Brendan Foran of the Physical Sciences Laboratories at The Aerospace Corporation and a co-principal investigator for the project, is directing the effort to collect high-resolution images of morphological and microstructural features in the ceramic slips using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) of extremely thin samples prepared by focused ion beam (FIB) milling.

The resulting high angle annual dark field images, nanobeam electron diffraction, and energy dispersive X-ray analyses yield information about density, crystalline phase, and chemical makeup of components within the gloss, providing information about the preparation and firing conditions used to create the decorated vessel.

 

Last updated: November 2012