  To engineer the next generation of advanced materials we must understand
their microstructure, and this requires microstructural characterization. This
can be achieved through the collection of high contrast, data rich, and
insightful microstructural maps. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has
emerged as a popular tool available within the scanning electron microscope
(SEM), where maps are realized through the repeat capture and analysis of
Kikuchi diffraction patterns. Typical commercial EBSD systems require large and
sophisticated detectors that are mounted on the side of the SEM vacuum chamber
which can be limiting in terms of widespread access to the technique. In this
work, we present an alternative open-hardware solution based upon a compact
EBSD system with a simple, static geometry that uses an off-the-shelf direct
electron detector co-mounted with a sample. This simple stage is easy to
manufacture and improves our knowledge of the diffraction geometry
significantly. Microscope and detector control is achieved through software
application programming interface (API) integration. After pattern capture,
analysis of the diffraction patterns is performed using open-source analysis
within AstroEBSD. To demonstrate the potential of this set up, we present two
simple EBSD experiments using line scan and mapping. We hope that the present
system can inspire simpler EBSD system design for widespread access to the EBSD
technique and promote the use of open-source software and hardware in the
workflow of EBSD experiments.
