An x-ray spectrometric technique for measuring porcelain-metal adherence.

This study demonstrated a correlation between silicon x-ray counts and area fractions of adherent porcelain as determined by point-counting. This correlation has allowed a method to be devised for measuring area fractions of porcelain adherent to porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) fracture surfaces. The described method, after controlled destruction of the porcelain mass, uses silicon x-rays excited by the electron beam in a scanning electron microscope. Under the conditions employed in these studies, the x-ray technique has shown that this gold alloy retains more porcelain than does either of two particular nickel-chromium alloys.