Metals
Browse all applications for metals
Our SIMS and APT instruments address a large range of microanalytical challenges in the metal industry: from bulk composition to the study of diffusion phenomena in polycrystalline samples, from surface imaging analysis to the study of grain boundary segregation, precipitation and clustering...
Metals
Detecting Trapped Hydrogen in Aluminum Alloy (SIMS)
The hydrogen atom easily invades into metals causing degradation of the mechanical properties, well-known as hydrogen embrittlement. It is therefore important to perform local analysis of hydrogen to better understand hydrogen trapping phenomenon in metallic materials. It has been, however, extremely difficult to analyze “real” hydrogen at trap sites in metallic materials by SIMS due to false detections of hydrogen caused by background-originated signal.
Metals
Oxygen Depth Profiling in Zn Coated Steel (SIMS)
Dynamic SIMS is widely used for the microcharacterization of metallurgical samples, thanks to its unique advantages: low detection limits for all species (H-U) including atmospheric species, possibility to use isotopic tracers, and capability to visualize their distribution in three dimensions.
Metals
Oxidation Behavior in Zirconium Alloys (NanoSIMS)
The NanoSIMS has been used to study the oxidation mechanisms when commercial low tin ZIRLO™1 and Zircaloy 4 materials are exposed to corroding environments. Zr alloys were oxidized for various times (34 days, 80 days and 160 days) in an autoclave to simulate Pressurized Water nuclear Reactor conditions (pure water (+ Li, B) at 360°C and 18 Mpa). Isotopic tracers 18O and 2H were then added for an additional duration of 20 days to reveal active oxidation sites by NanoSIMS imaging of cross-sections near the surface.
Metals
Grain Boundary Analysis in Metals (APT)
The functional properties of many metals and alloys are determined by the chemical and/or morphological distribution of the crystallographic grains in the material. The properties of the regions where grains come together (grain boundaries) often determine the formation, evolution, and stabilization (or dissolution) of the grains and as such, characterization of grain boundaries (GB) is of critical importance in materials studies.
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