As part of a study on nucleation and growth of graphite in spheroidal graphite irons, systematic transmission electron microscopy observations are carried out. For this, focused ion beam is used to prepare thin foils that are precisely located and present an even thickness thus allowing high quality characterization.

In this work, a nucleus with an overall elongated shape that was found in a perfectly round graphite spheroid is investigated by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The acquisition of STEM images at different tilt of this nucleus is achieved which allows illustrating the precipitation process of the many phases constituting it. For the first time, a remaining of inoculant could be identified within the nucleus. Furthermore, the elongated shape of the nucleus is a definitive proof that the shape of nucleus does not determine that of the emerging graphite precipitate.

作为球墨铸铁中石墨成核和生长研究的一部分，进行了系统的透射电子显微镜观察。为此，聚焦离子束用于制备精确定位并呈现均匀厚度的薄箔，从而实现高质量表征。

在这项工作中，通过扫描透射电子显微镜（STEM）结合能量色散X射线光谱研究了在完美圆形石墨球体中发现的具有整体细长形状的核。实现了在该原子核的不同倾斜下获取STEM图像，这可以说明构成它的许多相的沉淀过程。首次可以在细胞核内鉴定出孕育剂的残留。此外，原子核的细长形状是原子核的形状不能决定新出现的石墨沉淀物的形状的确定证据。