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Science 3 December 2004:
Vol. 306. no. 5702, pp. 1768 - 1770
DOI: 10.1126/science.1104173
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Reports

Interface Structure and Atomic Bonding Characteristics in Silicon Nitride Ceramics

A. Ziegler,1,2*{dagger} J. C. Idrobo,3 M. K. Cinibulk,4 C. Kisielowski,5 N. D. Browning,5,6 R. O. Ritchie1,7

Direct atomic resolution images have been obtained that illustrate how a range of rare-earth atoms bond to the interface between the intergranular phase and the matrix grains in an advanced silicon nitride ceramic. It has been found that each rare-earth atom bonds to the interface at a different location, depending on atom size, electronic configuration, and the presence of oxygen at the interface. This is the key factor to understanding the origin of the mechanical properties in these ceramics and will enable precise tailoring in the future to critically improve the materials' performance in wide-ranging applications.

1 Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
2 Materials Science and Technology Division, Chemistry and Materials Science Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94551, USA.
3 Physics Department, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
4 Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH 45433, USA.
5 National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
6 Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
7 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.



* Present address: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: aziegler{at}lbl.gov

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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J. Liu (2005)
J. Electron Microsc. (Tokyo) 54, 251-278
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