From Crack to Cause — SEM in Failure Analysis

2025-04-17

When a component fails, the fracture surface is its “black box.” Failure analysis uses multiple tools—optical microscopy, hardness tests, chemical analysis—but scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is the method that turns the surface into hard evidence.

In the workflow shown, an optical navigation image pinpoints regions of interest, and SE close-ups reveal the micro-topography of the fracture. SEM can clearly distinguishes failure modes:

Brittle cleavage with flat facets and river patterns,

Ductile overload with equiaxed dimples,

Fatigue with striations and secondary cracking,

Intergranular fracture along grain boundaries.

These signatures localize the crack origin, show the propagation direction, and connect the fracture to root causes such as inclusions, hydrogen embrittlement, improper heat treatment, or overload.

Dimples—Ductile

An impact fracture：Cleavage—Brittle

What Shining Scientific SEM delivers in failure analysis

Mode & origin identification: Tip integrity, facet/dimple morphology, and beach/striations for definitive calls.

Elemental evidence: BSE contrast and EDS maps to confirm non-metallic inclusions, corrosion products, or contamination at the initiation site.

Quantitative metrics: Measure dimple size, facet spacing, micro-crack density, and roughness to support reports.

Macro-to-micro speed: Optical navigation → targeted SEM imaging, minimizing search time and maximizing traceability.

From incoming inspection to root-cause reports, SEM provides a quantitative, traceable evidence chain. Bring your failed parts for a live demo—see how cracks become answers.

The images in this article were captured with Shining Scientific TT-SEM: SC-TS100 series.

Shining Scientific SEM highlights

High resolution: 5.0 nm, up to 300,000× magnification.

Extra-large chamber: Supports large parts and batch holders to boost inspection throughput.

Wide accelerating-voltage range: Meets diverse imaging and EDS needs.

Flexible Z-axis: Switch imaging/analysis modes without removing the sample.

Dual navigation: Chamber camera + navigation camera for intuitive height and position targeting.

Multi-language, intuitive GUI: New users and experts can both obtain high-quality images with ease.

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