Metallographic Specimen Preparation Basics

By

Donald C. Zipperian, Ph.D.

Pace Technologies
Metallography is the study of a materials microstructure. Analysis of a materials microstructure aids in determining
if the material has been processed correctly and is therefore a critical step for determining product reliability and for
determining why a material failed. The basic steps for proper metallographic specimen preparation include:
documentation, sectioning and cutting, mounting, planar grinding, rough polishing, final polishing, etching,
microscopic analysis, and hardness testing.

Documentation - Metallographic analysis is a valuable tool. By properly documenting the initial specimen
condition and the proceeding microstructural analysis, metallography provides a powerful quality control as well as
an invaluable investigative tool.

Sectioning and Cutting - Following proper documentation, most metallographic samples need to be sectioned to
the area of interest and for easier handling. Depending upon the material, the sectioning operation can be obtained
by abrasive cutting (metals and metal matrix composites), diamond wafer cutting (ceramics, electronics,
biomaterials, minerals), or thin sectioning with a microtome (plastics).

Proper sectioning is required to minimize damage, which may alter the microstructure and produce false
metallographic characterization. Proper cutting requires the correct selection of abrasive type, bonding, and size; as
well as proper cutting speed, load and coolant. Table I list the most common type of abrasive blades used for
metallographic sectioning and Table II lists cutting parameters for diamond wafer cutting.

Table I. Abrasive Blade Selection Guidelines Chart

Materials (alloys) Classification Abrasive/Bond

Aluminum, brass, zinc, etc. Soft non-ferrous SiC/ Resin

Heat treated alloys Hard non-ferrous Alumina/ Resin

<Rc 45 steel Soft ferrous Alumina/ Resin

>Rc 45 steel Hard ferrous Alumina/ Resin

Super alloys High Ni-Cr alloys SiC/ Resin

All General purpose Alumina/ Resin Rubber

Table II. Diamond Wafer Blade Selection Guidelines

Material Characteristic Speed (rpm) Load (grams) Blade (grit/conc.)

Silicon substrate soft/brittle <300 <100 Fine/low

Gallium arsenide soft/brittle <200 <100 Fine/low

Boron composites very brittle 500 250 Fine/low

 Ceramic fiber
very brittle 1000 500 Fine/low
composites

Glasses brittle 1000 500 Fine/low

Minerals friable/brittle >1500 >500 Fine/low

Alumina ceramic hard/tough >1500 >500 Medium / low

Zirconia (PSZ) hard/tough >3500 >800 Medium/low

Silicon nitride hard/tough >3500 >800 Medium/low

Metal matrix
- >3500 >500 Medium/high
composites

General purpose - variable Variable Medium/high

Mounting - The mounting operation accomplishes three important functions (1) it protects the specimen edge and
maintains the integrity of a materials surface features (2) fills voids in porous materials and (3) improves handling of
irregular shaped samples, especially for automated specimen preparation. The majority of metallographic specimen
mounting is done by encapsulating the specimen into a compression mounting compound (thermosets - phenolics,
epoxies, diallyl phthalates or thermoplastics - acrylics), casting into ambient castable mounting resins (acrylic resins,
epoxy resins, and polyester resins), and gluing with a thermoplastic glues.

Compression mounting - For metals, compression mounting is widely used. Phenolics are popular because they are
low cost, whereas the diallyl phthalates and epoxy resins find applications where edge retention and harder mounts
are required. The acrylic compression mounting compounds are used because they have excellent clarity. Table IIIa
and IIIb list the application as well as the physical properties of the most common compression mounting resins.

