MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUES

This course aims to introduce students to postgraduate level concepts and techniques that provide the necessary background in specialized subjects. Also, the course assimilates the background of graduates from different Departments and Universities.

XRD: Crystalline and amorphous states of matter. Symmetry in direct and inverse space, crystal directions and planes. Periodicity, symmetry point groups and space. Basic types of crystal structures. Equipment for generation of X-rays (tubes, fixed and rotating anodes, storage rings and synchrotron radiation). Detection of X-rays: scintillation counters, solid state counters, imaging screens. X-ray diffraction of single crystals. Identification of unknown materials using crystalline powder diffractometry. Structure factors and electron density function. Data collection and processing. Preliminary phase identification and improvement of crystalline structures. Electron microscopy: Interaction of the electron beam with materials. Basic types of electron microscopes. Trasmission electron microscopy. Analysis of electron diffraction images. Light contrast mechanisms (kinematic and dynamic theory). Scanning beam electron microscopy. Electron channeling patterns. Stoichiometric analysis using X-rays. Electrical characterization: Methodology for the determination of the electrical conductivity of metals and alloys. Experimental results. Methods for the characterization of crystalline and polycrystalline semiconductors and semiconductor devices. Determination of the electrical resistance and dielectric strength. Special insulating devices. Determination of other parameters (e.g.dimensions, heterogeneities) using electrical properties. Optical characterization: Macroscopic theory of optical characterization of materials - Complex dielectric function. Optical constants and dispersion equation of materials - Lorentz, Drude and Debye standards. Measurement methods: Conventional monochromator scattering, Infrared spectroscopy with Fourier Transformations, Raman Spectroscopy, Spectroscopic Infrared and Raman Microscopy, Photoluminescence Spectroscopy, single crystal, powder and thin film processing. Kramers-Kroning optical data analysis and classic oscillator fitting programs. Characterization of insulating materials, crystalline and amorphous: Vibration of atoms, phonons and properties of the crystalline lattice. Characterization of semiconductor materials: Free carriers and electronic properties - Energy gap. Characterization of impurities, surfaces, interfaces and microstructure of materials. Characterization of single and multilayer (surface and buried) thin films.

10-12-2019