A FORENSIC Analysis of Mobile Phone Glass

Application Note
with SEM​, EDS & micro-CT

A FORENSIC Analysis of Mobile Phone

Glass with SEM​, EDS & micro-CT

The concept of trace evidence in forensic science originates

from Locard’s exchange principle, which states that “every contact leaves
a trace.” The trace evidence is typically in the form of particles of skin, hair, fibers,
clothing, soil, paint, and glass, among other materials. The identification
of unknown particles by comparison of SEM/EDS data to reference
materials is valuable, because it provides fast results describing particle
composition and morphology with limited sample preparation.

This application illustrates how scanning electron
microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS)
and x-ray micro-computed tomography (CT) can be used
for the analysis of glass particles, in order to link them
to the glass covering a  smartphone. A  simulated trace-
evidence scenario was produced by subjecting an iPhone
4S to a  gunshot, generating glass particles from the
iPhone’s  front and back covers. These particles were
collected and served as an ideal case-study for particle
analysis and comparison. The condition of the iPhone
was  documented in a TESCAN VEGA SEM before and
after the test-firing (Fig. 1) to document the resulting
damage that caused particles to be  generated. Imaging
the entire phone required the use of a large chamber and
stage, variable pressure conditions, wide-field scanning,
panorama image stitching, stereo  image acquisition,
3D  reconstruction, large area EDS x-ray mapping,
and SEM/EDS particle analysis. X-ray CT analysis of the

c Figure 1: iPhone in the VEGA SEM chamber. (a) Wide-field SEM image of an entire iPhone 4S. This is a single image with a field-of-view
(FOV) of 128mm. The wide-field scan mode is unique in providing very large field-of-view image with little distortion. (b) Chamberview
image of the iPhone 4s on the VEGA SEM stage, after a single shot from a .22 caliber revolver. The exit cone that was created by the
round is facing upward, toward the microscope’s objective lens. The bullet struck the front side of the phone, in the upper area of the
display and it did not fully penetrate the backside of the case.

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 A FORENSIC Analysis of Mobile Phone Glass
Application Note
with SEM​, EDS & micro-CT

c Figure 2: Entrance & exit imaging. (a) Depth mode backscatter electron image of the entrance crater acquired at 30kV, 70mm WD,
10Pa, resulting in 12.3mm of depth-of-field. (b) Digital elevation model (DEM) of the entrance crater showing a change in height across
the crater of more than 9mm. (c) Wide Field mode variable pressure secondary electron image of the exit cone acquired at 25kV,
45mm WD, 15Pa, resulting in 41mm field-of-view. Wide field mode is hyperfocal, meaning that its depth-of-field is several centimeters.
(d) Digital elevation model (DEM) of the exit cone showing a change in height across the crater of more than 19mm.

c Figure 3: micro-CT & SEM digital elevation model of exit cone. (a) micro-CT visualization of the entire back surface of the iPhone
showing the damaged area around the bullet, the bullet itself & components below the backside surface at the top of the iPhone.
(b) micro-CT cross section showing damage to the iPhone battery near the bullet path. (c) SEM DEM of the exit cone rendered to match
fig. 3a. The SEM and micro-CT data can be correlated to provide more information about the surface and understand what lies beneath
the surface.

iPhone was also performed, and the results were used to
create a  direct correlation to the results of the SEM 3D
image reconstruction.
The glass covering the iPhone is non-conductive, so
the SEM electron beam causes charging of the iPhone
surface, which creates artifacts in the image. These
charging effects are mitigated by imaging in variable
pressure mode and at low-voltage working conditions in
the SEM. Top-down SEM imaging of the entrance and exit
is useful to visualize coarse and fine detail, but provides
little information about the Z-dimension of the surface
(Fig. 2a & Fig. 2c). Stereo imaging and 3D analysis reveal
that the bullet partially exited from the backside of the
iPhone. SEM stereo images are created by imaging the
same field-of-view and tilting the stage to different angles
for collection of the image pair. These source images
are then combined into a single picture with each image
in a  separate color plane, called an anaglyph image.
A  stereo anaglyph image presents a  three-dimensional
view of the surface by relying on the human visual system
to perceive the disparity of a single point in the images as
depth. The set of images can also be processed to create
a digital elevation model (DEM), which reveal quantifiable
details of the surface. The image processing detects the
same point in both source images, calculates the relative
height of each point in the field-of-view, creates a polygon
model of the surface, overlays it with the SEM image data
for texture and shading, and encodes height by color
mapping (Fig. 2b & Fig. 2d).
Imaging in 3D with the SEM provides an efficient way
to analyze three-dimensional topographic features
of the sample’s  surface. However, to investigate the
morphology and damage patterns on the inside of the
phone, a  complementary approach is required. X-ray
micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) can be used
for non-destructive 3D imaging of the full phone volume.

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 A FORENSIC Analysis of Mobile Phone Glass
Application Note
with SEM​, EDS & micro-CT

c Figure 4: Correlative imaging. (a) Macro photo of the frontside of the iPhone. (b) Panorama backscatter electron image of the frontside
of the iPhone stitched from 1620 automatically acquired image tiles at 30kV, 26mm WD & 15 Pa, covering an area of 60mm x 63mm.
(c) Large area EDS x-ray map of the frontside of the iPhone stitched from 1998 automatically acquired EDS x-ray maps at 20 kV, 16mm
WD & 10f Pa, covering an area of 60mm x 63mm with 12um pixel spacing. (d) Micro CT virtual slice of the frontside surface of the
iPhone.

c Figure 5: Imaging & mapping of particles from the iPhone. (a) Panorama backscatter electron image of a 12.5mm stub used to collect
particles liberated from the iPhone cover, stitched from 1167 automatically acquired image tiles at 20kV, 16mm WD & 20Pa. (b) Depth
mode variable pressure backscatter electron image acquired at 20kV, 15mm WD & 20Pa of a single particle that shows both the top
surface and the bulk areas of the glass. (c) EDS x-ray map showing particles randomly oriented, including the particle showing both
top and side surfaces.