Table IIIa. Compression Mounting Application Properties

Epoxy
Phenolics Acrylics Diallyl Phthalates
(glass filled)
Cost Low Moderate Moderate Moderate
Ease of use Excellent Moderate Good Good
Availability of
Yes No No No
colors
Cycle times Excellent Moderate Good Good
Edge retention Fair Good Excellent Excellent
Clarity None Excellent None None
Hardness Low Good High High

Table IIIb. Compression Mounting Resin Physical Properties

Resin Phenolic Acrylic Epoxy Diallyl Phthalate

Form Granular Powder Granular Granular

Specific gravity
1.4 0.95 1.75-2.05 1.7-1.9
(gm/cm3)
Colors Black, Red, Green Clear Black Blue
 Shrinkage
0.006 - 0.001-0.003 0.001-0.003
(compression)(in/in)

Coefficient of Linear
Thermal Expansion 50 - 28 19
(in/in/°C 10-6)
Glycol,
Alcohol, dilute
petrochemicals, Solvents, acids, Solvents, acids,
Chemical resistance acids & alkalies,
solvents, some alkalies alkalies
and oxidizers
acids and bases
150°-165°C 143°-177°C 160°-177°C
Molding temperature -
(300°-330°F) (290°-350°F) (320°-350°F)
21-28 MPa 17-28 MPA 24-41 MPA
Molding pressure -
(3050-4000 psi) (2500-4000 psi) (3500-6000 psi)
Hardness - Rockwell M63 Barcol 72 -
Curing time
(1/2" mount @ temp.) 90-120 seconds 2-4 minutes 90-120 seconds 90-120 seconds
and pressure)

Castable mounting resins are commonly used for electronic and ceramic materials. Castable mounting resins are
recommended for brittle and porous materials. These mounting compounds are typically two component systems (1-
resin and 1-hardener). Typical curing times range from minutes to hours with the faster curing resins producing
higher exothermic temperature which causes the mounting material to shrink away from the edge during curing. For
example, the Acrylic Cold Mounting Resins cure in less than 10 minutes and Epoxy Castable Resins cure in
approximately 4-6 hours. Note that adding an external energy source such as heat or microwave energy can enhance
the Epoxy Castable Resin curing cycle. It is recommended that the room temperature be less than 85° F to avoid
overheating and uncontrollable curing of the mounting compound. Table IV lists the basic properties of castable
mounting resins.

Table IV. Castable Mounting Resin Properties

EPOXY ACRYLIC POLYCAST Resin
Epoxy resin and
Type Acrylic resin and powder Polyester resin and hardener
hardener
Peak
100-350° F 150° F 100° F
Temperature
Shore D
82 80 76
Hardness
Cure Time 30 minutes to 8 hours 5-8 minutes 6-8 hours
Moderate hardness, Very fast curt,
Comments low shrinkage, translucent, some Transparent, clear
transparent shrinkage

Planar Grinding - or course grinding is required to planarize the specimen and to reduce the damage created by
sectioning. The planar grinding step is accomplished by decreasing the abrasive grit/ particle size sequentially to
obtain surface finishes that are ready for polishing. Care must be taken to avoid being too abrasive in this step, and
actually creating greater specimen damage than produced during cutting (this is especially true for very brittle
materials such as silicon).
The machine parameters, which effect the preparation of metallographic specimens, include grinding/polishing
pressure, relative velocity distribution, and the direction of grinding/polishing.

Grinding Pressure
Grinding/polishing pressure is dependent upon the applied force (pounds or Newton's) and the area of the specimen
and mounting material. Pressure is defined as the Force/Area (psi, N/m2 or Pa). For specimens significantly harder
than the mounting compound, pressure is better defined as the force divided by the specimen surface area. Thus, for
larger hard specimens higher grinding/polishing pressures increase stock removal rates, however higher pressure
also increases the amount of surface and subsurface damage. Note that for SiC grinding papers, as the abrasive
grains dull and cut rates decrease, increasing grinding pressures can extend the life of the SiC paper.
Higher grinding/polishing pressures can also generate additional frictional heat, which may actually be beneficial for
the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of ceramics, minerals and composites. Likewise for extremely friable
specimens such as nodular cast iron, higher pressures and lower relative velocity distributions can aid in retaining
inclusions and secondary phases.

