Investigations of nanometer thickness of crystalline & amorphous

equilibrium films at metal-ceramic interfaces by electron microscope.

Wayne D. Kaplan
Department of Materials Engineering
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Haifa 32000 Israel

Classical approach to analysis of metal-ceramic joins is via wetting & thermodynamic work of
adhesion. Contact angles derived from wetting experiments are a direct route to obtain information
on energy of interfaces. However, factors involved in wetting experiments extend well beyond
contact angle as a function of temperature. These additional parameters include segregation of
dopants &/or impurities in metal & ceramic, partial pressure of reactive gases in gas phase, &
structural transformations at all three of interfaces involved in wetting experiment. Two examples
of the influence of these parameters will be presented.

Impurities segregating to the metal-ceramic interface can significantly change contact angle &
thermodynamic work of adhesion. Equilibrium segregation can occur, in which interface energy is
reduced due presence of sergeant. In addition, non-equilibrium segregation can lead to
reconstruction of interface structure. An example is Ca doped Al-Al2O3 interface. In this system a
crystalline interfacial film results from non-equilibrium segregation, & wetting experiments have
shown that this film affects contact angle and work of adhesion.

The second example which will be presented is the Cu-Al2O3system. Microstructure of Cu/Al2O3
composites prepared by melt-infiltration of liquid copper into porous alumina preforms was
studied in detail by various transmission electron microscopy techniques. An amorphous glass
phase containing Si & Ca was found at Al2O3/Cu/Al2O3 triple junctions. A glass phase containing
Si & Ca is also present at Cu/Al2O3 interfaces, while Al2O3 boundaries remain dry. Detailed high
resolution transmission electron microscopy investigations show that interfacial glass phase at
Cu/Al2O3 interfaces exhibits a uniform equilibrium film thickness along interface region. While
equilibrium amorphous films are known to exist at grain boundaries in ceramics, to the best of the
author’s knowledge this is the first time such a film has been found at a metal-ceramic interface.
Thickness of interfacial film depends on long-range interatomic forces. Physical significance of
equilibrium amorphous films at metal-ceramic interfaces will discussed.