TY - JOUR A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Stockmann, Jörg M. A1 - Senoner, Mathias A1 - Weimann, T. A1 - Bütefisch, S. A1 - Passiu, C. A1 - Spencer, N. D. A1 - Rossi, A. T1 - Introduction to lateral resolution and analysis area measurements in XPS N2 - Imaging and small-spot (small area) XPS have become increasingly important components of surface chemical analysis during the last three decades, and its use is growing. Some ambiguity in the use of terminology, understanding of concepts, and lack of appropriate reference materials leads to confusing and not always reproducible data. In this paper, it is shown that by using existing knowledge, appropriate test specimens, and standardized approaches, problems of comparability and such reproducibility issues recently observed for XPS data reported in the scientific literature can be overcome. The standardized methods of ISO 18516:2019, (i) the straight-edge, (ii) the narrow-line, and (iii) the grating method, can be used to characterize and compare the lateral resolution achieved by imaging XPS instruments and are described by reporting examples. The respective measurements are made using new test specimens. When running an XPS instrument in the small-spot (small area) mode for a quantitative analysis of a feature of interest, the question arises as to what contribution to the intensity originates from outside the analysis area. A valid measurement approach to control the intensity from outside the nominal analysis area is also described. As always, the relevant resolution depends on the specific question that needs to be addressed. The strengths and limitations of methods defining resolution are indicated. KW - Imaging XPS KW - Lateral resolution KW - Analysis area measurements KW - Small-spot XPS PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0000398 VL - 38 IS - 5 SP - 053206 AN - OPUS4-51394 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Senoner, M. A1 - Stockmann, Jörg Manfred A1 - Fernandez, V. A1 - Fairley, N. A1 - Passiu, C. A1 - Spencer, N. D. A1 - Rossi, A. T1 - Summary of ISO/TC 201 International Standard ISO 18516:2019 Surface chemical analysis - Determination of lateral resolution and sharpness in beam-based methods with a range from nanometres to micrometres and its implementation for imaging laboratory X-ray photoelectron spectrometers (XPS) N2 - ISO 18516:2019 Surface chemical analysis—Determination of lateral resolution and sharpness in beam-based methods with a range from nanometres to micrometres revises ISO 18516:2006 Surface chemical analysis—Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy—Determination of lateral resolution. It implements three different methods delivering parameters useful to express the lateral resolution: (1) the straight edge method, (2) the narrow line method and (3) the grating method. The theoretical background of these methods is introduced in ISO/TR 19319:2013 Surface chemical analysis—Fundamental approaches to determination of lateral resolution and sharpness in beam-based methods. The revised International Standard ISO 18516 delivers standardized procedures for the determination of the (1) effective lateral resolution by imaging of square-wave gratings, the (2) lateral resolution expressed as the parameter D12–88 characterizing the steepness of the sigmoidal edge spread function (ESF) determined by imaging a straight edge and (3) the lateral resolution expressed as the full width of half maximum of the line spread function (LSF), wLSF, determined by imaging a narrow line. The last method also delivers information on the shape of the LSF, which characterizes an individual imaging instrument. Finally, the implementation of all three standardized methods in the field of imaging laboratory X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is shortly presented. This part of the letter is based on the use of a new test sample developed at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. This test sample displays a micrometre scaled pattern motivated by the resolving power of recent imaging XPS instruments. KW - Grating method KW - Imaging AES KW - Imaging SIMS KW - Imaging XPS KW - Lateral resolution KW - Narrow line method KW - Noise in image KW - Resolution criterion KW - Straight edge method PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-536330 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.7025 SN - 1096-9918 VL - 54 IS - 4 SP - 320 EP - 327 PB - Wiley CY - Chichester AN - OPUS4-53633 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mirabella, Francesca A1 - Müllner, M. A1 - Touzalin, T. A1 - Riva, M. A1 - Jakub, Z. A1 - Kraushofer, F. A1 - Schmid, M. A1 - Koper, M. T. M. A1 - Parkinson, G. S. A1 - Diebold, U. T1 - Ni-modified