Training

How to Increase Your Materials Characterization Knowledge with EDAX

Sue Arnell, Marketing Communications Manager, EDAX

The EDAX Applications and Product Management teams have been very busy offering free ‘continuing education’ workshops in September and October – with a great global response from our partners and customers.

At the end of September, Applications Specialist Shawn Wallace and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) Product Manager Matt Nowell joined 6 additional speakers at a ‘Short Lecture Workshop for EBSD’, sponsored by EDAX at the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS) at The Ohio State University. The participants attended sessions ranging from ‘EBSD Introduction and Optimization of Collection Parameters for Advanced Application’ to ‘The Dictionary Approach to EBSD: Advances in Highly-Deformed and Fine-Grained Materials’.

Feedback on this workshop included the following comments, “This was a great learning opportunity after working with my lab’s EDAX systems for a couple of months”; “I like the diversity in the public and the talks.  I was very pleased with the overall structure and outcome”; and “Great! Very helpful.”

Matt Nowell presents at the ‘Short Lecture Workshop for EBSD’ at CEMAS, OSU.

In mid-October, EBSD Applications Specialist, Dr. Rene de Kloe traveled to India for a series of workshops on EBSD at the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore), the International Advanced Research Center (Hyderabad), and the Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai). Topics discussed at the sessions included:

• Effects of measurement and processing parameters on EBSD
• The application of EBSD to routine material characterization
• Defining resolution in EBSD analysis
• Three Dimensional EBSD analysis – temporal and spatial
• Advanced data averaging tools for improved EDS and EBSD mapping – NPAR™
• Microstructural Imaging using an Electron Backscatter Diffraction Detector – PRIAS™
• Transmission EBSD from low to high resolution

Dr. René de Kloe presents at one of three recent workshops in India.

According to our National Sales Manager in India, Arjun Dalvi, “We conducted this seminar at different sites and I would like to share that the response from all our attendees was very good. They were all eager to get the training from Dr. René and to take part in very interactive Q and A sessions, in which many analysis issues were solved.”

Global Applications Manager Tara Nylese was at the Robert A. Pritzker Science Center in Chicago, IL last week to give a presentation on “Materials Characterization with Microscopy and Microanalysis” for the Illinois Institute of Technology. “In this lecture, we started with a basic introduction to electron microscopy, and then dived deeper into the fundamentals of X-ray microanalysis. We explored both the basics of X-ray excitation, and how to evaluate peaks in an X-ray spectrum. From there, we looked at applied examples such as composition variation in alloys, chemical mapping of components of pharmaceutical tablets, and some fascinating underlying elemental surprises in biological materials.”

Finally, today we have 50 participants at the Geological Museum in Cambridge, MA for a training workshop given by Dr. Jens Rafaelsen and sponsored by Harvard University on “Taking TEAM™ EDS Software to the Next Level” * Presentation topics include:

• Basic operation of the TEAM™ EDS Analysis package
• How to get the most out of TEAM™ EDS Analysis
• Advanced training
• Tips and Tricks using TEAM™ EDS Analysis

Dr. Jens Rafaelsen presents at the Harvard workshop.

Here at EDAX, we are keen to provide our customers, potential customers, and partners with opportunities to improve their knowledge and polish their skills using the techniques, which are central to the EDAX product portfolio.  Our EDS, EBSD, WDS and XRF experts enjoy helping with regular training sessions, webinars, and workshops. If you would like to be included, please check for upcoming webinars, workshops, and training sessions at www.edax.com.

*A video of these workshop sessions will be available from EDAX in the coming weeks.

EDAX China User Meeting in Guiyang 贵阳用户会流水帐

Dr. Sophie Yan, Applications Engineer China, EDAX

EDAX China User Meeting, Guiyang.

