SEM, TEM and SLEEM (scanning low energy electron microscopy) of CB2 steel after creep testing

The demand to produce electrical power with higher efficiency and with lower environmental pollution is leading to the use of new advanced materials in the production of power plant equipment. To understand the processes taking place in parts produced from these materials during their operation under severe conditions (such as high temperature, high stress, and environmental corrosion) requires detailed evaluation of their substructure. It is usually necessary to use transmission electron microscopy (TEM). However, this method is very exacting and time-consuming. So there is an effort to use new scanning electron microscopy techniques instead of TEM. One of them is scanning low energy electron microscopy (SLEEM). This paper deals with an assessment of the possibility to use SLEEM for describing the substructure of creep resistant steel CB2 after long-term creep testing. In the SLEEM images more information is contained about the microstructure of the material in comparison with standard scanning electron microscopy. Study of materials using slow and very slow electrons opens the way to better understanding their microstructures.