Effects of Impurities on Alumina-Niobium Interfacial Microstructures

Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were employed to examine the interfacial microstructural effects of impurities in alumina substrates used to fabricate alumina-niobium interfaces via liquid-film-assisted joining. Three types of alumina were used: undoped high-purity single-crystal sapphire; a high-purity, high-strength polycrystalline alumina; and a lower-purity, lower-strength polycrystalline alumina. Interfaces formed between niobium and both the sapphire and high-purity polycrystalline alumina were free of detectable levels of impurities. In the lower-purity alumina, niobium silicides were observed at the alumina-niobium interface and on alumina grain boundaries near the interface. These silicides formed in small-grained regions of the alumina and were found to grow from the interface into the alumina along grain boundaries. Smaller silicide precipitates found on grain boundaries are believed to form upon cooling from the bonding temperature

Processing of alumina-niobium interfaces via liquid-film-assisted joining

Alumina-niobium interfaces were fabricated at 1400 C via solid-state diffusion brazing of a 127-{micro}m-thick niobium foil between alumina blocks. Prior to brazing, some of the alumina mating surfaces, both polished and unpolished, were evaporation-coated with copper films {approx}1.4 {micro}m, {approx}3.0 {micro}m, and {approx}5.5 {micro}m thick to induce liquid-film-assisted joining at the brazing temperature. The effects of copper film thickness and surface roughness on fracture characteristics and ceramic-metal interfacial microstructure were investigated by room-temperature four-point bend tests, optical microscopy, profilometry, and atomic force microscopy. The average strength of bonds between niobium and polished alumina substrates increased with the introduction of copper film interlayers, and the scatter in strength tended to decrease, with an optimum combination of strength and Weibull modulus arising for a copper film thickness of 3.0 {micro}m. The strength characteristics of niobium bonded to unpolished alumina substrates were also improved by liquid-film-assisted joining, but were unaffected by the thickness of the copper interlayers

Three-year Results of the Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (PERK) Study

The Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (PERK) study is a nine-center clinical trial of a standardized technique of radial keratotomy in 435 patients who had simple myopia with a preoperative refractive error between −2.00 and −8.00 diopters (D). The authors report results for one eye of each patient. The surgical technique consisted of eight incisions using a diamond micrometer knife with the blade length determined by intraoperative ultrasonic pachymetry and the diameter of the central clear zone determined by the preoperative refractive error. At 3 years after surgery, 58% of eyes had refractive error within 1.00 D of emmetropia; 26% were undercorrected and 16% were overcorrected by more than 1.00 D. Uncorrected visual acuity was 20/40 or better in 76% of eyes. The operation was more effective in eyes with a preoperative refractive error between −2.00 and −4.37 D. Between 1 and 3 years after surgery, the refractive error changed by 1.00 D or more in 12% of eyes, indicating a lack of stability in some eyes. In the 435 eyes, there was a small number of complications including six eyes that lost two or three lines of best-corrected acuity, 16 that experienced vascularization of the incisions, 2 that had delayed bacterial keratitis, and 4 that had recurrent epithelial erosions

Results of the Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (PERK) Study One Year After Surgery

The Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (PERK) study is a nine-center, self-controlled clinical trial of a standardized technique of radial keratotomy in 435 patients who had physiologic myopia with a preoperative refraction between −2.00 and −8.00 diopters. The surgical technique consisted of eight incisions using a diamond micrometer knife with blade length determined by intraoperative ultrasonic pachymetry and the diameter of central clear zone determined by preoperative refraction. At one year after surgery, myopia was reduced in all eyes; 60% were within ±1.00 diopter of emmetropia; 30% were undercorrected and 10% were overcorrected by more than 1.00 diopter (range of refraction, −4.25 to +3.38 D). Uncorrected visual acuity was 20/40 or better in 78% of eyes. The operation was most effective in eyes with a refraction between −2.00 and −4.25 diopters. Thirteen percent of patients lost one or two Snellen lines of best corrected visual acuity. However, all but three eyes could be corrected to 20/20. Ten percent of patients increased astigmatism more than 1.00 diopter. Disabling glare was not detected with a clinical glare tester, but three patients reduced their driving at night because of glare. Between six months and one year, the refraction changed by >0.50 diopters in 19% of eyes