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TEM Sample Preparation of a Hard Metal by Semiautomatic Wedge Polishing

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Published/Copyright: August 12, 2013
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Practical Metallography
From the journal Practical Metallography Volume 50 Issue 5

Abstract

Sintered hard metals like tungsten carbide compounds are a challenge for TEM sample preparation due to the diverging properties of the individual components. Especially when both very thin as well as large areas are required, for example for nanoanalysis investigations, conventional preparation techniques like ion milling and FIB preparation are often incapable of delivering samples of necessary quality. In this study, the preparation of a hard metal consisting of a tungsten carbide/cobalt compound via a technique called “Wedge Polishing” is described, along with the results of concomitant TEM investigations. The impact of the preparation procedure on the crystallographic structure of the material is discussed, and a post-treatment process to dispose of these artefacts is presented.

Kurzfassung

Sinterhartmetalle wie beispielsweise Wolframcarbidverbindungen sind aufgrund unterschiedlicher Eigenschaften der einzelnen Bestandteile eine Herausforderung in der TEM-Probenpräparation. Insbesondere dann, wenn sowohl sehr dünne als auch große Flächen benötigt werden, z. B. für Untersuchungen im Bereich der Nanoanalytik, sind herkömmliche Präparationstechniken wie die Ionendünnung und die Präparation mittels FIB oft unzureichend, um Proben einer erforderlichen Qualität herzustellen. Diese Untersuchung beschreibt die Präparation eines Hartmetalls aus einer Wolframcarbid/Cobalt-Verbindung mittels des sogenannten „Wedge Polishing“, der Herstellung einer keilförmigen Probe mittels Schleifen bzw. Polieren, und präsentiert die Ergebnisse begleitender TEM-Untersuchungen. Diskutiert wird der Einfluss des Präparationsverfahrens auf die kristallographische Struktur des Werkstoffs. Ferner wird ein Nachbehandlungsverfahren zur Beseitigung solcher Artefakte präsentiert.

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Received: 2012-11-15
Accepted: 2013-1-7
Published Online: 2013-08-12
Published in Print: 2013-05-15

© 2013, Carl Hanser Verlag, München

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Contents/Inhalt
  2. Contents
  3. Editorial
  4. Editorial
  5. Technical Contributions/Fachbeiträge
  6. TEM Sample Preparation of a Hard Metal by Semiautomatic Wedge Polishing
  7. Metallographic Analysis of the Dead Metal Zone In Metal Cutting With a Rounded-Edge Tool
  8. EBSD- und TEM-Investigations of the Deformation Induced Martensitic Transformation in the Austenitic Steel X6CrNiNb18–10 under Cyclic Loading
  9. Multiple Fractures of Used In-Service Disc Springs in a Stationary Gas Turbine Engine
  10. Meeting Diary/Veranstaltungskalender
  11. Meeting Diary
https://doi.org/10.3139/147.110224

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Contents/Inhalt
  2. Contents
  3. Editorial
  4. Editorial
  5. Technical Contributions/Fachbeiträge
  6. TEM Sample Preparation of a Hard Metal by Semiautomatic Wedge Polishing
  7. Metallographic Analysis of the Dead Metal Zone In Metal Cutting With a Rounded-Edge Tool
  8. EBSD- und TEM-Investigations of the Deformation Induced Martensitic Transformation in the Austenitic Steel X6CrNiNb18–10 under Cyclic Loading
  9. Multiple Fractures of Used In-Service Disc Springs in a Stationary Gas Turbine Engine
  10. Meeting Diary/Veranstaltungskalender
  11. Meeting Diary
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