EBSD of Zn-rich phases in Zn–Al-based alloys

Based on microstructure characterization, electron back-scatter Kikuchi diffraction (EBSD) methodology was used on a multi-phase alloy ZnAl4Cu11 (in wt.%). Electron back-scatter Kikuchi diffraction patterns (EBSDPs) were produced from the bulk Zn–Al-based alloy specimen using solely mechanical polishing instead of mechanical and electro-polishing. Both EBSDs of the Zn-rich hexagonal close-packed structure (hcp) phases of ε and η were distinguished for the first time using pre-determined lattice parameters of these phases as the computer database for the multi-phase alloy. These two procedures were practical developments of EBSD technology in the study of crystalline orientation and phase identification.