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Blisters have been observed in the oxide film of aluminum in aqueous chloride solutions. They can be initiated by short duration (⪝ 1 msec), low voltage pulses. Such blisters grow only if the steady‐state potential of the specimen is above the pitting potential. The growth proceeds laterally along the oxide‐metal interface. Upon breaking, as a result of gas pressure from within, pitting corrosion begins. Thus, in this instance, blisters are experimentally demonstrable precursors of pits.

The principles of operation of a microelectromechanical (MEMS)-based magnetometer designed on the magnetoelastic effect are described. The active transduction element is a commercial (001) silicon microcantilever coated with an amorphous thin film of the giant magnetostrictive alloy Terfenol-D [(Dy0.7Te0.3)Fe2]. In addition to the magnetostrictive transducer, basic components of the magnetometer include: (a) mechanical resonance of the coated-microcantilever through coupling to an ac magnetic field; and (b) detection by optical beam deflection of the microcantilever motion utilizing a laser diode source and a position-sensitive detector. Currently, the sensitivity of this MEMS-based magnetostrictive magnetometer is ∼1μT.

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