Machine Learning for Identifying Grain Boundaries in Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Images of Nanoparticle Superlattices

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Hauptverfasser: Paruchuri, Aanish, Thrasher, Carl, Hart, A. J., Macfarlane, Robert, Jayaraman, Arthi
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Paruchuri, Aanish
Thrasher, Carl
Hart, A. J.
Macfarlane, Robert
Jayaraman, Arthi
author_facet Paruchuri, Aanish
Thrasher, Carl
Hart, A. J.
Macfarlane, Robert
Jayaraman, Arthi
contents Nanoparticle superlattices consisting of ordered arrangements of nanoparticles exhibit unique optical, magnetic, and electronic properties arising from nanoparticle characteristics as well as their collective behaviors. Understanding how processing conditions influence the nanoscale arrangement and microstructure is critical for engineering materials with desired macroscopic properties. Microstructural features such as grain boundaries, lattice defects, and pores significantly affect these properties but are challenging to quantify using traditional manual analyses as they are labor-intensive and prone to errors. In this work, we present a machine learning workflow for automating grain segmentation in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of nanoparticle superlattices. This workflow integrates signal processing techniques, such as Radon transforms, with unsupervised learning methods like agglomerative hierarchical clustering to identify and segment grains without requiring manually annotated data. In the workflow we transform the raw pixel data into explainable numerical representation of superlattice orientations for clustering. Benchmarking results demonstrate the workflow's robustness against noisy images and edge cases, with a processing speed of four images per minute on standard computational hardware. This efficiency makes the workflow scalable to large datasets and makes it a valuable tool for integrating data-driven models into decision-making processes for material design and analysis. For example, one can use this workflow to quantify grain size distributions at varying processing conditions like temperature and pressure and using that knowledge adjust processing conditions to achieve desired superlattice orientations and grain sizes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_04172
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Machine Learning for Identifying Grain Boundaries in Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Images of Nanoparticle Superlattices
Paruchuri, Aanish
Thrasher, Carl
Hart, A. J.
Macfarlane, Robert
Jayaraman, Arthi
Materials Science
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Image and Video Processing
Nanoparticle superlattices consisting of ordered arrangements of nanoparticles exhibit unique optical, magnetic, and electronic properties arising from nanoparticle characteristics as well as their collective behaviors. Understanding how processing conditions influence the nanoscale arrangement and microstructure is critical for engineering materials with desired macroscopic properties. Microstructural features such as grain boundaries, lattice defects, and pores significantly affect these properties but are challenging to quantify using traditional manual analyses as they are labor-intensive and prone to errors. In this work, we present a machine learning workflow for automating grain segmentation in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of nanoparticle superlattices. This workflow integrates signal processing techniques, such as Radon transforms, with unsupervised learning methods like agglomerative hierarchical clustering to identify and segment grains without requiring manually annotated data. In the workflow we transform the raw pixel data into explainable numerical representation of superlattice orientations for clustering. Benchmarking results demonstrate the workflow's robustness against noisy images and edge cases, with a processing speed of four images per minute on standard computational hardware. This efficiency makes the workflow scalable to large datasets and makes it a valuable tool for integrating data-driven models into decision-making processes for material design and analysis. For example, one can use this workflow to quantify grain size distributions at varying processing conditions like temperature and pressure and using that knowledge adjust processing conditions to achieve desired superlattice orientations and grain sizes.
title Machine Learning for Identifying Grain Boundaries in Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Images of Nanoparticle Superlattices
topic Materials Science
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Image and Video Processing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.04172