A major challenge facing turbine design, especially turbine blades, is reducing the creep that is induced by the high temperatures and stresses that are experienced during operation. Higher operating temperatures are continuously sought in order to increase efficiency, but come at the cost of higher creep rates. Several methods have therefore been employed in an attempt to achieve optimal performance while limiting creep, with the most successful ones being high performance coatings and single crystal superalloys. These technologies work by limiting deformation that occurs by mechanisms that can be broadly classified as dislocation glide, dislocation climb and diffusional flow.