The results from an emerging method of non-destructive grain boundary characterization, with unprecedented sensitivity to neighbor-grain misorientation and grain boundary morphology were reported. The method utilizes differential aperture X-ray microscopy to determine the local crystallographic orientation of sub-micron volumes within polycrystalline materials. Initial measurements were described for a recrystallized Ni sample where the grain boundary type was identified at 85 grain boundaries within the framework of an ideal coincident site lattice model. The remarkable resolution of this method was demonstrated by the <0.03º deviation of misorientation measured for Σ = 3 (twin) boundaries. Because of its high angular and spatial resolution, this new approach to grain boundary characterization could provide quantitative tests of grain boundary models with new insights for grain boundary engineering efforts.

Non-Destructive Three-Dimensional Characterization of Grain Boundaries by X-Ray Crystal Microscopy. W.Liu, G.E.Ice, B.C.Larson, W.Yang, J.Z.Tischler: Ultramicroscopy, 2005, 103[3], 199-204