Manual measurement of angles in backscattered and transmission Kikuchi diffraction patterns

Area of Science:

• Crystallography
• Materials Science
• Diffraction Analysis

Background:

• The Hilton net is a historical tool for crystallographic analysis.
• It facilitates manual surveying of crystal lattices using Kikuchi bands in gnomonic projection.
• Quantitative analysis requires knowledge of the projection center's position.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a quantitative method for crystallographic analysis using the Hilton net.
• To demonstrate the determination of an unknown projection center for enhanced analysis.
• To highlight the precision and accuracy of angle measurements using this tool.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the Hilton net for gnomonic projection of Kikuchi bands.
• Performing quantitative analysis by knowing the projection center.
• Adapting photogrammetric techniques to determine unknown projection centers by indexing four zone axes.

Main Results:

• Interplanar angles are accessible with a precision and accuracy of ≤0.3°.
• Angles between any directions, such as zone axes, are directly readable.
• A method for determining unknown projection centers using four indexed zone axes was successfully demonstrated.

Conclusions:

• The Hilton net remains a valuable tool for crystallographic analysis, offering precise angle measurements.
• The demonstrated method enhances the applicability of the Hilton net by enabling analysis even with an unknown projection center.
• This approach integrates historical tools with modern analytical needs in materials science.