Thermal grooving at the interface between alumina and monazite Original Research Article

Interfaces of Al2O3 (sapphire) and LaPO4 (La-monazite) have been separated by fracture to reveal boundary grooving effects analogous to surface grooves that develop at high temperature on a polycrystalline body wherever a grain boundary intersects the surface. Atomic force microscope measurements are used to form images from matching sides of a separated interface and to compare groove profiles with the solution of Mullins.