Electron beam analysis of materials

M. H. Loretto

The microstructure of materials controls many of their important physical, mechanical and electrical properties. In order to understand and control these properties it is essential to assess microstructure at a resolution down to atomic level. This second edition of Electron Beam Analysis of Materials provides a concise and up-to-date overview of the most widely used electron beam instruments and techniques of microstructural analysis, used to examine these microstructures, available today. The text provides detailed coverage of both fundamental principles and practical aspects of the many electron beam techniques that have been developed. These include: transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, conventional and convergent electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and electron probe microanalysis techniques. The importance of understanding the operation of the equipment and of the simple theory underlying the significance of the data is emphasized. This emphasis is becoming increasingly important as computer solutions of data and computer control of equipment are tending to obscure the understanding of the analysis of data and of the operation of the equipment. Written for researchers, senior undergraduates and graduates in material science, solid state physicists and chemists as well as practitioners of electron beam analysis, its well organized presentation serves to put the various techniques into perspective by examining similarities and differences.