CATHODOLUMINESCENCE MICROSCOPY OF IMPURITY PHASES IN ZRO2 NI NANO-COMPOSITES/

Cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy of Ni/cubic-ZrO2 nano-composites h as been used to demonstrate the presence of both secondary phases and compositional fluctuations within the microstructure. X-ray microanaly sis showed that in this material red CL emissions were generated from aluminium rich phases, blue emissions originated from silicon rich pha ses, and green CL emissions were associated with a monoclinic zirconia phase. In rapidly characterizing the distribution and density of thes e impurities, the CL technique has proved to be a powerful and versati le tool in the determination of the purity of sintered pellets.