Etching of High Purity Zinc

Abstract

A method of etching high purity zinc to reveal various etch figures on {101̄0} planes is presented in this paper. Etch figures are formed by polishing in a dichromic acid solution after the introduction of mercury to the crystal surface. No measurable aging time is required to form etch figures at newly formed dislocation sites whem mercury is on the surface prior to deformation. The mercury concentrates at the sites where etch figures form and may be removed by vacuum distillation and chemical polishing before it appreciably affects the purity of the bulk of the crystal.