RAYA UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF MANUFACTURING
ENGINEERING
WELDING SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

(MaEng4192)
CHAPTER – FOUR

Materials characterization

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LECTURE DELIVERED BY:
 Numerical aperture
 Numerical aperture (NA) is an important parameter used to
characterize and describe the light-gathering ability of an optical
system, such as a lens. It is a dimensionless quantity that relates to the
acceptance angle and the refractive index of the medium through
which light propagates.
 In the context of lenses, the numerical aperture is defined as the sine
of the half-angle of the maximum cone of light that can enter or exit
the lens. It determines the ability of the lens to capture light from a
wide range of angles and focus it onto a smaller spot, thereby
affecting the resolution and light-gathering capacity of the lens.
 Mathematically, the numerical aperture (NA) is given by the formula:

NA = n * sin(θ) n =1 for air, n= 1.33 for water, n= 1.52 for oil

where n is the refractive index of the medium through which the light is
propagating, and θ is the half-angle of the maximum cone of light.
 A higher numerical aperture indicates a greater ability to gather light,
resulting in increased light-gathering capacity and improved
resolution for imaging systems or efficient light transmission for lens.
 limit of resolution
The limit of resolution in a microscope refers to the smallest distance
between two distinguishable points that can be resolved in an image. It is
determined by the numerical aperture (NA) of the microscope objective
and the wavelength of the light used for imaging.

The formula for the limit of resolution in a microscope is given by:

d = 0.61 * λ / NA

Where:

d is the smallest resolvable distance (limit of resolution)

λ is the wavelength of light used for imaging

NA is the numerical aperture of the microscope objective

 Lens defects
Lens defects refer to imperfections or anomalies that can occur in
optical lenses, affecting their performance and image quality. These
defects can arise from various factors, including manufacturing
processes, material properties, or environmental conditions.
Some common lens defects include:

1.Chromatic aberration: This defect causes different colors to focus

at different points, resulting in color fringing or blurring around the
edges of objects. It occurs because different wavelengths of light have
different refractive indices, causing them to bend differently as they
pass through the lens.
 Some common lens defects include:
2.Spherical aberration: This defect causes the light rays passing
through the periphery of the lens to focus at a different point than
those passing through the center.
 The variation in lens curvature is the primary cause of spherical
aberration and can be minimized by using aspheric lens designs or
by combining multiple lens elements to correct the aberration.
 It leads to a reduction in sharpness and overall image quality.

3.Vignetting: Vignetting refers to the darkening or reduction of

brightness at the edges of an image compared to the center. It can
be caused by physical obstructions or light falloff towards the
 Lens defects can often be corrected or minimized through
various techniques:
1.Lens design: Advanced optical design techniques can be
employed to minimize or compensate for specific lens defects.
This involves optimizing the lens elements' shapes, curvatures,
and arrangements to reduce aberrations and achieve better
overall image quality.
2.Lens coatings: Anti-reflective coatings can be applied to lens
surfaces to reduce reflections and minimize flare and ghosting,
which can degrade image contrast and color accuracy.
3.Aspherical elements: The use of aspherical lens elements
helps reduce spherical aberration and other aberrations that are
difficult to correct with traditional spherical lenses.
4.Aperture selection: Choosing appropriate aperture settings
can help minimize certain lens defects. For example, stopping
down the lens (using a smaller aperture) can reduce the effects
of spherical aberration and improve overall sharpness.

5.Post-processing: Image editing software can be used to

correct lens defects in post-processing. Many software
applications provide tools specifically designed to correct
chromatic aberration, distortion, and vignetting.
 Bright field and dark field illumination

 Bright field and dark field illumination are two common

techniques used in microscopy to enhance the visibility of
specimens and provide different contrast effects.

