EBSD-Based Dislocation Microscopy

Recent advances in high-resolution electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD)-based microscopy are applied to the characterization of incompatibility structures near the grain boundaries (GBs) in polycrystals. The principal interest described here is recovery of geometrically-necessary dislocation (density) tensors, of the 2- and 3-D type, described by Nye and Kroner. These developments are presented in the context of the continuum dislocation theory. High resolution data obtained near a single grain boundary in well-annealed, low content steel suggests that it may be possible to measure the intrinsic elastic properties of GBs.