Fe3O4(001) surface as a simple model system for understanding the oxygen evolution reaction N2 - Electrochemical water splitting is an environmentally friendly technology to store renewable energy in the form of chemical fuels. Among the earth-abundant first-row transition metal-based catalysts, mixed Ni-Fe oxides have shown promising performance for effective and low-cost catalysis of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media, but the synergistic roles of Fe and Ni cations in the OER mechanism remain unclear. In this work, we report how addition of Ni changes the reactivity of a model iron oxide catalyst, based on Ni deposited on and incorporated in a magnetite Fe3O4(001) single crystal, using a combination of surface science techniques in ultra-high vacuum such as low energy electron diffraction (LEED), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), low-energy ion scattering (LEIS), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), as well as atomic force microscopy (AFM) in air, and electrochemical Methods such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in alkaline media. A significant improvement in the OER activity is observed when the top surface presents an iron fraction among the cations in the range of 20-40%, which is in good agreement with what has been observed for powder catalysts. Furthermore, a decrease in the OER overpotential is observed following surface aging in electrolyte for three days. At higher Ni load, AFM shows the growth of a new phase attributed to an (oxy)-hydroxide phase which, according to CV measurements, does not seem to correlate with the surface activity towards OER. EIS suggests that the OER precursor species observed on the clean and Ni-modified surfaces are similar and Fe-centered, but form at lower overpotentials when the surface Fe:Ni ratio is optimized. We propose that the well-defined Fe3O4(001) surface can serve as a model System for understanding the OER mechanism and establishing the structure-reactivity relation on mixed Fe-Ni oxides. KW - OER KW - Fe-Ni oxides KW - Surface science KW - Electrochemistry KW - Water splitting PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-529231 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013468621009282?via%3Dihub DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2021.138638 VL - 389 SP - 138638 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-52923 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ernst, O. C. A1 - Böttcher, K. A1 - Fischer, Daniel A1 - Uebel, D. A1 - Teubner, T. A1 - Boeck, T. T1 - Morphogenesis of liquid indium microdroplets on solid molybdenum surfaces during solidification at normal pressure and under vacuum conditions N2 - Electrical and optical applications based on micro- and nanoparticles have specific demands on their interfacial properties. These properties are strongly related to atmospheric conditions to which the particles were exposed during their formation. In this study, metallic In microparticles are synthesized by solidification of In droplets on an amorphous Mo substrate at normal pressure and under vacuum conditions. The influence of ambient pressure on the interface and surface shape is investigated. While solidification at atmospheric pressure leads to collapsed particles with undisturbed contact to the substrate, low pressures result in smooth spherical particles but with cavities inside. Numerical simulations with COMSOL Multiphysics reveal different temperature profiles and heat flux in particles during solidification for both cases. This indicates different starting conditions of the solidification, which leads to the described phenomenon eventually. The investigation of the varying process conditions on the particle shape in combination with the calculated and measured temperature curves over time gives valuable insights into new approaches to synthesize micro- and nanoparticles with defined interfacial properties. Both ambient pressure and cooling rate provide well-controllable and reliable parameters for the realization of different interfacial shapes. KW - Morphogenesis KW - Indium KW - Microdroplet KW - Molybdenum PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c02744 SN - 0743-7463 SN - 1520-5827 VL - 38 IS - 2 SP - 762 EP - 768 PB - ACS Publ. CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-54242 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Frisch, M. A1 - Raza, M. H. A1 - Ye, M.