Evaluation and application of a new scintillator-based heat-resistant back-scattered electron detector during heat treatment in the scanning electron microscope.

A new high-temperature detector dedicated to the collection of backscattered electrons is used in combination with heating stages up to 1050°C, in high-vacuum and low-vacuum modes in order to evaluate its possibilities through signal-to-noise ration measurements and different applications. Four examples of material transformations occurring at high temperature are herein reported: grain growth during annealing of a rolled platinum foil, recrystallisation of a multiphased alloy, oxidation of a Ni-based alloy and complex phase transformations occurring during the annealing of an Al-Si coated boron steel. The detector could be potentially adapted to any type of SEM and it offers good opportunities to perform high-temperature experiments in various atmospheres.