OBSERVATION OF A TITANIUM SURFACE BY DESORBED ION IMAGES WITH A SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPE

When metallic titanium is annealed above 900-degrees-C, grain growth and segregation of sulfur to the surface occur. Using an electron scanning microscope, we have observed the secondary electron image, the sulfur Auger image and the electron stimulated desorbed ion image for a titanium specimen annealed above 900-degrees-C and exposed to hydrogen. It is found that the intrinsic titanium surface adsorbs hydrogen which diffuses from the surface into the bulk, and that segregated sulfur blocks such a hydrogen transfer. We also found that sulfur does not segregate at the grain boundaries but over the whole surface. However, the sulfur Auger image suggests that the segregation occurs easily in some crystalline surfaces but not in others.