X-ray microscopy as a fast response tool to exploit processing-microstructure-property relationships for advanced material development

Understanding the process-microstructure-property relationship is crucial for the development of new materials. Thus, the objective of the research consortium is to understand the fundamental mechanisms that govern effects such as bonding of different materials, pore density evolution or spatial distribution of phases within a matrix. So far, analytical techniques like optical or electron microscopy are used to address these issues. What limits research in this field often is not lateral resolution, but the fact that the data obtained comes only from cross-sections. In addition, sample preparation of materials is a time-consuming process, and thus, is a major roadblock for materials and process development. One approach for 3D material characterisation is the combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with a focused-ion beam (FIB). Due to the low erosion rates of the FIB, the volume that can be probed is, however, extremely small. By contrast, with the advent of the X ray microscope (XRM) technique significantly larger volume can be analysed with a resolution appropriate to address many question in materials science. In addition, the ease of sample preparation along with the high-throughput in automated operation mode opens up a new avenue in terms of feedback rate from material characterization to process development. The proposed instrument will be intensely used for collaborative research within the research consortium with members from the ZFM (Zentrum für Festkörperchemie und Neue Materialien/Centre for Solid State Chemistry and New Materials), the Hannover Medical School, and the Institute of Continuum Mechanics. The research will address a wide field in materials science and cover Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) approaches, development of new materials for biomedical applications as well as topics from mineralogy regarding natural materials. For many of the projects, spatial distribution of phases or defect densities and their evolution are of interest. Moreover, the response of materials under mechanical loading and/or chemical exposure will be studied in-situ in the XRM. With the XRM 3D diffraction information can be obtained as well. This data will be employed to correlation damage evolution with microstructural parameters such as the locally present texture. The XRM will also be combined with the already available microscopic techniques to characterize the materials on multiple length scales. This approach will then be used as an efficient tool to validate the advanced multi-scale models currently developed by the continuum mechanics community.