Revolutionizing microstructural analysis of steel and alloys

Metals and alloys are three dimensional, and require a three dimensional approach to characterize their microstructure.   Sometimes the tiniest features have a great impact on macrostructural performance.  

Using a ZEISS Crossbeam focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) with femtosecond laser opens a range of new analytical possibilities to fully understand your samples in three dimensions.

• Locate your region of interest with high resolution ZEISS X-ray microscopes to precisely locate and analyze buried features
• Relocate features in the ZEISS Crossbeam and prepare highly polished cross-sections through regions of interest
• Extremely rapid milling with ZEISS Crossbeam Laser can remove regions of your sample to access deeply buried features fast
• Quickly and reliably prepare lamellae for transmission electron microscopy
• Slice and image through features of interest   - build up a complete picture in 3D by taking images, EDS maps, or EBSD maps of every single slice
• Assess advanced steels, dissimilar joints, inclusions, precipitates, dual-phase alloys, and other complex microstructures

Increased demand for steel pressures the market for advanced ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, leading to technological, environmental, and social challenges in metal production. Working with more complex mineralogy and lower grade ores to concentrate the desired constituents is energy and time intensive. The relative mineral fractions used in iron ore sinter and the quality of coke/coal used for iron production and smelting all affect process efficiency, as well as the amount/type of slag and waste produced.

To improve these processes, reduce energy consumption, and allow a better understanding of the mineralogy, interrogation of your ore and sinter sample is required.

With ZEISS solutions for mineralogy and sinter, you combine

• image processing
• 3D mapping
• core sampling
• standards-based quantitative EDS
• image analysis
• reporting toolkits to interrogate even the most challenging samples