Learn / EBSD & TKD
EBSD & TKD
From Kikuchi patterns
to orientation maps.
Understand indexing, confidence, texture, boundaries, strain-sensitive metrics, and how to turn orientation data into reliable microstructural interpretation.
1 · Start here
Build the foundation
StoryTwo Bars, One MeltA one-minute scrolling story: two bars from one melt, one heat treatment apart, and why one cracked. Grain boundaries, precipitates and the order atoms keep, drawn live as you scroll.StoryThe Map of EveryoneA scrolling illustrated story about EBSD: one pixel's Kikuchi interview, four million interviews becoming an orientation map, why the rainbow colors are answers to a question you chose, and two bars whose borders tell different futures.GuideFrom Kikuchi Bands to an OrientationEBSD & TKD, part 1 of 8: From Kikuchi bands to an orientation. Interactive.GuideReading an IPF MapAn IPF map colors each grain by the crystal direction along one sample axis. See how the colors are made, switch IPF-X, Y and Z live, and find grains that share a color but not an orientation.
2 · Learn the core
Master the key concepts
Orientation & Texture
3 · Use a tool
Work with your data
ToolKikuchi Map Navigatororientation → band to follow, tilt anglesFree in-browser Kikuchi map for any crystal: see which zone axes sit on which Kikuchi bands, which band to follow to reach a zone axis, how far to tilt, and the double-tilt holder settings that get you there. fcc, bcc, hcp, diamond and ordered alloys built in, or load a CIF.ToolCBED Thickness ToolK-M fringes → specimen thicknessFree in-browser tool: upload a two-beam CBED pattern (JPG, PNG, TIFF, Velox EMD), mark the 000 and hkl discs, auto-detect Kossel–Möllenstedt fringe minima, and get thickness with uncertainty plus extinction distance from a Kelly–Allen fit.ToolWhich Grain Do I Lift Out?orientation map → best grain + stage recipeSite-specific FIB lift-out starts with the right grain. Pick it straight from an EBSD map: zone-axis TEM lamellae, cleavage-plane cantilevers, and micropillars, with the exact stage rotation at the standard tilts. Load your own .ang/.ctf; it never leaves your browser.ToolEBSD Pattern Simulatorcrystal + orientation + detector → dynamical Kikuchi patternSimulate electron backscatter diffraction patterns in the browser: a Monte Carlo of the primary beam in the tilted sample gives the energy, depth and exit direction of the backscattered electrons, a many-beam Bloch-wave calculation on a symmetry-reduced Lambert grid gives the master pattern, and the detector geometry with Bunge Euler angles puts it on the phosphor, with kinematic band edges and zone-axis labels drawn over it. 604 crystals or a CIF, WebGPU with a JavaScript fallback, band profiles against the Bragg angle.Toolg·b Invisibility Plannercrystal + candidate Burgers vectors → which g makes each one vanishPlan a Burgers-vector determination in the TEM: pick a crystal from 604 structures, a zone axis and a line direction, and the page lists every candidate Burgers vector with g.b and g.(b x u) for each reflection of the zone, marks the invisible and residual-contrast conditions, and finds the smallest set of reflections that separates all candidates.
4 · Solve a problem
Troubleshoot real data
5 · Go deeper
Research-level topics
GuideGrain Orientations & Reciprocal SpaceInteractive TEM guide to grain orientations in reciprocal space: zone-axis tilts with Laue circle and Kikuchi lines, misorientation (LAGB, HAGB, twins), polycrystalline rings and texture arcs, and orientation terminology.GuideEBSD Reference Frames and ConventionsThe four coordinate frames in an EBSD experiment and the five conventions that differ between packages: map handedness, RD and TD assignment, the sense of the orientation matrix, Bunge against Roe Euler angles and pole figure layout. Each is a switch on a synthetic rolled sheet, with the grain shapes held fixed so you can see the orientations disagree with them, plus the checks that settle it for one instrument.GuideCleaning Data HonestlyEBSD & TKD, part 5 of 8: Cleaning data honestly. Interactive.GuideWhy TKD Beats EBSD at the NanoscaleEBSD & TKD, part 6 of 8: Why TKD beats EBSD at the nanoscale. Interactive.
