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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 8: Thin Film Characterisation: Structure Analysis and Composition I

DS 8.1: Invited Talk

Monday, March 7, 2016, 15:00–15:30, H8

Materials characterization at the nanoscale by X-ray spectrometry — •Burkhard Beckhoff — Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Abbestraße 2-12, 10587 Berlin, Germany

The development of efficient nanoscaled materials requires the correlation of the materials functionality with their chemical and physical properties. To probe these properties, analytical methods that are sensitive at the nanoscale are required. The reliability of most analytical methods is based on the availability of reference materials or calibration samples, the spatial elemental composition of which is as similar as possible to the matrix of the specimens of interest. However, there is a drastic lack of reference materials at the nanoscale. PTB addresses this challenge by means of an X-ray analytical method where all instrumental and experimental parameters are determined with known contributions to the uncertainty of the analytical results. This first-principle based approach does not require any reference materials but a complete characterization of the instrumental characteristics and, in addition, of the X-ray fundamental parameters related to the elements composing the sample. X-ray spectrometric methods allow for the variation of the analytical sensitivity, selectivity, and information depth needed to effectively reveal the spatial, elemental, and chemical specimen parameters of interest. Examples of interfacial speciation, elemental depth profiling, as well as layer composition and thickness characterizations in various materials will be given. Recent instrumental achievements provide access to liquid-solid interfaces as well as towards the in-situ speciation of battery materials.