ONSET, FOLLOW-UP AND ASSESSMENT OF COALESCENCE

The process of film formation and the degree to which the formed films attain their optimum properties is investigated. The film formation p rocess was followed using several properties of the materials includin g resistivity, weight loss and spectroscopy. Dynamic thickness measure ments were made on the forming films using a laser profilometer and it is reported that during the process of sintering, the film thickness decreases much quicker than would be expected from the weight loss pro files. The degree to which the films form is examined utilising the ma terials' known susceptibility to water ingress and atomic force micros copy is demonstrated as potentially a very useful tool for the assessm ent of the formed films. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.