TY - JOUR A1 - Schmid, Thomas A1 - Schäfer, N. A1 - Abou-Ras, D. T1 - Raman microspectroscopy provides access to compositional and microstructural details of polycrystalline materials JF - Spectroscopy Europe N2 - This overview article provides insight into how to apply Raman spectroscopy in combination with a confocal, optical microscope setup on polycrystalline material systems, in order to obtain quantitative information on phase distribution, grain sizes, crystal orientations and microstrain. Although the present work uses Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)₂ absorber layers in corresponding thin-film solar cells as a model system to demonstrate the capabilities of Raman microspectroscopy, the approaches discussed may be applied to any organic or inorganic, polycrystalline materials system. KW - Raman microscopy KW - Microstructure KW - Microspectroscopic imaging KW - Polycrystalline materials PY - 2016 SN - 0966-0941 VL - 28 IS - 5 SP - 16 EP - 20 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-37929 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schäfer, N. A1 - Chahine, G. A. A1 - Wilkinson, A. J. A1 - Schmid, Thomas A1 - Rissom, T. A1 - Schülli, T. U. A1 - Abou-Ras, D. T1 - Microstrain distributions in polycrystalline thin films measured by X-ray microdiffraction JF - Journal of Applied Crystallography N2 - Microstrain distributions were acquired in functional thin films by high-resolution X-ray microdiffraction measurements, using polycrystalline CuInSe2 thin films as a model system. This technique not only provides spatial resolutions at the submicrometre scale but also allows for analysis of thin films buried within a complete solar-cell stack. The microstrain values within individual CuInSe2 grains were determined to be of the order of 10^-4. These values confirmed corresponding microstrain distribution maps obtained on the same CuInSe2 layer by electron backscatter diffraction and Raman microspectroscopy. KW - Microstrain distribution KW - X-ray microdiffraction KW - Polycrystalline thin films KW - Raman microscopy PY - 2016 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-366592 DO - https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600576716003204 SN - 1600-5767 VL - 49 SP - 632 EP - 635 AN - OPUS4-36659 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmid, Thomas A1 - Dariz, P. T1 - Chemical imaging of historical mortars by Raman microscopy JF - Construction and Building Materials N2 - Raman microspectroscopic imaging was just recently introduced into the analysis of cement stone. Here, we demonstrate this approach on 19th-century Roman and Portland cement mortars and extend it to gypsum-based samples originating from a medieval stucco sculpture (high-burnt gypsum) and a stucco ornament prefabricated at the beginning of the 20th century (plaster of Paris). Furthermore, the distributions of dolomite and Calcite were mapped in an accessory mineral grain with approx. 500 nm lateral Resolution demonstrating the ability for studying alteration processes such as dedolomitisation. As we would like to make this approach accessible to other researchers, we discuss its present status, advantages, limitations and pitfalls. KW - Raman microscopy KW - Chemical imaging KW - Cement clinker KW - Gypsum KW - Dedolomite PY - 2016 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.03.153 SN - 0950-0618 VL - 114 SP - 506 EP - 516 PB - Elsevier Science CY - Oxford, UK AN - OPUS4-36661 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Álvarez-García, J. A1 - Izquierdo-Roca, V. A1 - Pistor, P. A1 - Schmid, Thomas A1 - Pérez-Rodríguez, A. ED - Abou-Ras, D. ED - Kirchartz, T. ED - Rau, U. T1 - Raman spectroscopy on thin films for solar cells T2 - Advanced Characterization Techniques for Thin Film Solar Cells (2nd Edition) N2 - In the present chapter, the capabilities of Raman spectroscopy for the advanced characterisation of thin films for solar cells are reviewed. Raman spectroscopy is an optical, nondestructive technique based on the inelastic scattering of photons with elemental vibrational excitations in the material. The line shape and position of the Raman bands are determined by the crystalline structure and chemical composition of the measured samples, being sensitive to the presence of crystalline defects, impurities and strain. Presence of peaks characteristic of different phases also allows for the identification of secondary phases that are strongly related to the growth and process conditions of the films. All these aspects account for a strong interest in the analysis of the Raman spectra, providing a powerful nondestructive analytical tool for the structural and chemical assessment of the films. In addition, the combination of a Raman spectrometer with an optical microscope also allows for achieving a high spatial resolutions (of below 1 µm) when mapping surfaces and analyzing depth-resolved phase distributions in thin films. The present chapter is divided into four main sections: The two first ones are devoted to a revision of the Fundamentals of Raman spectroscopy (Section 17.2) and Vibrational modes in crystalline materials (Section 17.3). Section 17.4 deals with the main experimental considerations involved in the design and implementation of a Raman scattering setup. This is followed by a detailed description of the application of Raman scattering for the structural and chemico-physical analysis of thin film photovoltaic materials (Section 17.5), with the identification of crystalline structure and secondary phases, evaluation of film crystallinity, analysis of chemical composition of semiconductor alloys, characterisation of nanocrystalline and amorphous layers, stress effects and crystal orientations. This includes the description of corresponding state of the art and recent case examples that illustrate the capabilities of the Raman technique for the advanced characterisation of layers and process monitoring in thin-film photovoltaic technologies. KW - Thin-film solar cells KW - Polycrystalline materials KW - Raman spectroscopy KW - Raman microscopy PY - 2016 UR - http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-3527339922.html SN - 978-3-527-33992-1 SP - 469 EP - 499 PB - Wiley & Sons, Ltd. CY - Oxford, UK AN - OPUS4-37451 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmid, Thomas A1 - Dariz, P. T1 - Raman Microspectroscopic Imaging of Binder Remnants in Historical Mortars Reveals Processing Conditions JF - Heritage N2 - Binder remnants in historical mortars represent a record of the connection between the raw materials that enter the kiln, the process parameters, and the end product of the calcination. Raman microspectroscopy combines high structural sensitivity with micrometre to sub-micrometre spatial resolution and compatibility with conventional thin-sectional samples in an almost unique fashion, making it an interesting complementary extension of the existing methodological arsenal for mortar analysis. Raman spectra are vibrational fingerprints of crystalline and amorphous compounds, and contain marker bands that are specific for minerals and their polymorphic forms. Relative intensities of bands that are related to the same crystalline species change according to crystal orientations, and band shifts can be caused by the incorporation of foreign ions into crystal lattices, as well as stoichiometric changes within solid solution series. Finally, variations in crystallinity affect band widths. These effects are demonstrated based on the analysis of three historical mortar samples: micrometric distribution maps of phases and polymorphs, crystal orientations, and compositional variations of solid solution series of unreacted clinker grains in the Portland cement mortars of two 19th century castings, and the crystallinities of thermal anhydrite clusters in a high-fired medieval gypsum mortar as a measure for the applied burning temperature were successfully acquired. KW - Cement clinker remnants KW - High-fired gypsum KW - Thermal anhydrite KW - Spectroscopic imaging KW - Raman microscopy PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-515038 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2020102 VL - 2 IS - 2 SP - 1662 EP - 1683 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-51503 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -