SAM AES ANALYSIS OF GRAIN-BOUNDARIES IN ZIRCONIA CERAMICS/

Grain boundary impurity silicate phases and the segregation process of cations to grain boundaries in zirconia ceramics have been investigat ed using SAM/AES. Point analyses at triple points and grain surfaces r evealed a glassy silicate phase between the grain. The analysis of KLL and LMM Auger transitions for alumina and silica indicate that the gr ain boundary phase consists of about two monolayers of silica covering the alumina enriched silicate phase. In titania-stabilised zirconia c eramic, titanium cations are found to be enriched by a factor of 3.8 i n the near-grain-boundary region.