Current work at the Stuttgart UHV diffusion bonding facility

Abstract

Abstract The Stuttgart ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) diffusion bonding facility serves to produce high-quality solid solid model interfaces. An overview is givef on the more recent work comprising bicrystals of metal–metal, ceramics–ceramics, and metal–ceramics combinations. Orientation errors below 0.1° have been obtained routinely with sapphire–sapphire bicrystals. The bi- and tricrystals produced serve as samples for mechanical testing and as specimens for both analytical and quantitative high-resolution electron microscopy. The close control of the interface chemistry allows for segregation studies and studies of the influence dopants have on the interface properties. UHV diffusaon-bonded low-angle grain boundaries present arrays of edge or screw dislocations of just one type and thus facilitate investigations of these dislocations and their core structures.