Materials Analysis

The Materials Analysis department has a variety of methods available for characterizing the structure and properties of thin films. The analytical methods and the extensive experience of our staff are applied in research projects and are also offered to our customers as services.

A high-resolution field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) are available for characterizing of structure and microstructure of thin films. Polished cross-sections of multilayer systems can be prepared using an ion beam preparation technique, facilitating high-resolution FE-SEM examination in both material contrast mode and crystal-orientation contrast mode. Chemical composition is analyzed by energy-dispersive spectrometry of X-rays (EDS) and by glow-discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES).

Many other measurement methods are available at the Fraunhofer FEP for determining the optical, mechanical, and electrical properties of thin layers. These include UV, VIS, and NIR spectrometry, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and nanoindentation. We have further extensive experience in the field of permeation barrier measurements for water vapor and oxygen through coated polymer films.