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Metallography and Electron Optics
The Department of Metallography and Electron Optics includes the latest technology equipment necessary for samples preparation, metallographic and electron microscopic examination, phases identification, microhardness testing and surface topography evaluation.
Equipment involved:
Bandsaw for sectioning and handling of heavy samples
Table top cutting machine with variable rotational speed
Small, low-speed, precision cut-off machine
Cold and hot mounting devices for small to medium sized samples
Manual and automatic grinding and polishing machines
Electrolytic polishing and etching equipment
Sputter coater for the application of conductive films on specimens
Stereoscopic microscope
Inverted metallographic microscope
Upright microscope
Scanning electron microscope (SEM), equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS)
Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) camera
Image analysis software
Microhardness tester
Optical profiler
X-ray diffractometer
Atomic force microscope
Equipment
| Description | Capacities | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting machines (bandsaw, table top cutting and precision cut-off machines) | Sampling from various size metallic products | Efficient analyses through proper sampling |
| Ultrasonic cleaning device | Cleaning of as received samples and fracture surfaces from oils and residues | Improved results from macroscopic and electron microscopic examination |
| Cold mounting devices | Multiple simultaneous specimens epoxy mounting systems | Minimization of preparation time, mounting under vacuum |
| Hot mounting device | Twin mounting presses | Uniform in size and high quality mounted specimens preparation |
| Automatic and manual grinding/polishing machines | Quick, high reflectivity metallic surfaces creation | High quality preparation with minimum operator interference |
| Electrolytic etching device | Use of various electolytes for different metallic samples | Microstructure identification of metals and alloys |
| Electrolytic polishing device | Controlled material removal and mechanical deformation avoidance in samples preparation | Preparation of samples for electron backscatter diffraction |
| Stereoscopic Microscope | High zoom ratio, digital camera equipped | As received samples macroscopic examination |
| Inverted microscope | 25-1000x magnification, digital camera equipped | Metallographic examination of as polished and etched samples for microstructure characterisation |
| Upright microscope | 50-1000x magnification, covers a wide range of industrial fields, digital camera equipped | Metallographic examination of polished samples, surface features as and mineralogical specimens |
| Hardness tester | Vickers and Knoop micro- and macro- hardness tests based on ASTM and ISO methods | Effective phases identification and microstructural evaluation through hardness values and profiles |
| Sputter coater | Surface coating system with gold, silver or carbon | Conversion of non-conductive samples to conductive for SEM examination |
| Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) | Up to 1.000.000x magnification, EDS system equipped | High magnification examination and spot elemental analyses of metallographically prepared or not samples |
| X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) | Qualitative and semi-quantitative mineralogical analysis | Examination of intermetallic phases, residual stresses and texture analysis |
| Optical profiler | Interferometric objectives 5x and 50x, optical determination of surface roughness parameters with sub-nanometer resolution and large Z-range | Surface topography examination for various industrial applications |
| Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) | 10.000.000x, three-dimensional imaging of surfaces with nanometer resolution | Nano-sciences applications |
| EBSD camera Hikari XP with TEAM EBSD Suite and OIM EBSD software | High speed mapping, up to 1000 indexed patterns per second with 99% indexing success, orientation precision to less than 0.1 degree | Determination of crystals orientation, texture analysis, phases identification, quantification of rolling and recrystallized textures, internal strain determination (KAM analysis), calculation of grain size |
| EDS Apollo XF equivalent to Octane Super, with TEAM EDS Suite – Enhanced Software | Octane Super EDS silicon drift detector (SDD) with detecting surface of sensor 60 mm2, high-quality EDS data and excellent low energy performance | Qualitative and quantitative analysis of microstructural constituents, elemental and phase mapping, spot and selected areas analysis, particle identification and analysis |
Other Services
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Analytical Chemistry
The Analytical Chemistry Department supports chemical analyses of solid and liquid samples, for Quality Control and R&D purposes. Our laboratory services include the following activities: ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation for a wide