Relative Velocity
Current grinding/polishing machines are designed with the specimens mounted in a disk holder and machined on a
disk platen surface. This disk on disk rotation allows for a variable velocity distribution depending upon the head
speed relative to the base speed (Table V).

Table V. Recommended Grinding/Polishing Speeds

Head Speed Base Speed Relative Velocity Characteristic Application
(rpm) (rpm) Distribution
• Aggressive stock removal • Useful for gross
150 300 to 600 High • Differential grinding across the removal on hard
specimen surface specimens
• Matching head and base speed • Provides superior
150 150 Minimal in the same direction flatness over the
eliminates relative velocity specimen
distributions • Useful for
• Uniform stock removal retaining
• Low stock removal inclusions and
• Produces minimal damage brittle phases

For high stock removal, a slower head speed relative to a higher base speed produces the most aggressive grinding/
polishing operation. The drawback to high velocity distributions is that the abrasive (especially SiC papers) may not
breakdown uniformly, this can result in non-uniform removal across the specimen surface. Another disadvantage is
that the high velocity distributions can create substantially more specimen damage, especially in brittle phases. In all
cases, it is not recommended to have the head rotating contra direction to the base because of the non-uniform
removal and abrasive breakdown that occurs.

Minimal relative velocity distributions can be obtained by rotating the head specimen disk at the same rpm and same
direction as the base platen. This condition is best for retaining inclusions and brittle phases as well as for obtaining
a uniform finish across the entire specimen. The disadvantage to low relative velocity distributions is that stock
removal rates can be quite low.

In practice, a combination of a high velocity distribution (150 rpm head speed/ 300 - 600 rpm base speed) for the
initial planarization or stock removal step, followed by a moderate speed and low velocity distribution (120-150 rpm
head speed/ 150 rpm base speed) step is recommended for producing relatively flat specimens. For final polishing
under chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) conditions where frictional heat can enhance the chemical process,
high speeds and high relative velocity distributions can be useful as long as brittle phases are not present (e.g.
monolithic ceramics such as silicon nitride and alumina).

Grinding Direction
The orientation of the specimen can have a significant impact on the preparation results, especially for specimens
with coatings. In general, when grinding and polishing materials with coatings the brittle component should be kept
in compression. In other words, for brittle coatings the direction of the abrasive should be through the coating and
into the substrate. Conversely, for brittle substrates with ductile coatings, the direction of the abrasive should be
through the brittle substrate into the ductile coating.

Manual Preparation - In order to insure that the previous rough grinding damage is removed when grinding by
hand, the specimen should be rotated 90 degrees and continually ground until all the scratches from the previous
grinding direction are removed. If necessary the abrasive paper can be replace with a newer paper to increase cutting
rates.

Automated Preparation - The key to successful automated preparation is to thoroughly clean the specimens between
each abrasive grit size that is used. The tracking of the specimens should also uniformly break down the SiC paper,
otherwise non-uniform grinding will occur (especially for hard specimens in soft mounts). In other words, the
specimen should track across the entire diameter of the SiC paper.

Abrasive Selection - The most common abrasive used for planar grinding metal and polymer metallographic
specimens is silicon carbide (SiC). Silicon carbide is an excellent abrasive for planar grinding because it is very
hard and maintains a sharp cutting edge as it breaks down during cutting. SiC abrasives are typically listed by the
grit size. Table VI shows the two most common grit size-numbering systems, along with their respective median
diameter particle size and Table VII provides a list of recommendation for planar grinding specific materials.