6 · All resources
Every EBSD page
- StoryTwo Bars, One MeltA one-minute scrolling story: two bars from one melt, one heat treatment apart, and why one cracked. Grain boundaries, precipitates and the order atoms keep, drawn live as you scroll.
- StoryThe Map of EveryoneA scrolling illustrated story about EBSD: one pixel's Kikuchi interview, four million interviews becoming an orientation map, why the rainbow colors are answers to a question you chose, and two bars whose borders tell different futures.
- GuideGrain Orientations & Reciprocal SpaceInteractive TEM guide to grain orientations in reciprocal space: zone-axis tilts with Laue circle and Kikuchi lines, misorientation (LAGB, HAGB, twins), polycrystalline rings and texture arcs, and orientation terminology.
- GuideFrom Kikuchi Bands to an OrientationEBSD & TKD, part 1 of 8: From Kikuchi bands to an orientation. Interactive.
- GuideReading an IPF MapAn IPF map colors each grain by the crystal direction along one sample axis. See how the colors are made, switch IPF-X, Y and Z live, and find grains that share a color but not an orientation.
- GuideEBSD Reference Frames and ConventionsThe four coordinate frames in an EBSD experiment and the five conventions that differ between packages: map handedness, RD and TD assignment, the sense of the orientation matrix, Bunge against Roe Euler angles and pole figure layout. Each is a switch on a synthetic rolled sheet, with the grain shapes held fixed so you can see the orientations disagree with them, plus the checks that settle it for one instrument.
- GuideMisorientation, Boundaries & CSLEBSD & TKD, part 3 of 8: Misorientation, grain boundaries and CSL. Interactive.
- GuideTexture: Pole Figures & ODFsEBSD & TKD, part 4 of 8. Texture: pole figures and ODFs, demystified. Interactive.
- GuideCleaning Data HonestlyEBSD & TKD, part 5 of 8: Cleaning data honestly. Interactive.
- GuideWhy TKD Beats EBSD at the NanoscaleEBSD & TKD, part 6 of 8: Why TKD beats EBSD at the nanoscale. Interactive.
- GuidePattern Quality as DataEBSD & TKD, part 7 of 8: Pattern quality as data. Interactive.
- GuideKAM, GNDs & the Step SizeEBSD & TKD, part 8 of 8: KAM, GND density, step size and the noise floor. Interactive.
- ToolEBSD Pattern SimulatorSimulate electron backscatter diffraction patterns in the browser: a Monte Carlo of the primary beam in the tilted sample gives the energy, depth and exit direction of the backscattered electrons, a many-beam Bloch-wave calculation on a symmetry-reduced Lambert grid gives the master pattern, and the detector geometry with Bunge Euler angles puts it on the phosphor, with kinematic band edges and zone-axis labels drawn over it. 604 crystals or a CIF, WebGPU with a JavaScript fallback, band profiles against the Bragg angle.
- ToolWhich Grain Do I Lift Out?Site-specific FIB lift-out starts with the right grain. Pick it straight from an EBSD map: zone-axis TEM lamellae, cleavage-plane cantilevers, and micropillars, with the exact stage rotation at the standard tilts. Load your own .ang/.ctf; it never leaves your browser.
- FAQEBSD/TKD Troubleshooting FAQTroubleshooting FAQ for EBSD and TKD: Kikuchi indexing, IPF map colour ambiguity, misorientation and CSL boundaries, pole figures and ODFs, data cleanup effects on grain count, TKD vs EBSD at the nanoscale, and pattern quality as data.
Other fields: TEM & STEM · Atom Probe · Crystallography · Phase Transformations · Tribology · Nanoindentation · Scratch Testing · In-situ / FIB.