The use of Pt to mark the initial location of heterophase boundaries in solid-state reactions was extended to investigate the motion of interfaces during a thin-film solid-state reaction between In2O3 and MgO in the presence of an electric field. The Pt markers were prepared by sputtering a thin Pt film onto a single-crystal substrate. The resulting multilayer was then heated prior to thin-film deposition to de-wet the Pt film and thus form an array of small, isolated particles. These particles serve as fine-scale markers for tracking the motion of interfaces. However, there are certain situations in which the markers can move with the interface.

The kinetics of a thin-film, solid-state reaction were investigated in the spinel-forming oxide system Fe2O3/MgO. In this study, epitactic thin films of Fe2O3 (α, or corundum, structure) were deposited on (001)-oriented MgO using pulsed-laser deposition (PLD). The resulting diffusion couples were then reacted at elevated temperatures in air to induce the reaction between the thin-film and bulk substrate to form the spinel, MgFe2O4. Both the as-deposited and reacted diffusion couples were characterized using low-voltage scanning and transmission electron microscopy. These techniques allow the kinetics of the reaction and the structural properties of the spinel to be investigated.