J Pak Mater Soc 2010; 4(1) 31 Materials Characterization by Non-Destructive Methods A. Maqsood and K Iqbal Thermal Transport Laboratory, School of Chemical & Materials Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology, H-12, Islamabad, Pakistan E-mail addresses: tpl.qau@usa.net and khurramiqbal.nust@gmail.com Abstract The correlation of physical and chemical properties with structural characteristic is important in Materials Science. There are two methods destructive method first and non-destructive second. The destructive method requires dissolution into a fluid phase but non-destructive method does not require it. The non-destructive characterization methods of solid materials can be described in different categories depending upon the type of information required. For elemental analysis, the techniques XRF and EDXRF are used. Structural properties are known by XRD and XPS. To get the information of morphology and topography, SEM and AFM are the recommended techniques. Qualitative and quantitative characterization techniques for solids are discussed with limitations. Keywords: Characterizations, EDXRF, XRD and XRF 1. Introduction Characterization of materials regarding composition, trace impurities, structural phase and crystallographic perfection is vital for repeated reproduction of materials with stringently defined specifications, their applications as well as for fundamental research 1-2 . For characterization of materials a wide variety of techniques and equipment are available. These are based on different principles of Physics and Chemistry and employ modern mathematical analysis and modeling techniques and advanced electronic and information technology facilities. If the material to be characterized is in gaseous phase, it is sufficient to be concerned with the major and the minor constituents. For liquids it is desirable to get additional information about short range order. The solids can be further sub-divided into single crystals, polycrystalline and amorphous state. Single crystals of interest can have widely different appearances and dimensions. These may be bulk crystals of dimensions going up to 300mm and thin films with thickness going down to nano-metric dimensions 3 . Characterization techniques are different for these types of different situations. Additionally, characterization of a solid surface is required at very high resolution going down to atomic dimensions. Structure of interfaces has become an important area of research as behavior of several devices is strongly influenced by these. A variety of techniques are available for study of crystal defects. These include chemical etching, decoration, field ion microscopy, high resolution electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy and high resolution X-ray diffraction techniques including diffractometry, topography and diffuse A. Maqsood and K Iqbal : Materials Characterization……