Table VI. Particle Size vs. Common Grit Sizes for Abrasive Papers
GRIT NUMBER
European Median Diameter,
Standard grit
(P-grade) (microns)
60 60 250
80 80 180
100 100 150
120 120 106
150 150 90
180 180 75
220 220 63
P240 240 58.5
P280 52.2
P320 280 46.2
P360 320 40.5
P400 35
P500 360 30.2 Figure 1. SEM micrograph of 600 grit SiC
P600 400 25.75 Abrasive Paper (original mag. 150x)
P800 21.8
P1000 500 18.3
P1200 600 15.3
P2400 800 6.5
P4000 1200 2.5

Recommended Procedures
The recommended polishing procedure depends upon the hardness and ductility of the specimen.
The following chart gives a schematic of a materials property chart.
 Metal Matrix
Polymer Matrix
Composites
Composites
Nickel and
Super Alloys
Lead, tin, Titanium
zinc
Ceramic Matrix
Aluminum Stainless Composites
Steel
Copper Thermal
Spray Engineered
Soft
Precious Coatings Tough Ceramics
Steel
metals General
Hard
Au, Ag, Pt Ceramics
Powder Cast Steels
Metals Iron Tool
Rhenium, Steels
Silicon, GaAs, Glass and
Niobium
Ferrites Mineral
Soft Hard
Hardness

Table VII. Planar Grinding Recommendations

For metallic specimen grinding, sequential grinding with silicon carbide (SiC) abrasive
paper is the most efficient and economical rough grinding process. Although extremely
coarse grit abrasive papers can be found, it is recommended that a properly cut
specimen not be rough ground with an abrasive greater than 120 grit SiC paper. A
typical abrasive grinding procedure would consist of 120 or 240 grit SiC paper
Metallic Specimens followed by decreasing the size of the SiC paper (320, 400, and 600 grit). Finer papers
are also available for continued abrasive paper grinding (800 and 1200 grit).
In addition to the correct sequence and abrasive size selection, the grinding parameters
such as grinding direction, load and speed can affect the specimen flatness and the
depth of damage. The basic idea is to remove all of the previous specimen damage
before continuing to the next step while maintaining planar specimens.
Grinding electronic components is very dependent upon both the substrate (silicon,
alumina, barium titanate, plastic PCB's, etc) and the metallic materials used. In general,
when grinding plated or coated materials, it is recommended that the coating be
prepared in compression to prevent the coating from separating from the substrate.
Silicon specimens should be have been sectioned with a fine grit diamond blade and cut
Electronic Specimens as near as possible to the area of interest. For rough grinding, fine abrasives such as 400
or 600 grit SiC or a 15-micron diamond lapping film is recommended to avoid
producing more damage than created during sectioning.
Hard ceramic substrates (especially porous materials) should be rough polished with
diamond lapping films to minimize edge rounding and relief between the widely
varying materials hardness'.
Similar to the preparation of electronic components, plasma spray coatings should be
Plasma Spray kept in compression to minimize the possibility of delamination at the coating/
Components substrate interface. For ceramic plasma spray coatings, diamond-lapping films are
recommended to minimize edge rounding or relief and to maintain the integrity of any
 inclusions within the coating.
Rough grinding ceramics and ceramic matrix composites should be performed with 15
Ceramics and Ceramics
or 30 micron diamond on a metal mesh cloth in order to obtain adequate stock removal
Composites
and to minimize surface and subsurface damage.
Plastics are generally very soft and therefore can be planar ground with sequentially
decreasing SiC abrasive paper grit sizes. When plastics are used in conjunction with
hard ceramics, planar grinding can be very tricky. For these composite materials cutting
Plastics and Plastics
must minimize damage as much as possible because almost all grinding and polishing
Composites
will cause relief between the soft plastic and the hard ceramic. Following proper
cutting, grinding with as small as possible a diamond (6-micron diamond) on a metal
steel mesh cloth or the use of lapping films is suggested.

Rough Polishing - The purpose of the rough polishing step is to remove the damage produced during cutting and
planar grinding. Proper rough polishing will maintain specimen flatness and retain all inclusions or secondary
phases. By eliminating the previous damage and maintaining the microstructural integrity of the specimen at this
step, a minimal amount of time should be required to remove the cosmetic damage at the final polishing step.
Rough polishing is accomplished primarily with diamond abrasives ranging from 9 micron down to 1-micron
diamond. Polycrystalline diamond because of its multiple and small cutting edges, produces high cut rates with
minimal surface damage, therefore it is the recommended diamond abrasive for metallographic rough polishing on
low napped polishing cloths. Table VIII lists the basic rough polishing guidelines for a number of materials.

