ABSTRACT
If the term structure is not defined, it covers both atomic structure and chemical structure, etc. If the term microstructure is employed it also covers anything, including textures from nanometric and micrometric scales. The present chapter covers both crystalline structure and all kinds of textures recognized in carbon fibers (micro and nanotextures). In the first part of this chapter, the techniques used will be divided into averaging techniques (x-ray and electron diffractions, optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy SEM) and nanotechniques able to "see" atoms (transmission electron microscope TEM, near field scanning microscopes). To avoid too long developments the reader is requested to consult the references (books, reviews and thesis) detailing the techniques of x-rays and electron diffraction [l-8], optical microscopy and optical properties [9,10], Raman spectroscopy [11,12], TEM [13-15] and near field scanning microscopies [16]. The second part will be devoted to modelization of PAN-based carbon fibers, then to pitch-based ones. In the same manner references are given to books, reviews and thesis [17-28].
