In the second edition of this popular text, the authors provide a comprehensive description of the range of techniques currently used for characterizing the microstructure of materials. Introductory chapters cover the basic physics required to describe the microstructure of materials and their interaction with various types of radiation. Much of the hardware involved in these techniques is dependent on a vacuum environment, so a full chapter is devoted to this topic. Characterization techniques are then divided on the basis of the interrogating radiation, with separate chapters dealing with optical and x-ray techniques, electron microscopy and spectroscopy, and ion and particle microscopy and spectroscopy. Within each chapter, material is given covering the radiation sources, the construction and layout of instrumentation and the analysis of data.

Comprehensively revised throughout, this edition reflects the rapid changes that have taken place recently. It contains additional material on a range of methods, including scanning probe techniques that reflect the need for analysis of materials at the nanoscale, and a detailed review of recent developments in data analysis and computing techniques.

Physical Methods for Materials Characterisation, Second Edition will be of interest to advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers in physics, materials science, and engineering.