David W. Susnitzky

Defect/surface interactions in heat-treated ceramic thin films

The use of transmission electron microscopy to study the interaction of lattice defects with surfaces of heat-treated ceramic materials is discussed. The approach used throughout the work described has been to prepare a thinned sample in a form suitable for imaging in the electron microscope and then to remove all preparation-induced damage by heat-treating the thinned sample. Applications of the technique to the movement and pinning of individual surface steps in alumina and the grooving of antiphase boundaries in silicon carbide are illustrated.