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The effect of columnar grain boundaries on the fracture toughness was investigated using micro-cantilever fracture testing with a bridge notch, and a unique hard coating consisting of two distinct microstructures: one with columnar grains and another with an epitaxial layer. The bridge-failure sequence qualitatively demonstrated the lower fracture toughness at the columnar-grained structure. Quantitatively, the load drops measured at bridge-failure also revealed a significant decrease in fracture toughness due to grain boundaries. Specifically, the fracture toughness decreased by around 30%, from 4.1 +/- 0.4 MPa m1/2 for epitaxial microstructure to 3.0 +/- 0.3 MPa m1/2 for columnar-grained structure. The fracture toughness of columnar-grained structure is 3.0 +/- 0.2 MPa m1/2 perpendicular to the growth direction higher than 2.7 +/- 0.1 MPa m1/2 along it. These findings suggest that future optimization of hard coatings should focus on grain boundary toughening, and the present toolbox proposes suitable techniques for such microstructure optimization., Comment: 4 figures

Four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) is a powerful tool that allows for the simultaneous acquisition of spatial and diffraction information, driven by recent advancements in direct electron detector technology. Although 4D-STEM has been predominantly developed for and used in conventional TEM and STEM, efforts are being made to implement the technique in scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In this paper, we push the boundaries of 4D-STEM in SEM and extend its capabilities in three key aspects: (1) faster acquisition rate with reduced data size, (2) higher angular resolution, and (3) application to various materials including conventional alloys and focused ion beam (FIB) lamella. Specifically, operating the MiniPIX Timepix3 detector in the event-driven mode significantly improves the acquisition rate by a factor of a few tenths compared to conventional frame-based mode, thereby opening up possibilities for integrating 4D-STEM into various in situ SEM testing. Furthermore, with a novel stage-detector geometry, a camera length of 160 mm is achieved which improves the angular resolution amplifying its utility, for example, magnetic or electric field imaging. Lastly, we successfully imaged a nanostructured platinum-copper thin film with a grain size of 16 nm and a thickness of 20 nm, and identified annealing twins in FIB-prepared polycrystalline copper using virtual darkfield imaging and orientation mapping. This work demonstrates the potential of synergetic combination of 4D-STEM with in situ experiments, and broadening its applications across a wide range of materials.