Electron backscatter diffraction: a powerful technique for materials characterization

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The scanning electron microscope (SEM) facility in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering serves the entire Ryerson research community. It has been extensively used by 52 research groups in 10 Departments and 241 PhD and master's students and PDFs since its installation in 2006 up to September 30, 2012 (details are available upon request). The SEM-based electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has emerged today as one of the most powerful techniques for materials characterization on the microscopic scale, since it is capable of providing detailed information on the structure, phase distribution, grain boundary misorientation, microtexture, intra-granular deformation, and three-dimensional phase view with a high resolution. The EBSD coupled with our well-maintained SEM is a key tool for the training of highly qualified personnel (HQP) and research in a wide variety of areas associated with materials characterization, which involves 10 Departments: Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biology, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Graphic Communications Management, Image Arts, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Nutrition, and Physics. The lack of EBSD at Ryerson University is a major obstacle to our HQP training and research. Faculty members and graduate students have been forced to use EBSD at other universities, either having to travel long distances or paying high rates, with some critical examinations frequently delayed or detailed information missed due to the heavy demands by other university's own researchers and graduate students. This results in a waste of time and frustration for our graduate students. Therefore, a request is being made to NSERC for a RTI grant to purchase an EBSD system for the Ryerson research community. The operation and maintenance of the EBSD are available by our current SEM technician. The applicant and all co-applicants will also contribute up to $2,000 per year (totally $16,000/year) to the operation and maintenance of EBSD and SEM. The requested EBSD will significantly enhance our quality and productivity in both research and HQP training, and redirect time and money from travel to research activities.