Workshops

Workshops will take place on Thursday, June 5, 2024 and will consist of the following:

  • Spectroscopic Ellipsometry – Case Studies and Tricks of the Trade” with J.A. Woollam Co.;
  • “Tribo-mechanical surface characterization” with Anton Paar;
  • “Developing an understanding of surface chemistry – Multi-technique electron spectroscopy-based investigation” with Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Detailed descriptions of workshops

Workshop A – Spectroscopic Ellipsometry – Case Studies and Tricks of the Trade

Workshop instructors: Nina Hong (J.A. Woollam Co., Inc.), Bill Baloukas (Polytechnique Montreal)

Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) is a proven optical characterization technique for thin film characterization using light polarization. It is primarily used to determine film thickness and material optical properties such as the refractive index and extinction coefficient. Its applications also include the characterization of surface roughness, index gradients, compound compositions, multi-layer stacks, doping concentrations, anisotropy, metamaterials, and multiple other properties associated with the optical response of surfaces. The commercially available wavelength range is now very wide and extends from the vacuum ultra-violet (140 nm) to the terahertz (~3 mm). In addition, the implementation of Mueller matrix SE allows for the characterization of anisotropic samples that may be depolarizing and cross-polarizing.

This one-day workshop will cover the following topics:

  1. An overview of the fundamentals of SE.
  2. Standard to advanced applications of SE by a case studies approach including:
    o SE, from thin films to multilayers.
    o Obtaining the optical constants in a wide spectral range.
    o Mueller matrix SE for anisotropic samples.
    o Other applications such as: in situ SE, temperature measurements, composition depth profiles, ellipsometric porosimetry, dynamic measurements, etc.
  3. Q&A session: Questions sent by the participants 1 week prior to the workshop will be addressed.
  4. Hands-on laboratory session using RC2-XI and IR-VASE instruments.

During the laboratory session, it will be possible to test a limited number of your own samples. If interested, please contact Bill Baloukas at bill.baloukas@polymtl.ca.


Workshop B – Tribo-mechanical surface characterization

Workshop instructors: Jiri Nohava and Mohammad Reza (Anton Paar), Stephen Brown (Polytechnique Montreal)

Introduction to Nanoindentation

This presentation introduces the theoretical and practical concepts of instrumented indentation. The participant will discover its origins, its many advantages and its practical applications in a wide range of industrial and academic sectors. The numerous presented examples will illustrate that the properties measured by instrumented indentation extend far beyond the hardness and elastic properties of surfaces.

Introduction to Scratch testing

The problems of surface scratches and coating delamination are frequently overlooked, or are frequently studied by the use of old and non-repeatable measurement techniques. With the scratch test method, the participant will discover an advanced quantitative technique that enables one to make significant progress in numerous fields of application.

Introduction to Tribology

Tribology is commonly defined as the science of friction, lubrication and wear. This presentation will detail the basic concepts of tribology, its specifics, and present numerous examples of applications in fields as varied as medical technologies, food industry, cutting tools and many others.

During the laboratory session, it will be possible to test a limited number of your own samples. If interested, please contact Stephen Brown at stephen.brown@polymtl.ca.


Workshop C – Developing an understanding of surface chemistry – Multi-technique electron spectroscopy-based investigation

Workshop instructors: James Lallo (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and Josianne Lefebvre (Polytechnique Montréal)

Developing an understanding of the surface chemistry of a material is fundamental to optimizing its properties and performance. Whether it be organic, inorganic, or even hybrid materials, from dielectrics to metals, various electron and ion spectroscopic techniques are used to gain insight about the outer layers and adjacent surfaces and interfaces.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) use photon irradiation to initiate electron emission and quantitatively identify chemical groups and occupied states in the valence band, respectively. Reflected electron energy loss spectroscopy (REELS) uses a source of electrons to probe the electronic structure of a material, including unoccupied states, band gap and even hydrogen content. In a similar fashion, ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS) fires ions at a surface and analyses the energy of these elastically scattered ions to identify atomic species in the outermost layer only. All these techniques are brought together into one instrument to get the most out of an investigation.

This one-day workshop will feature the following:

  • Introduction to the basic theories of XPS, UPS, REELS and ISS techniques and their instrumentation.
  • Overview of electron spectroscopy applications including micro/optoelectronics, biomedical, optics, aerospace, manufacturing, energy and others.
  • Demonstration of XPS data analysis using Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Avantage software.
  • Hands-on laboratory session using the Thermo Fisher Scientific Escalab Xi system.

During the laboratory session, it will be possible to test a limited number of your own samples. If interested, please contact Josianne Lefebvre at josianne.lefebvre@polymtl.ca.