It was recalled that a residue of sintering additives was often found at the grain boundaries of sintered ceramics, and that this could be used to determine the macroscopic properties of sintered polycrystalline materials. High-angle annular dark-field imaging and energy-loss near-edge structure line-profile methods were used to measure the chemical width of grain boundaries by using sintering additives. The application of high-resolution transmission electron microscopic, and high-angle annular dark-field imaging methods, to B- and C-doped hot-pressed material led to the clear identification of structural differences within the matrix or at the grain boundaries. The segregation of B and N was clearly shown, as well as the chemical width.

Determination of the Chemical Width of Grain Boundaries of Boron- and Carbon-Doped Hot-Pressed β-SiC by HAADF Imaging and ELNES Line-Profile K.Kaneko, M.Kawasaki, T.Nagano, N.Tamari, S.Tsurekawa: Acta Materialia, 2000, 48[4], 903-10