APPLICATION OF POSITRON ANNIHILATION TECHNIQUES IN THE FIELD OF CERAMICS.

The importance of positron annihilation techniques in investigating the defect structure of solids is now well established. The distinct advantage of these techniques in such studies arises due to the sensitivity of positrons to changes in the local electron density near the defect. Metals and alloys are the most extensively studied materials by these techniques. In recent years, however, the interest is steadily growing in the ceramic systems. The present paper highlights the potential of this new and powerful technique in understanding the lattice defect structure of ceramics.