1. Bright Field Illumination:

Bright field illumination is the most basic and widely used technique in
microscopy. In bright field microscopy, a specimen is illuminated
with a bright white light source (usually transmitted from below the
sample) and observed with a bright background. The light passes
through the specimen, and the details and structures within the
specimen absorb, transmit, or scatter the light to varying degrees,
 Key features of bright field illumination:

a. The specimen appears darker against a bright background.

b. It is suitable for observing stained or naturally pigmented

specimens.

c. Provides good resolution and contrast for specimens with

high light absorption or scattering properties.
2.Dark Field Illumination:

Dark field illumination is a technique used to observe

unstained, transparent, or lightly stained specimens that do
not absorb much light. It provides a high-contrast image by
illuminating the specimen with oblique or off-axis light,
while blocking the direct light from entering the objective
lens.
 Key features of dark field illumination:

 The specimen appears bright against a dark background.

 It is suitable for observing specimens with low light

absorption or scattering properties like small particles.
 Enhances the visibility of fine structures, edges, and
surface details.
 Particularly useful for studying internal structure, and
transparency of specimens.
 OPTICAL MICROSCOPE
• The optical microscope (light microscope),
is a type of microscope that commonly
uses visible light and a system of lens to
generate magnified images of small
objects.

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 PRINCIPLE
lt is based on its ability to focus a beam of
light through specimen, which is very small
and transparent to produce an image.
The image is then passed through one or more
lenses for magnification for viewing.
TYPICAL CROSS SECTION OF
OPTICAL MICROSCOPE
 The main steps of specimen preparation for light
microscopy include the following.
 sectioning;
 Mounting;
 Grinding;
 Polishing; and
 Etching.
 Comparison of OM,TEM and SEM

OM TEM SEM

Principal features of an optical microscope, a transmission

electron microscope and a scanning electron microscope,
drawn to emphasize the similarities of overall design.
 Optical Microscopy (OM ) vs
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

m
radiolarian
OM SEM
Small depth of field Large depth of field
Low resolution High resolution
 What is SEM

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a microscope that

uses electrons rather than light to form an image. There
are many advantages to using the SEM instead of a OM.
 Working principle of SEM
• The SEM is an instrument that produces a
largely magnified image by using electrons
instead of light to form an image. A beam of
electrons is produced at the top of the
microscope by an electron gun. The electron
beam follows a vertical path through the
microscope, which is held within a vacuum.
 Advantages of Using SEM over OM
 The SEM has a large depth of field, which allows a
large amount of the sample to be in focus at one time
and produces an image that is a good representation
of the three-dimensional sample.
 The SEM also produces images of high resolution,
which means that closely features can be examined
at a high magnification.
 The combination of higher magnification, larger
depth of field, greater resolution and compositional
and crystallographic information makes the SEM
one of the most heavily used instruments in research
areas and industries.
 Scanning Electron Microscope
– a Totally Different Imaging Concept

• Instead of using the full-field image, a point-to-point

measurement strategy is used.
• High energy electron beam is used to excite the specimen
and the signals are collected and analyzed so that an image
can be constructed.
• The signals carry topological, chemical and
crystallographic information, respectively, of the samples
surface.
 Main Applications
• Topography
The surface features of an object and its texture
(reflectivity, contrast… etc.).
• Morphology
The shape and size of the particles making up the
object.
• Composition
The elements and compounds that the object is
composed of and the relative amounts of them
(melting point, reactivity, etc.).
• Crystallographic Information
How the grains are arranged in the object
(conductivity, electrical properties...etc.)
• What is SEM?
• Working principles of SEM
• Major components and their functions
 How an Electron Beam is Produced?
• Electron guns are used to produce a fine,
controlled beam of electrons which are
then focused at the specimen surface.
 Why Need a Vacuum?
When a SEM is used, the electron-optical column and
sample chamber must always be at a vacuum.

1. If the column is in a gas filled environment, electrons

will be scattered by gas molecules which would lead to
reduction of the beam intensity and stability.

