Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on High Temperature Corrosion and Protection of Materials
Actes du 3ème Colloque International sur la Corrosion et la Protection des Matériaux à Haute Température

J. Phys. IV France 03 (1993) C9-453-C9-460
DOI: 10.1051/jp4:1993948

Surface microsurgery: taper section preparation

J.A. Desport and M.J. Bennett

Surface Science and Technology Department, AEA Industrial Technology, B. 393 Harwell Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 ORA, U.K.

Abstract
Surface microsurgery is the science of preparing surface layers, such as oxide scales and coatings, for characterisation of their microstructure and composition, by conventional surface analytical techniques, such as SEM, EPMA, SIMS etc. A surface microsurgery procedure often employed involves the preparation of a taper section. Using relatively simple equipment, significant improvements have been made to the precision, and thus the effectiveness, of this procedure such that production of uniform, parallel cross sections, with magnifications in excess of 1000, can be achieved readily and consistently. The procedure has enabled the detailed characterisation of 100-5000 Å thick interlayers in composite coatings on both metallic and semi-conductor substrates and also two-dimensional elemental analysis of micron thick oxide scales.

© EDP Sciences 1993