Light Micros
Light Micros
Vander Voort
Buehler Ltd
Lake Bluff, IL 60044 USA
A) Amplitude – light intensity; B) Wavelength – color; C)
Phase displacement; D) Polarization – one plane of vibration
Part of the incident light ray is reflected and part is
refracted; the angle of reflection equals the angle of
incidence, i.e., = .
NA = n sin
NA is a measure of the objective’s light gathering capacity
Resolution, d = 0.5 /NA
Green, 546 nm
Blue, 436 nm
Waspaloy
Solution Annealed
and Double Aged
Nomarski DIC
Bright Field Dark Field
As-cast Cu –
8.4% P eutectic
structure
Normarski DIC
Carburized 8620 – Lower Bainite Case/Lath Martensite Core
Bainitic Case
Microstructure of the case of carburized (0.95% C potential) 8620 alloy steel. It was
carburized at 1750 °F, then quenched into a 50/50 mix of sodium nitrite and potassium
nitrate at 480 °F and held 120 minutes. It was air cooled and then tempered at 480 °F for
240 minutes to an aim case hardness of 52-60 HRC (etched with 10% sodium metabisulfite).
The lower bainite case performs better under low-cycle fatigue conditions.
Carburized 8620 – Lower Bainite Case/Lath Martensite Core
Lath martensitic core structure, with some ferritic areas, revealed using
10% sodium metabisulfite.
Nitinol (Ni – 50% Ti)
Martensite in Nitinol revealed by etching with equal parts of HNO3, acetic acid
and HF. Nomarski DIC reveals extra detail compared to bright field.
20 µm
20 µm
Nomarski DIC reveals the surface topography better than bright field.
Non-uniform illumination and dirt in the light path (circled areas) make
this micrograph (sintered carbide at 1000x) far from desirable.