Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) - analysis is a very powerful tool for microstructural characterisation.

Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) based technique that gives crystallographic information about the microstructure of a sample. In EBSD, a stationary electron beam interacts with a tilted crystalline sample and the diffracted electrons form a pattern that can be detected with a fluorescent screen. The diffraction pattern is characteristic of the crystal structure and orientation in the sample region where it was generated. Hence the diffraction pattern can be used to determine the crystal orientation, discriminate between crystallographically different phases, characterise grain boundaries, and provide information about the local crystalline perfection.