Scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) was used to investigate disbonding, delamination and blister formation in polymer coatings for different layer structures and initial defect depths during exposure to a corrosive environment. The time evolution of disbonding and blister initiation and their growth was investigated by analysing the SAM images exposure to an electrolyte solution (Harrison solution). From investigations of a model system of coatings on steel substrates, it was possible to differentiate between water and/or ion transport (i) through the coating and (ii) along the coating-steel interface. For samples without clear coat randomly distributed blisters appeared at the coating-steel interface after exposure to the electrolyte solution, irrespective of the location of initial defects. The random distribution of growing blisters is related to diffusion of water and/or ions through the coating and "nucleation" at weak points of the substrate or within the polymer. For samples with clear coat a propagating migration front along the coating-steel interface of 3-4 µm height -starting from initial defects -was detected. The linear propagation of this front cannot be explained by Fickian diffusion. Therefore, it is discussed in terms of an accelerated diffusion or crack growth kinetics. Since blistering starts only at sites, where the migration front has passed, the presence of a thin water layer at the coating-steel interface, the loss of adhesion and the following corrosive processes are prerequisites for the nucleation of blisters. The blister growth shows a square-root time dependence which was related to a diffusion controlled transport mechanism.

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Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have potential application in high temperature environments such as in thermal processing of microelectronics. The MEMS designs require an accurate knowledge of the temperature dependent thermomechanical properties of the materials. Techniques used at room temperature often cannot be used for high-temperature property measurements. MEMS test structures have been developed in conjunction with a novel imaging apparatus designed to measure either the modulus of elasticity or thermal expansion coefficient of thin films at high temperatures. The MEMS test structure is the common bi-layered cantilever beam which undergoes thermally induced deflection at high temperatures. An individual cantilever beam on the order of 100 νm long can be viewed up to approximately 800°C. With image analysis, the curvature of the beam can be determined; and then the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between the two layers can be determined using numerical modeling. The results of studying silicon nitride films on silicon oxide are presented for a range of temperatures.