Acquisition of an Electron Backscatter Diffraction System

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0320871BeaneThis Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program grant supports the acquisition of an electron backscattered diffraction system (EBSD), provides limited PI salary support and travel costs associated with instrument training, and supports the acquisition of related consumables, sample preparation equipment and software. The EBSD will be installed on an existing modern scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) in the Department of Geology at Bowdoin College. Analysis of the diffraction pattern of backscattered electrons from crystalline materials allows identification of phase and its crystal lattice orientation. The scanning and mapping capabilities of the system permit rapid acquisition of data from polished rock thin sections at sub-micron resolutions. Among other uses, these data may be applied to evaluate crystallographic preferred orientations (CPO) of mineral fabrics, and to examine misorientation axes and angles that may signify processes such as subgrain development and dislocation creep. EBSD is a relatively new analytical capability that allows geologists to test existing nucleation, growth, and deformation models for minerals and rocks, and to develop new ones. The EBSD facility will support faculty and students research at Bowdoin and regional colleges and universities including Middlebury College and the University of Maine***