-Y. A1 - Sachse, René A1 - Paul, B. A1 - Gunder, R. A1 - Pinna, N. A1 - Kraehnert, R. T1 - ALD-coated mesoporous iridium-titanium mixed oxides: Maximizing iridium utilization for an outstanding OER performance N2 - With the increasing production of renewable energy and concomitant depletion of fossil resources, the demand for efficient water splitting electrocatalysts continues to grow. Iridium (Ir) and iridium oxides (IrOₓ) are currently the most promising candidates for an efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in acidic medium, which remains the bottleneck in water electrolysis. Yet, the extremely high costs for Ir hamper a widespread production of hydrogen (H₂) on an industrial scale. Herein, the authors report a concept for the synthesis of electrode coatings with template-controlled mesoporosity surface-modified with highly active Ir species. The improved utilization of noble metal species relies on the synthesis of soft-templated metal oxide supports and a subsequent shape-conformal deposition of Ir species via atomic layer deposition (ALD) at two different reaction temperatures. The study reveals that a minimum Ir content in the mesoporous titania-based support is mandatory to provide a sufficient electrical bulk conductivity. After ALD, a significantly enhanced OER activity results in dependency of the ALD cycle number and temperature. The most active developed electrocatalyst film achieves an outstanding mass-specific activity of 2622 mA mg(Ir)⁻¹ at 1.60 V(RHE) in a rotating-disc electrode (RDE) setup at 25 °C using 0.5 m H₂SO₄ as a supporting electrolyte. KW - Acidic oxygen evolution reaction KW - Atomic layer deposition KW - Electrocatalysis KW - Iridium oxide KW - Soft-templated mesoporous films PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-542651 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202102035 SN - 2196-7350 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-54265 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - THES A1 - Müller, Anja T1 - Determination of the actual morphology of core-shell nanoparticles by advanced X-ray analytical techniques: A necessity for targeted and safe nanotechnology N2 - Even though we often do not knowingly recognize them, nanoparticles are present these days in most areas of our daily life, including food and its packaging, medicine, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, pigments as well as electronic products, such as computer screens. The majority of these particles exhibits a core-shell morphology either intendedly or unintendedly. For the purpose of practicability, this core-shell nanoparticle (CSNP) morphology is often assumed to be ideal, namely a spherical core fully encapsulated by a shell of homogeneous thickness with a sharp interface between core and shell material. It is furthermore widely presumed that all nanoparticles in the sample possess the same shell thickness. As a matter of fact, most real CSNPs deviate in several ways from this ideal model with quite often severe impact on how efficiently they perform in a specific application. The topic of this cumulative PhD thesis is the accurate characterization of the actual morphology of CSNPs by advanced X-ray analytical techniques, namely X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM). A special focus is on CSNPs which deviate from an ideal core-shell morphology. In the paper from 2019 nanoparticle shell thicknesses are extracted from the elastic-peak intensities in an XPS spectrum based on an ideal particle morphology. This happens for a series of CSNP samples comprising a poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) core and either a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) or polystyrene (PS) shell. The same paper as well as the paper from 2020 demonstrate for the first time, that the analysis of the inelastic background in an XPS spectrum of CSNPs can identify and quantify the heterogeneity of the shell and the incomplete encapsulation of the core. The result from an XPS experiment is always an average across a large nanoparticle ensemble. Deviations from an ideal morphology within a single particle of the sample cannot be assessed separately. As opposed to that, a spatial resolution of 35 nm enables STXM to visualize the interior of single CSNPs which exhibit a sufficient X-ray absorption contrast between core and shell material. In the paper from 2018 a STXM analysis is demonstrated based on the example of the PTFE-PS CSNP samples already mentioned in the previous paragraph. In the publication from 2021 (Ca/Sr)F₂ core-shell like nanoparticle ensembles for the practical use in, among others, antireflective coatings are investigated. These nanoparticles do not possess a sharp interface between core and shell material, which is why a shell thickness determination as described in the second paragraph is inappropriate. Instead, in-depth profiles of the chemical composition are obtained by XPS experiments based on synchrotron radiation with variable X-ray photon energy to elucidate the internal morphology of