Electron Microscopy OverviewThe use of zinc-coated steels for automotive, construction, and appliance applications has grown continually during the past decade. An understanding of the effects of process parameters and substrate characteristics on the coating microstructure is critical for optimizing the performance of the zincbased coatings. This paper presents an overview of the application of advanced electron and focused-ion-beam microscopy techniques to characterize the microstructure of galvanized and galvannealed coatings.Sylvie Dionne is a research scientist at