Electron Microscopic Observations of Interfacial Voids in Aluminum Created by Alkaline Dissolution

We report evidence from electron microscopy and positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) for the formation by alkaline dissolution of nm-scale voids in aluminum near the metal-oxide interface. Imaging was carried out using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). EM images supported the PAS finding that voids were found within tens of nm of the interface, and revealed that the void number density increased by at least 10 times due to dissolution. From TEM, void number densities were on the order of 108 cm-2. From TEM and SEM, voids appeared circular in cross-section and were ~ 20 nm in diameter.