Application of CP-EPMA in Study of Phase Constitutes of SiC_p/Al Composite

There are difficulties in sample preparation and microstructure characterization of SiC particles reinforced Al-based (SiC_p/Al) composite due to the complexity of phase constitutes and large difference in physical and chemical properties of the constituted phases. Ion beam cross-sectional polishing (CP) combined with electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) was successfully applied to characterize the detailed microstructure of SiC_p/Al composite. The experimental results show that this method is effective, and the results are visual and reliable. The method was thus proven to be applicable to study the phase constitutes of the materials with a similar character.