Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) is a technique for obtaining crystallographic information from samples in the scanning electron microscope.

In this guide to EBSD for beginners we aim to explain both why it is useful to obtain this information and how the EBSD technique works.

30 second overview

This animation shows the basic principle. In this case, an electron beam moves to 5 points on the sample - each point is made from the same material but the grains/crystals are oriented in different ways. Each of the 5 points results in a different backscatter pattern, this is analysed by the software to derive the crystal orientation at that point.