Table VIII. Basic Rough Polishing Guidelines

Metals (ferrous, non-
Rough polishing typically requires two polishing steps, such as a 6-micron diamond
ferrous, tool steels, ys,
followed by a 1-micron diamond on low napped polishing cloths.
etc.)
Ceramics and ceramic Low nap-polishing pads using polycrystalline diamond alternating with colloidal silica.
matrix composites This provides a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) effect, which results in a damage
(CMC) free surface finish.
Polymer matrix
Diamond lapping films
composites (PMC)
Low napped polishing pads with polycrystalline diamond alternating with colloidal
Biomaterials silica.
Alternatively, diamond lapping films may work well
Microelectronic
Diamond lapping films
specimens
Plastics and polymers 800 and 1200 grit SiC abrasive paper
Diamond lapping films or low napped polishing pads with alternating diamond and
Plasma spray materials
colloidal silica abrasives

Final Polishing - The purpose of final polishing is to remove only surface damage. It should not be used to remove
any damage remaining from cutting and planar grinding. If the damage from these steps is not complete, the rough
polishing step should be repeated or continued (Table IX). Table X describes the most common polishing pads for
metallographic specimen preparation.

Table IX. Recommended Final Polishing Guidelines

Metals (ferrous, non-
High napped polishing pads with a colloidal alumina polishing abrasive. The polishing
ferrous, tool steels, ys,
times should nominally be less than 30 seconds.
etc.)
Ceramics and ceramic Low napped polishing pads using 1 um polycrystalline diamond alternating with
matrix composites colloidal silica or colloidal silica alone.
(CMC)
Polymer matrix Fine abrasive diamond lapping films followed by a very light polish on a high napped
composites (PMC) polishing pad.
Low napped polishing pads with polycrystalline diamond, alternating with colloidal
silica.
Biomaterials
Alternatively, diamond lapping films may work well
Microelectronic
Diamond lapping films followed by a very light polish on a high napped polishing pad
specimens
Plastics and polymers Light polish with alumina on a high napped polishing pad
Diamond lapping films followed by a very light and short alumina or colloidal silica
Plasma spray materials
polish on a high napped polishing pad
Table X. Polishing Cloth Selection Guideline

Metal Mesh cloth - this is a wire mesh material useful

for coarse and intermediate lapping/polishing. The
texture of this wire allows for the abrasive to become
semi-fixed; thus offering the advantage of increased
stock removal, while minimizing damage.

POLYPAD - Polyester Polishing Pads - synthetic

polyester polishing pads have a similar action to a
nylon pad, with the exception that it is much more
durable. It is used in the intermediate polishing steps

TEXPAN - Pellon Pads - These are the most

commonly used low napped polishing cloth material
for the intermediate polishing steps. It is also a
commonly used final polishing pad for ceramics.

BLACKCHEM 2 - Porometric Polymer Pads - have

a consistency similar to a rubber type of polishing pad.
These types of low nap pads behave as an intermediate
polishing pad with a performance between low napped
and high napped pads

DACRON - Nylon Polishing Cloths - are high napped

final polishing pad for most metals and polymers. Its
high nap provides it a very soft and gentle polishing
action

MICROPAD / NAPPAD - High Napped Polishing

Pads - are the most common final polishing cloths for
metals and polymers. Its high nap provides it a very
soft and gentle polishing action.
 Etching - The purpose of etching is to optically enhance microstructural features such as grain size and phase
features. Etching selectively alters these microstructural features based on composition, stress, or crystal structure.
The most common technique for etching is selective chemical etching and numerous formulations have been used
over the years. Other techniques such as molten salt, electrolytic, thermal and plasma etching have also found
specialized applications.

