Non-destructive evaluation of delamination in ceramic thin films on metal substrates by scanning electron microscopy

A novel technique based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been used to estimate the amount of delamination in thin ceramic 'splats' obtained b y quenching from the liquid state on metal substrates. It is in the nature of these severely quenched materials to crack heavily and delaminate at cra ck edges. SEM images of the splats exhibit a contrast delineating the decoh ered regions of the splat. Insulating thin films on metal substrates exhibi t a composite conductivity that is dependent on contact at the interface. T he influence of spatially varying conductivity on charging in the insulatin g film causes variations in the emission current intensities used for gener ating images. Analysis of image contrast provides a non-destructive measure of delamination. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.