Method for observation of microstructural surface features in heterogeneous materials

摘要

A method for forming a topographical image of the heterogeneous variations in a surface of a material has a first machining step and a second scanning step. The preferred machining step uses a preselected scribing tool to scribe a plurality of adjacent grooves in a selected material surface at a preselected constant force. This machining step produces a machined surface whose local elevations relative to a datum plane are dependent on the local hardness or wear resistance of the surface. Then the scanning step shifts the scribing tool across the surface in contact with the surface, and measures the elevation of the tool at a plurality of selected surface coordinates. The measured elevations allow formation of a topological map depicting sub-micron structural features of the surface.