other processes may occur.

At PMI specialists, we use a combination of techniques including optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) to determine the microstructures and chemical analyhsis on a variety of materials. Our wealth of expertise in materials including alloys, polymers, ceramics and composites can be accessed to solve problems with typical applications including:

Our new variable pressure Zeiss EVO MA-15 SEM is equipped with a newly developed third generation variable pressure secondary electron detector, which allows high resolution microstructure imaging possible on non-conductive, wet or volatile samples. Typical samples we can handle include corrosion products, cloth, polymer films, plastic components, printed-circuit boards, ceramics, rockes, painted and coated metals, explanted medical devices with attached tissue, metal components encapsulated in polymer, lubricated metals and polymers. In many of these cases, evaporative or sputter coating was either undesirable or not possible. These examples show the value of eliminating sample pretreatment and the utility for performing scanning electron microscopy at variable pressures.