Electron microscopy study of ceramics multilayer coated on metal used for dental crowns

Ceramic/metal bounds are used in a variety of dental applications, because this way combines the strength of the metallic substrate with the biocompatibility of ceramics and with its optical performance. For the combination of these different materials the Porcelain-Fused to Metal (PFM) technique has been developed as strengthening mechanism for porcelain. Two layers of dental porcelain are fused to a metal casting. The coefficient of thermal expansion of the porcelain must be suitably matched with that of the alloy and the melting range of the alloy must be raised sufficiently above the fusion temperature of the porcelain for a successful enameling operation. This paper is devoted to microstructural characterization of biocompatible ceramic coating, processed in order to obtain interface capable of self-anchoring to metallic substrate. The experimental part of this work comprises a variety of methods (XRD, TEM, EDS) for the microstructural characterization of the samples in order to characterize the ceramic/metal interface