The microscopy effort within the Saint-Gobain R&D labs involves working with a wide variety of ceramic materials. Samples vary from routine QC type work, to manufacturing plant emergencies, to failure analysis, to marketing support. A typical sample will require a variety of techniques to provide a solution within a few working days. Working in such an environment it is essential that people are aware of the different analytical tools that can be utilized in a given situation. For the microscopists in our lab this means a working knowledge of the techniques that are close to our core competencies centered around optical microscopy and SEM; these include AFM, XRD, Auger, SIMS, and FTIR, which are all used in a complimentary fashion. The examples shown here are illustrative of the kinds of problems worked on and the interactive nature of the solutions.

XRD of a siliconized silicon carbide material showed that it contained a higher fraction of the beta phase than was expected.