EDAX held a China user meeting in Guiyang, Guizhou province in July 2017. We had a wonderful time with over 100 customers and colleagues. The User Meeting was very interesting; the weather is cool in summer; and the activities after the meeting were great fun.. I have several pictures to show the different moments…
Generally, Guiyang is not very popular with Chinese people. In Shanghai, there are luxuries in Huaihai Road and crowds in Nanjing Road; in Beijing, you find the solemn Tiananmen Square and desolate The Great Wall, but in Guiyang, I just had an impression of a poverty-stricken mountain area. Then I met a friend from Guiyang, she also talked about poverty and the mountain area, but she was much more enthusiastic about the region. She said it was warm in winter and cool in summer; she said the mountain and water were so nice. She was a stylish girl, living an exquisite life; but she always wished she could go back to hometown earlier. From then on, Guiyang became a kind of mystery in my mind.
其实我对贵阳思慕已久。
上海上海，是淮海路的名牌南京路的热闹；北京北京，是天安门的庄严长城的苍凉。贵阳，有什么？大山的贫瘠与封闭？直到当年，我碰到一位朋友，来自贵阳。她也说起大山及贫穷，但是她的话里，那里冬暖夏凉，水暖山温。那位朋友，思想前卫，生活精致，心心念念的，却是早日回家。至此，贵阳，在我心里是颇为神秘的所在。
After so many years, when I arrived in Guiyang, the feeling of mystery and novelty disappeared. The airport looks great and the billboard is modern and impressive. It was no different from other places, except that it’s 10 degrees cooler than Shanghai. I shared this image in ‘wechat’ moments, then got a lot of ’likes’.
一念多年。当踏上这个城市的土地，我所以为的一切，新奇，神秘，通通颠覆。这里的机场不小，广告牌也一派摩登气派。和我去过的地方并无多大不同。除了，比起火炉一般的江浙沪低了十度，发在微信朋友圈，引起一片哀号。看看这一张截图，就拉了多少仇恨。

During the conference our VP Mark Grey came and delivered a corporate introduction. Nan Lin from Singapore and local applications showed new product information: EDS, EBSD, XRF, etc.
开会中……VP Mark过来作公司简介，新加坡的林楠以及国内的应用分别作产品介绍……EDS，EBSD，XRF，嗯，分工明确。

Invited speakers shared their research work in the afternoon. Each one generated lively discussion. The EDAX user meeting is not only an opportunity to show EDAX products, it is also a platform for users’ to communicate with each other and discuss current challenges in microanalysis.
下午各位嘉宾给大家作邀请报告……每个报告都引起了热烈的反应，讨论得不亦乐乎……EDAX的用户会不单是一个产品展示的环节，更是一个用户交流的平台……

Speakers at the China User Meeting 2017

Imagine the scenery outside. The weather forecast showed 29 degree(Celsius), but it was cool actually. Green trees and a humid atmosphere made the sultry summer go away.
开会中间例行出来拍照，当时天气预报29度，但是风吹得非常凉爽。分明才是初夏的温度，凉风习习的感觉。加上四周绿树葱茏，空气中的润泽气息，盛夏的酷热，早已远离。

 
The hotel located beside Guanshanhu Park, which was gorgeous.
酒店在观山湖公园旁边，风景如画（图片来自百度，笔者拍照无能……）		 No one was in this corner of the park. Red flowers were quietly in bloom.
傍晚的公园角落寂寂无人，一丛红花在碎石小径上静静盛开。

We went to Huangguoshu waterfall! The white waterfall poured down. I felt the vapor and steam: it was amazing.
当然这次贵阳之行的精妙处不止于此……还有我最为盼望的——黄果树瀑布！如匹练的白色倾泻直下，瀑布脚下水汽氤氲，在近处感受那赫赫声势，大自然的鬼斧神工，实非人力所能及。
Just behind the hill, the water from the waterfall formed a lake, gentle and quiet.
瀑布积水成湖，湖水温柔静谧。水的另一面。

We also experienced the different culture of the local ethnic minority. Terraced fields, bamboo buildings，songs and dance from local people. Attractive.
我们还顺便见识了少数民族的多样文化。梯田，依山而建的竹楼，以及多姿多彩的歌舞。不虚此行。

Finally, we are looking forward to the next user meeting in China!
流水帐完结处，唯愿年年有今日，岁岁有今朝！

Journey of Learning: Teaching Yourself the Power of EBSD

Shawn Wallace – Applications Engineer, EDAX

The joy of learning is sadly something that many people forget about and some never really feel. One of the things I like to keep in mind when I am learning something new is that learning is usually not a eureka moment, but a process of combining concepts and ideas already known, to reach a new solution or idea. The reason I was thinking about learning as a process is because recently I found myself forgetting that. A customer sample came in that was, for EBSD, hard in every way: Difficult crystal system/orientation, sample prep issues, poor diffractor. With all those factors, the sample was putting up a fight and winning, mainly because I allowed it to. I had tried all my normal tricks and was not making much headway. I knew the sample was analyzable, but I was not treating the process as a personal learning opportunity, instead I was treating it as a fight that I had to win. I was quickly bouncing from potential solution to potential solution and trying them, without spending much time on thinking what would be best to try and how to tackle the problem as a problem, and not a challenge. I didn’t even frame it that way in my own head until a week later when I was visiting a customer site to do some training.

