Second‐order stereology for pores in translucent alumina studied by confocal scanning laser microscopy

Summary The three‐dimensional (3‐D) arrangement of pores in translucent alumina was investigated with a confocal scanning laser microscope (CSLM). By moving the focal plane of the CSLM down into the material, a stack of serial thin optical sections was obtained to produce a 3‐D image of the pores. Computer‐based image analysis was used to obtain the coordinates of the pore centroids. The distance distribution functionG(r) and the second‐order functionsK(r), L(r), H(r) andg(r) were used to analyse the spatial point pattern of the pore centroids. Estimates of the preceding functions obtained from eight stacks of sections were compared with the corresponding functions for a 3‐D stationary Poisson point process, which served as a reference model for complete spatial randomness. The analysis suggested that the pore centroids were arranged in an aggregated pattern within a range of about 10 μm.