Chemical etching selectively attacks specific microstructural features. It generally consists of a mixture of acids or
bases with oxidizing or reducing agents. For more technical information on selective chemical etching consult
corrosion books which discuss the relationship between pH and Eh (oxidation/reduction potentials), often known as
Eh-pH diagrams or Pourbaix diagrams.

Over the years numerous chemical etchants have been formulated. Some of the more common chemical etchants are
listed in the following table. Table XI lists some of the more common etchants.
Table XI. Common Chemical Etchants
CAUTION: Safety is very important when etching. Be sure to wear the appropriate protective clothing and observe
all WARNINGS on chemical manufacturers MSDS. Also review COMMENTS Section for each etchant.

Etchant Composition Application Conditions Comments

190 ml Distilled water
10-30 second
5 ml Nitric acid Aluminum
Kellers Etch immersion. Use
3 ml Hydrochloric acid alloys
only fresh etchant
2 ml Hydrofluoric acid
92 ml Distilled water
Kroll's
6 ml Nitric acid Titanium 15 seconds
Reagent
2 ml Hydrofluoric acid
Carbon steels,
100 ml Ethanol
Nital tin, and nickel Seconds to minutes
1-10 ml Nitric acid
alloys
40 ml Distilled water
2 grams Copper chloride (CuCl2) Wrought Immerse or swab
Kallings
40 ml Hydrochloric acid stainless steel, for few seconds to
Reagent
40-80 ml Ethanol (85%) or Methanol Fe-Ni-Cr alloys a few minutes
(95%)
High
Lepito's 50 ml Acetic acid
temperature Swab
Reagent 50 ml Nitric acid
steels
50 ml Distilled Water Immersion or swab
Marble's Stainless steels,
50 ml Hydrochloric acid etching for a few
Reagent Nickel alloys
10 grams Copper sulfate seconds
Wrought
100 ml Distilled Water Stainless steel, Immerse or swab
Murakami
10 grams K3Fe(CN)8 tungsten alloys, for seconds to Use fresh
Reagent
10 grams NaOH or KOH silver alloys, minutes
SiC, B4C
Do not let etchant
100 ml Ethanol Iron and steel,
Picral Seconds to minutes crystallize or dry -
2-4 grams Picric acid tin alloys
explosive
45 ml Glycerol Stainless steel,
Vilella's
15 ml Nitric acid carbon steel, Seconds to minutes
Reagent
30 ml Hydrochloric acid cast iron

Electrolytic etching is another fairly common etching technique. It is similar to chemical etching in that acids and
bases are used for modifying the pH, however the electrochemical potential is controlled electrically by varying the
voltage and current externally as opposed to chemically. Electrolytic etching is often used for harder to etch
specimens that do not respond well to basic chemical etching techniques. Electrolytic techniques require that the
specimen be conductive and are therefore limited primarily to metals.

The most common electrolytic etching equipment uses a two-electrode design (anode and cathode) with acids or
bases for the electrolyte. Procedures for this type of electrolytic etching are fairly common and can be found in the
literature.

Another type of electrolytic etching requires more sophisticated electrochemical equipment (potentiostats). This
equipment uses a three-electrode configuration (anode, cathode, and reference) which allows the current and voltage
to be adjusted independent of each other. In comparison to the two-electrode system, voltage is altered with the
electrolyte dictating the current conditions. On the other hand, the electrolyte for the three-electrode configuration
only requires a conductive solution such as KCl, instead of highly corrosive acids or bases.

Molten Salt etching is a combination of thermal and chemical etching techniques. Molten salt etching is useful for
grain size analysis for hard to etch materials such as ceramics. The technique takes advantage of the higher internal
energy associated at a materials grain boundaries. At the elevated temperature of molten salts, the higher energy at
the grain boundaries is relieved, producing a rounded grain boundary edge, which can be observed by optical, or
electron microscope techniques.