For this analysis, a  TESCAN UniTOM XL was used to
visualize the entire iPhone volume. The x-ray tomogram
(Fig. 3a) confirms that the bullet remained in the iPhone,
only partially penetrating the back side. The bullet clearly
went through the battery (Fig. 3b), and bullet fragments
are shattered throughout the phone. Of course, external
features such as the fractured glass surface can be
studied using micro-CT. Furthermore, the 3D volume
can be used as a navigation tool for the SEM and other
techniques, to reach precise locations in a  correlative
workflow (Fig. 3c).
Forensic scientists use a  wide range of information to
determine the origin and nature of evidence. For example,
the iPhone cover is made from an alkali-aluminosilicate
glass sheet that gains its surface strength, ability to
contain flaws, and crack-resistance through immersion
in a proprietary, potassium-salt ion-exchange bath during
manufacturing. This results in the surface of the glass
being enriched in potassium and depleted in sodium, to
a  depth of tens of micrometers. This unique chemical
profile can be used to determine how the iPhone glass
fragments may be distributed and to distinguish them
from other particles in samples that are collected at
various locations. Fig. 4a-d show the same area of
the front side of the iPhone. Panoramic imaging, using
TESCAN’s Image Snapper tool, is a powerful complement
to wide-field imaging. While wide field imaging collects
a single image over a very large field of view, panoramic
imaging involves collecting an array of image tiles over
a large area. The stitched panorama provides both a large
field overview and high-resolution image information at
the same time. Acquiring optical, backscatter, and x-ray
data at a fine spatial resolution over a large area allows
correlation of coarse and fine detail in the fractured
surface of the phone. Each image (Fig. 4a-d) can be
loaded into the TESCAN Positioner tool, calibrated to the

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 A FORENSIC Analysis of Mobile Phone Glass
Application Note
with SEM​, EDS & micro-CT

c Figure 6: EDS analysis of glass particle. (a) Higher resolution x-ray map across the top-side boundary of the particle in fig. 5b. (b) EDS
x-ray linescan of the trace defined in fig 6a, showing the complementary decrease in sodium concentration and increase in potassium
concentration, moving from the side to the top surface. (c) Comparison of the side and top areas with summation spectra created from
the center of each area. The relative peak heights of sodium and potassium illustrate a significant change in chemistry.

stage and used as a  multilayer map to navigate across
the sample and define areas for further analysis.
While the surface of the iPhone did not feature many
particles, the container holding the iPhone during the test
firing collected many of them. Some of these particles
were collected on an SEM stub, and the SEM panorama
image of this stub is shown in Fig. 5a. High magnification
imaging, as shown in Fig. 5b, revealed that many of the
particles exhibit one very flat surface with other surfaces
that show features that are typical of glass fracture. The
x-ray map of the field-of-view shows randomly dispersed
particles, with some having a  sodium-rich surface and
some having a potassium-rich surface (Fig. 5c).
The difference in sodium and potassium content is
explained by the aforementioned salt bath that is used
during manufacturing, and the fact that some particles
on the tape were collected with the original surface of
the display facing upward, while others landed with the
fracture surface of the interior of the glass sheet facing
upward.​ A  linescan across the edge of a  single particle
(Fig. 6a) shows the phase relationship. This is shown in
an x-ray map, x-ray linescan (Fig. 6b) and comparison of
x-ray spectra (Fig. 6c).
Conclusions
This application note demonstrates the ability of the
TESCAN VEGA SEM to establish a match between a glass
particle and its source on the surface of an iPhone with
SEM, EDS, and micro-CT analyses. The use of variable
pressure imaging conditions, as well as wide field, depth,
and resolution scan modes were critical for image
acquisition. The TESCAN Image Snapper tool was used
extensively to create panorama images which enabled
the correlation of SEM, micro-CT, EDS and optical data.
SEM 3D reconstruction and micro-CT imaging were used
to correlate the surface and topography, as well as to
give insight into the damage within the phone. Finally,
EDS microanalysis data in the form of spectra, line scan,
mapping, and large area mapping were acquired from
samples to characterize the compositional variations
within the glass, which provides corroborating evidence
of the origin of the glass.
References​
Miller, Marilyn T. “Locard Exchange Principle.” Crime Scene
Investigation Laboratory Manual, 2014, pp. 15–20., doi:10.1016/
b978-0-12-405197-3.00003-4.
www.bentglassdesign.com. “A  Brief Explanation of Chemically
Strengthened Glass.” Glassonweb.com, Glassonweb.
com, 27 Sept. 2016, www.glassonweb.com/article/
brief-explanation-chemically-strengthened-glass.
Weaver, James C., et al. “Wide-Field SEM of Semiconducting
Minerals.” Materials Today, vol. 13, no. 10, 2010, pp. 46–53.,
doi:10.1016/s1369-7021(10)70186-3.
“Anaglyph 3D.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Jan. 2021,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaglyph_3D.
Wozniakiewicz, Penelope J., et al. “Preparation of Large Stardust
Aluminum Foil Craters for Analysis.” Meteoritics & Planetary
Science, vol. 53, no. 5, 2018, pp. 1066–1080., doi:10.1111/
maps.13052.
Thompson, Keith. “Large-Area Quantitative Phase Mapping in the
Scanning Electron Microscope.” Microscopy Today, vol. 25, no. 2,
2017, pp. 36–45., doi:10.1017/s1551929517000153.

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