Refractory Metals
Description:
Refractory metals are very high temperature metals and can be very soft or very brittle. Examples of refractory metals include tungsten and rhenium..
Preparation Challenge:
Microstructural preparation of refractory metals can be very difficult. Rhenium is an excellent example of a material which requires special CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) techniques. For Rhenium the issue is embedded abrasives. This is especially true for grinding with SiC papers. In order to eliminate the problems associated with embedded particles the specimen needs to be etched in between each grinding step. Rough and final polishing with a diluted etchant are also recommended.
