Electronics failure analysis (FA) is central to maintaining product reliability, reducing warranty costs, and improving manufacturing yield. Failures may arise from a wide variety of mechanisms: delamination of layers, corrosion of interconnects, electromigration in conductors, solder joint defects, foreign particle…
Alloys underpin high-performance applications in aerospace, automotive, energy, medical devices, and beyond. Before entering service, each batch must pass alloy qualification — a rigorous evaluation of chemical composition, microstructural consistency, and inclusion content against industry or customer specifications. These factors…
Grain orientation and crystallographic texture play a defining role in the performance of high-strength steels. These structural features influence strength, toughness, formability, fatigue resistance, and anisotropy. Understanding and controlling texture is critical for industries such as automotive, aerospace, and energy,…
In mining, ore grade control is essential for ensuring that extracted material meets expectations for quality and economic value. Accurate characterization of mineralogy, phase composition, and impurities allows mining operations to optimize processing, minimize waste, and maximize profitability. Traditional bulk…
Semiconductor metallization involves the deposition of conductive layers, diffusion barriers, and interconnects that enable modern integrated circuits to function. The microstructure and composition of these metallization layers directly impact electrical performance, long-term reliability, and resistance to stress-driven mechanisms such as…
Ensuring Solar Cell Quality Solar panels are made up of many interconnected photovoltaic cells, and even microscopic defects within a single cell can diminish overall efficiency and lifespan. While methods like optical inspection, infrared thermography, and electroluminescence (EL) imaging provide…
Why Use SEM-EDS for Mineral Identification Determining mineral phases within a sample is essential for geologists, mining engineers, and materials scientists. Traditional techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD) yield bulk compositional data but lack spatial resolution. Optical microscopy, while providing structural…
The Challenge of Imaging Non-Conductive Samples Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) delivers high-resolution imagery of microscopic structures, but not all specimens are naturally suited for it. Insulating materials—such as polymers, biological tissues, and ceramics—present a major challenge: they accumulate charge when…
Gunshot Residue Evidence: A Two-Part Puzzle When a firearm is discharged, it releases a complex cloud of microscopic debris known as gunshot residue (GSR). This residue comprises both inorganic particles from the primer and organic compounds from the propellant. Traditional…
Merging Structure and Chemistry When it comes to studying biological systems, visualizing structure and understanding chemistry often require different tools. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) excels at showing ultrastructural details—down to the nanometer scale—of cells, tissues, and biomaterials. Raman spectroscopy, on…