Thermal etching is a useful etching technique for ceramic materials. Thermal etching is technique that relieves the
higher energy associated at the grain boundaries of a material. By heating the ceramic material to temperatures
below the sintering temperature of the material and holding for a period of minutes to hours the grain boundaries
will seek a level of lower energy. The result is that the grain boundary edge will become rounded so that it can be
evaluated by optical or electron microscope techniques.

Depending upon the ceramic material, the atmospheric condition of the furnace may need to be controlled. For
example, etching silicon nitride will require either a vacuum or an inert atmosphere of nitrogen or argon to prevent
oxidation of the surface to silicon dioxide.

Plasma etching is a lesser-known technique that has been used to enhance the phase structure of high strength
ceramics such as silicon nitride. For silicon nitride, the plasma is a high temperature fluoride gas, which reacts with
the silicon nitride surface producing a silicon fluoride gas. This etching technique reveals the intragrain
microstructure of silicon nitride.
 Metallographic Analysis

Metallurgical analysis (metallography) of the microstructural provides the Material Scientist or Metallurgist
information varying from phase structure, grain size, solidification structure, casting voids, etc. Figure 2 shows an
example of two cast iron structures. Figure 2a shows a cast iron microstructure which has graphite flakes. Over
time this materials will most likely fail under load. On the other hand by adding some solidifying agents the cast
iron can be made to form the more durable graphite nodules (Figure 2b).

Figure 3 shows the grain size of a tough pitch copper. Analysis of a materials grain size provides valuable
information regarding a materials physical hardness and ductility. Microstructural analysis can also provide very
useful information about the types of phases that occur during cooling. Figure 4 shows the dendritic growth of the
microstructure for an aluminum-silicon alloy which formed during solidification. The direction and size of these
dendrites again relate to the materials strength and durability.

Other examples of metallographic analysis include: analyzing printed circuit board (PCB) solder hole connections,
microelectronic failure analysis, steel heat treating such as surface hardening, ceramic grain size and porosity,
polymer composite fiber wetting and orientation, etc.

Figure 2. Cast Iron microstructures (a) graphite flakes (b) nodules

Figure 3. Tough Pitch Copper Figure 4. Aluminum-silicon alloy

microstructure showing grain size solidification microstructure

Microscopic Analysis
Bright Field (B.F.) illumination is the most common illumination technique for metallographic analysis. The light
path for B.F. illumination is from the source, through the objective, reflected off the surface and returning through
the objective and back to the eyepiece or camera. This type of illumination produces a bright background for flat
surfaces with the non-flat features (pores, edges, etched grain boundaries) being darker as light is reflected back at
an angle.
Dark Field (D.F.) illumination is a lesser know illumination but powerful illumination technique. The light path for
D.F. illumination is from the source, down the outside of the objective, reflected off the surface and returning
through the objective and back to the eyepiece or camera. This type of illumination produces a dark background for
flat surfaces with the non-flat features (pores, edges, etched grain boundaries) being brighter as light is reflected at
an angle back into the objective.

Differential Interference Contract (DIC) - is a very useful illumination technique for providing enhanced specimen
features. DIC uses a normarski prism along with a polarizer in the 90° crossed positions. The two light beams are
made to coincide at the focal plane of the objective, thus rendering height differences visible as variations in color.

Optical Interferometry - is a technique that provides precise details of a materials surface topography. The simplest
interferometer employs the interference between two beams of light. One beam is focused on the specimen and the
second beam on an optically flat reference surface. The two reflected beams are then recombined by the beam
splitter and pass through the eyepiece together. The two beams reinforce each other for those points on the specimen
for which their path lengths are either the same of differ by an integral multiple of the wavelength, nλ. The beams
cancel for path differences of nλ /2. Today's interferometers provide quantitative 3-dimensional surface topography
information.