During the training session, a sample came up with a very different set of problems, but still ones that were stymieing us as we sat at the microscope. I found the user resorting to what I had done previously; just try this and see if it works, without thinking about what the best course of action was. As I sat there, I told them to take a step back and evaluate what the issue was and how we could use our knowledge of all the functions available to us in the TEAM™ software and/or our microscope to find a solution. We sat and talked about the issue and the user was able to come up with a game plan and try some things that would help him reach a solution or gain additional knowledge, aka LEARN. I learned that day – that I sometimes need to treat myself the way I would treat a user. There will always be cases when I don’t know the answer and I have to teach myself the solution.

That leads us to an open question. How do you learn EBSD as you go along? With that in mind, here at EDAX we are going to start a new series of blog posts to discuss the basics of EBSD, from pattern formation, the Hough Transform, and finally indexing. More importantly, I hope to touch on how to troubleshoot issues using your newfound understanding of these concepts and tie the entire processes together as they all play off each other.

My final goal is get your creative juices flowing to dive deeper into understanding the kind of questions that EBSD can answer, and how that, in the end, can provide you with an incredible understanding of your analysis challenges and ultimately a solution to the problem. EBSD is one of the most powerful analytical techniques that I know. It can answer the simple questions (what phase is my sample?) to the incredibly complex (if I squeeze my sample this way, which grains will tend to deform first?). As your knowledge grows, EBSD is one step ahead of you, egging you on to learn more and more. I hope to be your guide on this Journey of Learning. I think I will learn quite a bit too.

Training classes and You

Shawn Wallace, Applications Engineer, EDAX

Over the last month or so, I have spent quite a bit of time training people on our systems. Between a workshop, the Lehigh Microscopy school, two webinars, and two in-house training courses, I have interacted with all levels of users. This had me thinking back to my experiences, years ago on the other side of the desk in the EDAX classroom and what I learned from the courses. With that in mind, I began thinking about what our customers/students can do to get the best out of our training sessions.

The biggest thing they can do is to spend time familiarizing themselves with the general operation of their complete system: their SEM, our systems, and most importantly, with their samples.  Sit down, fiddle with things and just learn how different settings interact; Amp time and Deadtime for EDS, Camera settings for EBSD (see my ‘Camera Optimization’ webinar). The main thing this does is makes you start thinking about what these settings are doing and how they work with your samples. While you do this, you will start to formulate questions in your mind. For some of these questions you will be able to come to an answer. Some will be directly answered during the course. Others will click while you listen and make connections to your work and I will see that ‘Aha!’ moment on your face as you figure out, why that little trick worked or possibly failed miserably.  By spending the time to figure out things on your own, you are getting in the right mindset to come to our courses and ask questions.

This leads to the second biggest thing you can do: Ask me questions! That is why engaging with your system is so important. You are setting yourself up to ask pertinent questions about your samples and your systems. You are finding your natural work flow, but our job is to help you to optimize it, to help you to understand what you are doing, and most importantly help you to understand why you should do it that way. This is why running your system with your samples is a very important thing to do before you come to our courses.

Another reason for asking questions is that you need to be an active learner and engage with your instructor (aka me). Ever sat in a college class and had the teacher just talk and talk and talk for hours on a subject as you sip your coffee to try to keep yourself from dozing off? Ever taught a class and looked at the faces of people sipping their coffee as their heads do that little nod as they fail to stay awake? It’s not fun for either person. I always start my training courses by saying that I want questions. I want you to be engaged and thinking during the entirety of my courses. I want it to not be a lecture, but a conversation. I want that instant feedback to help me understand what concepts you are struggling with and what topics are clicking, so that I can dive deeper into subjects that I need to.

That’s it. That is all you need to do to come to our courses and get the most out of them. Be prepared and be engaged. You will absorb the information we are giving you and you will be able to take it home and put it to use to get better and faster results, while understanding what the system is doing at a much deeper level.

With all that said, there is one more important step. You should never stop learning. Luckily for you, the applications team here at EDAX is always creating new resources for our customers to use to learn with. Sometimes it is quick blog post about some neat new feature we have implemented, at other times it’s a webinar covering the most difficult aspects of microanalysis.

I hope to see you soon on the other side of a desk. Happy Learning in the meantime!

Click here for more information about upcoming EDAX training sessions.