AES investigation of thermally sprayed Al2O3 coatings on steel

Summary The investigation of plasma sprayed steel/Al₂O₃ composites by means of Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) combined with depth profile analysis is described. Incomplete sprayed Al₂O₃ layers permit analysis of single sprayed particles and of surrounding uncovered steel substrate regions. More complete coatings are separated from the substrates, so that contact surfaces of substrates and Al₂O₃ layers can be analyzed. In order to determine the influence of preheating the substrates on the interface widths between steel substrate and Al₂O₃ coating and therefore on the adherence mechanism, both procedures are carried out for two preheating temperatures. It is shown that preheating hardly effects the interface widths beneath single sprayed particles but it causes laterally constant widths for complete layer fragments. Additionally, a comprehensive view about oxide layer thicknesses on the steel substrates before and after plasma spraying is offered.