 A wide range of experimental and computer
facilities is available in the Combustion Synthesis
Laboratory. Combustion chambers-two
systems that can be operated under
vacuum or high pressure (up to 14 atm) and are
equipped with video cameras, time-code generators,
and two-color pyrometers-are available.
One contains a radiative energy ignition source
and the other is operated in conjunction with a
cw-CO2 laser. DTA, TGA and BET analysis can
be done in high temperature (up to 1600’ C)
DTA facilities with heating rates ranging up to
200 *C per minute.
The combustion chambers are used for
characterizing the sequence of combustion
reactions; two Cahn continuous recording
microbalances with a resolution of 1.8 ug can
be used for thermogravimetric analysis under
reactive or inert atmosphere; a BET apparatus
with nitrogen and krypton absorption for surface
area analysis of powders and porous
materials is also available.
Vacuum furnaces and systems can be used;
one ultra-high vacuum system is equipped with
a quadruple mass spectrometer and a vibrating
crystal thickness monitor and another is capable
of maintaining a base pressure of - lo-11 torr
and is equipped with an electron beam gun for
vapor deposition of multi-layer systems. Furnaces
include W-mesh heating elements, capable
of producing temperatures in excess of 2500
*C for a variety of activities related to the synthesis
and processing of high temperature
ceramics and composites. | 
