Analysis of calorimetric measurements of grain growth

Abstract

A method for extracting the parameters describing the process of grain growth from calorimetric data is presented. Both isothermal and scanning experiments are considered. It is demonstrated that the Kissinger method used for determining the activation enthalpy of a nucleation-and-growth process can be used for a grain growth process as well. Characteristic differences between the signals, both scanning and isothermal, from nucleation-and-growth and grain growth are pointed out. These are useful for distinguishing truly amorphous structures from microcrystalline ones by their transformation behavior. As an example, the method is applied to a study of grain growth in microquasicrystalline Al-Mn thin films.