Characterization of Materials

Recommended Prerequisites

Intermediate knowledge of Condensed Matter Physics.

Teaching Methods

The different topics will be presented in seminars covering the variety of analytical techniques. Learning will take place mostly in the laboratory, where the students will perform a set of practical work assignments. Most of the work will take place at TAIL - UC (Trace Analysis and Imaging Laboratory of the University of Coimbra), hosted at the Physics department, where most of the analytical techniques are available and at other laboratories of the UC Physics and Chemistry departments.

Learning Outcomes

This curricular unit aims at providing the students with a number of technical skills for the characterisation of materials, including those related to sample preparation and the analytical techniques used for characterisation of materials (with regard to structure, microstructure, electric, optical and magnetic properties). Learning of such skills will take place in the context of research laboratories. The student should be able, facing a research problem, to identify the relevant analytical techniques for the characterisation of materials relevant to that specific problem. The student should be aware about the ultimate capacities, but also the limitations, of the most common analytical techniques.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

The course will comprise three of the following five modules, chosen by the student with the advice of his supervisor:

A: Diffraction Techniques
XRD (powder and single-crystal), SAXS, neutron scattering and synchrotron radiation. Textures and residual stresses.

B: Hyperfine Interaction Techniques
Mossbauer spectroscopy, perturbed angular correlations (PAC) and muSR.

C: Spectroscopic Techniques
VIS/UV spectroscopy, IR and RAMAN spectroscopy, XRF. Mass spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron spin resonance (EPR).

D: Transport properties, magnetisation and calorimetry
Fundamentals of cryogenics. Magnetic susceptibility and magnetisation measurements (DC and AC). Techniques for the measurement of resistivity and magnetoresistance, thermoelectric power, thermal conductivity. Specific heat measurements. DSC and DSC/TG calorimetry.

E: Microscopy

Optical microscopy, electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), AFM/STM microscopy. IR microscopy. XRF mapping.

Head Lecturer(s)

José António de Carvalho Paixão

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Laboratory work or Field work: 100.0%

Bibliography

Elements of Modern X-Ray Physics, J. Als-Nielsen, D. McMorrow, Wiley. ISBN: 0470973943

Modern electronic instrumentation and measurement techniques, Albert D. Helfrick, William D. Cooper, ISBN: 0135932947

Practical guide to ICP-MS: a tutorial for beginners, Robert Thomas, ISBN: 1466555432

Infrared Spectroscopy, fundamentals and applications, Barbara Stuart, ISBN 9780470854280

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and related techniques; an introduction, Eva Margui, Rene Van Grieken, ISBN: 9781606503911

Introduction to X-ray powder diffractometry, Ron Jenkins, Robert Snyder, ISBN: 0471513393

Atomic force microscopy, Peter Eaton, Paul West, ISBN: 9780199570454

The handbook of cryogenic engineering, J.G. Weisend, ISBN: 1560323329

Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis, Joseph Goldstein, Dale E. Newbury, David C. Joy and Charles E. Lyman, ISBN-10: 0306472929