Analytical technology was first developed as a simple material evaluation technology, and now it has become a supporting technology for material development. The analysis results provide important information for the development of high-performance surfaces and interface materials. In order to meet the user's requirements for steel materials such as corrosion resistance, first-class steel mills have vigorously developed surface treatment technologies and film forming technologies for steel materials. The microscopic conditions of the surface, film and grain boundaries of steel materials use advanced electron microscopy and surface analysis techniques. Increasing analytical techniques provide strong support for the development of steel at a higher level.

In the research of galvanized steel sheet structure, surface analysis techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and glow discharge spectroscopy (GDOES) have been used to perform elemental analysis in the depth direction of the coating. These technologies are still an important means of research on the structure of galvanized steel sheets. At first, a transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis was used, followed by a focused ion beam method (FIB) using a TEM film sample. FIB was first used for fault analysis of semiconductors and was later used for surface section analysis of metal and steel materials. When the TEM film was first produced by the FIB method, it was carried out in accordance with a method of producing a semiconductor wafer. The sample was cut using a precision cutter, and then the cut sample was sliced by a polishing method, and finally finished by a FIB method to form a TEM film.

The evaluation of the surface properties such as the corrosion resistance of the steel sheet is generally carried out under normal atmospheric pressure. However, the surface of the material is sometimes covered by gas or moisture other than air. And the surface of the material also changes at all times. In addition, electron microscopy analysis and other surface analysis methods mostly observe and analyze the sample in a vacuum, and the temperature at the time of measurement is room temperature. This means that the environment in which the surface of the material is analyzed and measured is very different from the manufacturing environment and environment in which the material is used. In general, the initial material and the final material are analyzed and compared, or the sample materials sampled at different times are analyzed and compared to estimate the surface state and changes of the actual material. If the dynamic analysis of the changes in the surface of the material can be carried out under the actual environment, the nature of the material properties can be directly solved, and the direction of controlling the properties of the material can be found. This is exactly what people are looking for. To this end, researchers strive to develop and make the analysis environment and reality.

When performing analysis in a real environment, light and X-rays that can be used in the atmosphere are often utilized. However, these techniques are generally not applicable to the observation of fine structures. Analytical techniques in an actual environment using an electron microscope include an environmental SEM that can be observed in a low vacuum environment, an environmental TEM, and an atmospheric pressure SEM that observes substances in the atmosphere and a solution separated by a thin film. Further application of these analytical methods has resulted in in situ resolution techniques. In-situ analysis technology directly links dynamic observation, analysis, and characterization to quickly determine the optimal control direction of the material. This is the material analysis method that people are looking forward to.

In order to obtain information on the depth direction of the steel sheet surface, the commonly used analytical methods in the past are Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray electron spectroscopy (XPS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and glow discharge spectroscopy (GDOES). )Wait. Scanning Auger Electron Microscopy (SAM) is used for micro-scale local area analysis. When the thickness of the sample was 1 μm or more, the cross section of the sample prepared by polishing was analyzed by SEM and SAM. But making micron-sized specimen sections is not an easy task. Due to the progress of the FIB method, it has become easy to produce SEM and TEM cross-section samples and sheets from the target site, which has greatly improved the surface analysis technology of the steel sheet.

The combination of analytical techniques and computational science will further promote the resolution of the nature of grain boundary segregation and the mechanism by which grain boundary segregation affects material properties. At present, the application of these technologies in steel materials is mainly the analysis of fine structures in steel structures. In the future, as technology pushes to the surface and surface interface, more and more practical materials will continue to emerge, and analysts wearing white coats will be more and more valued, and their role will be fully reflected.