ZEISS Solutions for Industrial Ceramics Research

The introduction of the LaserFIB, a femtosecond laser on ZEISS Crossbeam has shown great advantages in large area sample preparation for FIB/SEM analyses with minimal to no heat affected zone in the sample material. Recent application examples covered metal and alloy samples as well as microelectronic components with the task to access deeply buried features and to cross-section larger areas for statistically significant analyses. The presented work will outline that the femtosecond laser is also suited for preparation and investigation of various ceramic materials. On the example of technical ceramics including Zirconia, Silicon Nitride, Forsterite, PZT and a SiC-ZrB2 compound, the determination of depth milling rates with up to 28 μm/s, large area milling of around 10 mm² and the final surface qualit y revealing the true microstructure are shown. Additionally, a basic recipe to prepare technical ceramics with ZEISS Crossbeam laser is given.

Platinum (Pt), generally dispersed on a solid oxide support, has been widely used for catalytic chemical reactions in automobile, chemical refining, and energy industries. During the reactions, Pt is exposed to severe conditions, e.g., high temperature events and impurities, that cause Pt agglomeration and poisoning, respectively, resulting in activity/stability losses. Perovskite materials are designed with Pt for significant catalytic properties through novel doping and exsolution methods.

Fracture is a prevalent material failure mechanism that, while occurring at the microscopic scale, can have catastrophic macroscopic consequences. Structural failures due to fracture have led to immense financial damages as well as countless losses of human life. As new materials are deployed into environments requiring increased performance, reliability and operational lifetimes, interests in understanding and eliminating fracture from building materials now span the industrial, academic, and political sectors.

Ceramics have become the material of choice for a wide range of high performance
applications thanks to the ability to design their macroscopic properties and
combine these with modern processing techniques. In today’s fast moving
environment, increasing the efficiency of products, meeting challenging customer
demands, and reducing production costs while keeping ahead of the competition
can be a challenge without an analytical approach. To drive innovation, a material’s
microstructure and its interaction with the environment must be characterized
in situ, in multi dimensions and using different modalities, taking advantage
of modern microscopy solutions.