Imaging microanalysis of ceramic materials with a scanning ion microprobe

This article discusses the application of a scanning ion microprobe coupled with secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) in the microanalytical characterization of ceramic materials. The high spatial resolution afforded by the microprobe mode, in conjunction with the analytical sensitivity of SIMS, make this technique ideally suited to explore the microchemistry of ceramics, which have complex microstructures and contain several trace and light elements. Two case studies of interface analysis are presented: YBa2Cu3O7‐x superconductors and sintered silicon carbide. Sodium and chlorine impurities were found to segregate to the grain boundaries of melt‐grown YBa2Cu3O7‐x, accompanied by oxygen deficiency. In SiC sintered with Al2O3, Al was present along the grain boundaries in elemental from and at triple‐grain junctions as Al oxide second phases.