Material Characterization

It is the first course at the under graduate level on microstructural characterization of materials. This course will cover the basic principles and techniques of X-ray diffraction, optical, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy along with demonstrations of the instrument details and imaging experiments through videos. This course also deals with the sample preparation techniques for the microstructural analysis with practical examples through videos. INTENDED AUDIENCE : Undergraduate students of Metallurgical and Materials, Physics, Chemistry and biological sciencesPRE-REQUISITES : Nill INDUSTRY SUPPORT : All the Metallurgical and automotive industries will be interested in this course

Week 1 : 1. Fundamentals of optics2. Optical microscope and its instrumental detailsWeek 2 : 3. Variants in the optical microscopes and image formation 4. Phase contrast, Polarised light, Differential interference contrast, Fluorescence microscopyWeek 3 : 5. Sample preparation and applications of optical microscopes Week 4 : 6. Introduction to Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)Week 5 : 7. Instrumental details and image formation of SEM Week 6 : 8. Various imaging techniques and spectroscopy9. Sample preparation and applications of SEMWeek 7 : 10. Fundamentals of X-ray scattering 11. Bragg’s law derivation and the factors affecting the intensityWeek 8 : 12. Crystallite size, effect of strain on the intensity 13. Profile fit, indexing, peak broadeningWeek 9 : 14. Quantitative analysis, residual stress analysis 15. Instrumentation details and demo experiments of XRDWeek 10 :16. Introduction to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) Week 11 :17. Diffraction and image formation18. Various imaging techniques and spectroscopyWeek 12 :19. Sample preparation and applications of TEM 20. Instrumentation details and demo experiments of TEM