Premium
Thin foil preparation of metal particles in brittle ceramic matrices
Author(s) -
Yang CheolWoong,
Williams David B.,
Goldstein Joseph I.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0029(19961101)35:4<334::aid-jemt4>3.0.co;2-m
Subject(s) - materials science , foil method , polishing , brittleness , ceramic , metal , silicate , meteorite , composite material , metallurgy , chemical engineering , physics , astronomy , engineering
Thin foil preparation for metal particles in brittle ceramic matrices is particularly difficult, due to differential thinning of the component materials. This paper considers the preparation of thin foils of stony meteorites. Stony meteorites have a composite nature consisting of small metal particles (<200 μm) embedded in an inherently brittle silicate matrix. Specimens of this type are difficult to prepare as thin foils because the area of interest is limited to specific regions within the metal particles. The problems of thin foil preparation of metal particles in the stony meteorites were overcome by developing a technique involving electrochemical polishing prior to ion beam thinning. The metal particles were first separated from the silicate matrix and then embedded in Epo‐Tek H20E silver epoxy. This specific epoxy was selected for its good electron conductivity which allowed the specimen to be thinned by the electrochemical polishing technique. Specimens prepared by this technique have permitted the direct observation and characterization of the metallic phases in stony meteorites. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.