The two most common optical interferometry techniques include - phase shifting interferometry (PSI) which uses a
PZT to shift the optical path of the objective and vertical scanning interferometry (VSI) which changes the focus
range of the objective. The main differences between PSI and VSI are that PSI has a higher z-axis resolution,
whereas VSI has a larger scan range. PSI and VSI can also be combined to provide both high surface resolution and
a larger scan range.

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) - Is a non-optical technique that provides angstrom level surface profiling
information. AFM's are very powerful tools and can be provide electrochemical, magnetic, and other surface feature
information.

Hardness Testing
Hardness Testing provides useful information, which can be correlated to tensile strength, wear resistance, ductility,
and other physical characteristics. Hardness testing is therefore useful for monitoring quality control and for the
materials selection process. Table XII compares the various hardness testing applications.

Microhardness is primarily determined with Knoop and Vickers indenters under test loads in the range of 1 to 1000
gram-force and are used to measure the hardness of specific phases, small particles and brittle materials.
• Knoop hardness number (HK) is determined based on the size that of a diamond indenter (rhombic-based,
pyramidal diamond) produces under a known applied load. The HK number is calculated by dividing the
applied load (kilogram-force) by the projected area of the indentation (square millimeters).
• Vickers hardness number is obtained by dividing the applied load in kilogram-force by the surface area of
the indentation. The area of the indentation produced from the Vickers square-based pyramidal diamond is
determined by the mean distance between the two diagonals of the indentation.

Rockwell hardness (HR) is an indentation hardness test that is determined with a spheroconical penetrator or hard
steel ball that is forced into the specimen surface. The test is accomplished by bringing the specimen into contact
with the penetrator, the penetrator is then slowly forced into the specimen surface by weights acting through a
system of levers, and when the load is released a dial pointer indicates the hardness number.
 Table XII. Hardness Tester Characteristics
General Surface
Typical range of Typical
Type Penetrator hardness range preparation
loads, kg applications
covered before testing
Diamond Medium to very Production testing
Rockwell C 150 Fine grinding
cone hard of finished parts
1/16 inch Production testing
Rockwell B 100 Soft to medium Fine grinding
steel ball of finished parts
10 mm steel Production testing
Brinell 500-3000 Soft to hard Coarse grinding
ball of unfinished parts
Diamond Very soft to very Laboratory
Vickers 5-100 Fine grinding
pyramid hard investigations
Test of micro-
Diamond Very soft to very constituents of
Microhardness 0.01-50 Fine polishing
pyramid hard alloys and
ceramics

Summary

Microstructural analysis is extremely important in today's world where metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites
are used to improve our everyday lives by insuring safety and reliability in the products that we use. In order, to
correctly analyze these microstructures, proper specimen preparation is required to eliminate preparation induced
microstructural artifacts. By knowing the physical properties of the material such as hardness, recrystallization
temperature, fracture toughness; an appropriate specimen preparation procedure can be developed. In general,
minimizing the damage early in the microstructural preparation stage by choosing the correct abrasive, lubricant,
and equipment parameters, the steps required to highlight the representative materials microstructure obtained by
following the basic preparation guidelines outlined in this paper.

References

1. Pace Technologies Educational Web page at http://www.metallographic.com/Basics.htm

About the Author

Dr. Donald Zipperian is the Vice President of Technology for Pace Technologies, which manufacturers both
equipment and consumables for the metallographic and surface finishing fields. Dr. Zipperian has had many years
of experience developing equipment and consumables for metallography, 3-dimensional metrology, and industrial
surface finishing. He has served on the MTQC board for ASM, been a member of the ASTM E-4 committee on
Metallography, chaired and presented at various technical seminars, and has published numerous papers on
metallography and metrology analysis. Prior to joining Pace Technologies, Dr. Zipperian has worked for Veeco
Metrology in Tucson, AZ; Seagate Magnetic Recording Heads in Minneapolis, MN; and for Buehler as both the
General Manager of their AZ Research Center and as Manager of Long Term Planning and Development.