Characterization of internal interfaces in high-tech-materials at nanometer resolution

The properties of many modern materials depend highly on the structure of internal interfaces (grain boundaries and phase boundaries), such as the electric and magnetic properties of ceramics, the mechanical properties of steels and alloys and the quality of ceramics- and diamond-coated cutting tools. Since these internal boundaries have nanometer dimensions and analytical electron microscopy exhibits excellent high resolution (0.2-1nm), this technique is especially suited for the characterization of the boundaries. The task of the project was to correlate macroscopic properties of specimens (provided by the cooperation partners) with the micro-and nanostructure of the internal boundaries.