2. Other gas molecules, which could come from the

sample or the microscope itself, could form compounds
and condense on the sample. This would lower the
contrast and not clear in the image.
Major components and their functions
Magnetic Lenses
• Condenser lens – focusing
controls the spot size and convergence of the electron
beam which impinges on the sample.
• Objective lens – final probe forming
determines the final spot size of the electron beam,
i.e., the resolution of a SEM.
 http://www.matter.org.uk/tem/lenses/second_condenser_lens.htm

The Objective Lens - Focusing

• By changing the Objective
current in the lens

objective lens,
the magnetic field
strength changes
and therefore the
focal length of
the objective lens
is changed.
Out of focus in focus out of focus
lens current lens current lens current
too strong optimized too weak
Over-focused Focused Under-focused
 TEM - transmission electron
microscopy
• This is a powerful electron microscope that uses a
beam of electrons to focus on a specimen
producing a highly magnified and detailed image
of the specimen.
The magnification power is over 2 million times
better than that of the light microscope, producing
the image of the specimen which enables easy
characterization of the image in its morphological
features, compositions and crystallization
information is also detailed
• This TEM microscope has several advantages
compared to the light microscope with its
efficiency also being very high.
• Among all microscopes both light and electron
microscopes, TEM are the most powerful
microscopes used in laboratories.
• It can magnify a small particle of about 2nm, and
therefore they have a resolution limit of 0.2um..
 Principle of Transmission Electron Microscope
(TEM)
• The working principle of the Transmission Electron
Microscope (TEM) is similar to the light microscope.
• The major difference is that light microscopes use
light rays to focus and produce an image while the
TEM uses a beam of electrons to focus on the
specimen, to produce an image.
• Electrons have a shorter wavelength in comparison
to light which has a long wavelength.
• The mechanism of a light microscope is that an
increase in resolution power decreases the wavelength
of the light.
• but in the TEM, when the electron illuminates the
specimen, the resolution power increases
increasing the wavelength of the electron
transmission.
• The wavelength of the electrons is about 0.005nm
which is 100,000X shorter than that of light, hence
TEM has better resolution than that of the light
microscope, of about 1000times.
• This can accurately be stated that the TEM can be
used to detail the internal structures of the smallest
particles.
• Parts of Transmission Electron Microscope
(TEM)
• Their working mechanism is enabled by the
high-resolution power they produce which
allows it to be used in a wide variety of fields. It
has three working parts which include:
• Electron gun
• Image producing system
• Image recording system
• Electron gun
• This is the part of the Transmission Electron
Microscope responsible for producing electron
beams.
• Electrons are produced by a cathode that is a
tungsten filament that is V-shaped and it is normally
heated.
• When electrons are transmitted from the cathode,
they pass through the columnar aperture (hole) to
the anode at high voltage with constant energy,
which is efficient for focusing the specimen to
produce an accurately defined image.
 It also has the condenser lens system which works
to focus the electron beam on the specimen by
controlling the energy intensity and the column
hole of the electron gun.
 The TEM uses two condenser lenses to converge
the beam of electrons to the specimen.
 The two condenser lens each function to produce
an image i.e the first lens which has strong
magnification, produces a smaller image of the
specimen, to the second condenser lens, directing
the image to the objectives.
• Image- Producing system
• Its made up of the objective lens, a movable stage
or holding the specimen, intermediate and projector
lenses.
• They function by focusing the passing electrons
through the specimen forming a highly magnified
image.
• To produce efficient high standard images, the
objectives and the projector lenses need high power
supplies with high stability for the highest standard
of resolution.
• Image-Recording System
• Its made up of the fluorescent screen used to view
and to focus on the image.
• They also have a digital camera that permanently
records the images captured after viewing.
• They have a vacuum system that prevents the
bombardment or collision of electrons with air
molecules disrupting their movement and ability to
focus.
• A vacuumed system facilitates the straight
movement of electrons to the image.