SEM investigation of interfacial dislocations in nickel-base superalloys

A new technique for investigation of interfacial dislocations in nickel-base superalloys by scanning electron microscopy is presented. At high temperatures the pressure of interfacial dislocations against the gamma/gamma'-interface causes grooves. This 'fingerprint of the dislocation network' is visualized by deep selective etching, which removes the gamma'-phase down to the gamma/gamma'-interface. Compared with transmission electron microscopy, the proposed method has important advantages: observation of large sample areas, no superposition of dislocations lying in different specimen depths, possibility of three-dimensional view of dislocation configurations, information about the dislocation mobility, reduced time for preparation and visualization. The method can be applied for multiphase materials where the interface is grooved by interfacial dislocations.