Using optical coherence tomography to examine the subsurface morphology of Chinese glazes

Optical coherence tomography (OCT), a new method for ceramics research, is a non-destructive, three-dimensional tomography system, which provides subsurface morphology visualization of samples based on the refractive index or dielectric constant differences in the target specimen. In this study, seven shards from different Chinese kilns of Song and Yuan dynasties (10-14th centuries) were scanned to visualize the subsurface morphology of their glazes. The images revealed unique phase assemblage modes in different samples. The results suggest that OCT may be used to identify ceramics and provide information about their manufacturing technology.