New laboratories at NOMATEN: X-Ray Diffractometer and Scanning Electron Microscope
NOMATEN received two crucial research devices in 2021 – the X-Ray Diffractometer and Scanning Electron Microscope that help Materials Characterization and Functional Properties of Materials groups perform their research.
X-Ray Diffractometer
Bruker AXS (Advanced X-Ray Solutions) D8 Advance diffractometer is equipped with a sealed Cu X-Ray tube, LYNXEYE XE-T strip detector and TWIN-TWIN optics. The incident and scattered beam optics includes Göbel mirror at the tube and 0.2° Soller slits at the detector useful for parallel beam geometry as well as a set of motorised divergent slits at both sides suitable for working with divergent beam in Bragg-Brentano parafocusing geometry. The detector has energy resolution better than 380 eV at 8 keV (i.e. Cu radiation) what makes Kβ filter and secondary monochromators redundant, and specimen fluorescence an irrelevant phenomenon, while both Cu Kα and Kβ lines can be utilised in measurements.
The diffractometer has also attachments for grazing incidence diffraction (GID) and an in-situ high-temperature (1200°C) measurement chamber connected to vacuum-gas system. With this brilliant set of tools one can comprehensively characterise the inner structure of materials without damaging the specimen. The range of information covers crystal phase identification, description of the crystallinity or amorphousness, evaluation of stress and strain, texture analysis, investigation of layered structures with control of the penetration depth and conducting experiments in the working environment of the specimen - said Maciej Zieliński PhD, NOMATEN scientist responsible for the research performed at X-Ray Diffractometer.
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
The Helios 5 UX (ThermoFisher Scientific) is a fully digital, high resolution Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with Focused Ion Beam (FIB) technology, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) systems. This device is being used by the Materials Characterization and Functional Properties of Materials groups.
It allows the fast characterization of the sample with nanometer details, obtaining information about topography, relative differences in composition, crystallographic orientation or analysis of elemental composition of the material (both qualitative and quantitative). The use of FIB itself provides preparation of ultra-thin transparent samples for transmission electron microscopy (TEM and HRTEM) and cross-sectioning of the multiphase materials with in-situ imaging in SEM (the sectioning may be conducted in a strictly defined area, for example specific grain boundary, precipitate or crack in the material) - comments Iwona Jóźwik PhD, Research Group Leader at Materials Characterization Group.
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