Polarized light (PL) is very useful when studying the structure of metals with non-cubic crystal structures (mainly metals with hexagonal close-packed (hcp) crystal structures). If the specimen is prepared with minimal damage to the surface, the structure can be seen vividly in cross-polarized light (the optic axis of the polarizer and analyzer are 90 degrees to each other, i.e., crossed). In some cases, an hcp metal can be chemically etched and then examined more effectively with PL. Tint etched surfaces, where a thin film (such as a sulfide, molybdate, chromate or elemental selenium film) is grown epitaxially on the surface to a depth where interference effects are created when examined with BF producing color images, can be improved with PL. If it is difficult to get a good interference film with good coloration, the colors can be improved by examination in PL using a sensitive tint (ST) filter. Differential interference contrast microscopy Another useful imaging mode is differential interference contrast (DIC), which is usually obtained with a system designed by the Polish physicist Georges Nomarski. This system gives the best detail. DIC converts minor height differences on the plane-of-polish, invisible in BF, into visible detail. The detail in some cases can be quite striking and very useful. If an ST filter is used along with a Wollaston prism, color is introduced. The colors are controlled by the adjustment of the Wollaston prism, and have no specific physical meaning, per se. But, visibility may be better. Oblique illumination DIC has largely replaced the older oblique illumination (OI) technique, which was available on reflected light microscopes prior to about 1975. In OI, the vertical illuminator is offset from perpendicular, producing shading effects that reveal height differences. This procedure reduces resolution and yields uneven illumination across the field of view. Nevertheless, OI was useful when people needed to know if a second phase particle was standing above or was recessed below the plane-of-polish, and is still available on a few microscopes. OI can be created on any microscope by placing a piece of paper under one corner of the mount so that the plane-of-polish is no longer perpendicular to the optical axis.
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