the particles. Additionally, theoretical in-depth profiles of Ca and Sr XPS peak intensities are simulated, in order to facilitate the interpretation of the experiments. Thus, an enrichment of CaF₂ at the particle surface was determined, which could hardly have been assessed by any other analytical technique. Because this kind of non-destructive depth profiling by XPS is very demanding, more than usual effort is spent on gapless documentation of the experiments to ensure full reproducibility. Due to the vast diversity of nanoparticles differing in material, composition and shape, a measurement procedure cannot unalteredly be transferred from one sample to another. Nevertheless, because the papers in this thesis present a greater depth of reporting on the experiments than comparable publications, they constitute an important guidance for other scientists on how to obtain meaningful information about CSNPs from surface analysis. N2 - Obwohl wir sie oft nicht bewusst wahrnehmen, sind Nanopartikel heutzutage in den meisten Bereichen unseres Alltags präsent, unter anderem in Lebensmitteln und ihren Verpackungen, Medizin, Medikamenten, Kosmetik, Pigmenten und in elektronischen Geräten wie Computermonitoren. Ein Großteil dieser Partikel weist, beabsichtigt oder unbeabsichtigt, eine Kern-Schale Morphologie auf. Einfachheitshalber wird diese Morphologie eines Kern-Schale-Nanopartikels (CSNP) oft als ideal angenommen, d.h. als ein sphärischer Kern, der komplett von einer Schale homogener Dicke bedeckt ist, mit einer scharfen Grenzfläche zwischen Kern- und Schalenmaterial. Außerdem wird vielfach auch davon ausgegangen, alle Partikel der Probe hätten gleiche Schalendicken. Tatsächlich weichen die meisten realen CSNPs in verschiedenster Weise von diesem Idealmodell ab, mit oft drastischen Auswirkungen darauf, wie gut sie ihre Aufgabe in einer bestimmten Anwendung erfüllen. Das Thema dieser kumulativen Doktorarbeit ist die exakte Charakterisierung der wirklichen Morphologie von CSNPs mit modernen Röntgen-basierten Methoden, konkret Röntgen-Photoelektronen-Spektroskopie (XPS) und Raster-Transmissions-Röntgen-Mikroskopie (STXM). Der Fokus liegt insbesondere auf CSNPs, die von einer idealen Kern-Schale-Morphologie abweichen. Im Artikel von 2019 werden Schalendicken von Nanopartikeln aus den elastischen Peakintensitäten im XPS-Spektrum unter Annahme einer idealen Partikelmorphologie abgeleitet. Dies geschieht für eine Reihe von CSNP-Proben, welche aus einem Polytetrafluoroethylen- (PTFE) Kern und entweder einer Polymethylmethacrylat- (PMMA) oder Polystyrol- (PS) Schale bestehen. Sowohl dieser Artikel als auch der von 2020 zeigen erstmals, dass die Auswertung des inelastischen Untergrunds eines CSNP-XPS-Spektrums in der Lage ist, die Heterogenität der Schale und die unvollständige Ummantelung des Kerns zu identifizieren und zu quantifizieren. Das Ergebnis eines XPS-Experiments ist immer ein Mittelwert über ein großes Nanopartikelensemble. Inwiefern ein einzelner Partikel innerhalb der Probe von einer idealen Morphologie abweicht, kann nicht gesondert erfasst werden. Im Gegensatz dazu kann STXM mit einer räumlichen Auflösung von 35 nm das Innere einzelner CSNPs visualisieren, sofern sie genügend Röntgenabsorptionskontrast zwischen Kern- und Schalenmaterial aufweisen. Im Artikel von 2018 wird am Beispiel der bereits im vorherigen Abschnitt genannt PTFE-PS-CSNPProben eine solche STXM-Untersuchung demonstriert. In der Veröffentlichung von 2021 werden Kern-Schale-artige (Ca/Sr)F₂-Nanopartikel für den praktischen Einsatz in unter anderem entspiegelnden Beschichtungen untersucht. Da hier keine scharfe Grenzfläche zwischen Kern- und Schalenmaterial vorliegt, ist eine Schalendickenbestimmung, wie sie im zweiten Abschnitt diskutiert wird, nicht sinnvoll. Stattdessen werden mit Hilfe von XPS, angeregt mit Synchrotronstrahlung bei variabler Röntgenphotonenenergie, Tiefenprofile der chemischen Zusammensetzung generiert, um die innere Morphologie der Partikel aufzuklären. Zusätzlich werden theoretische Tiefenprofile der Ca- und Sr-XPS-Peakintensitäten simuliert, um die Interpretation der Experimente zu erleichtern. So wurde eine CaF₂-Anreicherung an der Oberfläche der Partikel festgestellt, die kaum mit einer anderen analytischen Methode hätte entdeckt werden können. Da diese zerstörungsfreie Bestimmung von XPS-Tiefenprofilen sehr anspruchsvoll ist, wird noch mehr als üblich auf die lückenlose Dokumentation des Experiments geachtet, um vollständige Reproduzierbarkeit zu gewährleisten. Aufgrund der enormen Vielfalt an CSNPs, die sich in Material, Zusammensetzung und Form unterscheiden, kann eine Messmethode nicht völlig unverändert von einer Probe auf eine andere übertragen werden. Nichtsdestotrotz, da die als Teil dieser Doktorarbeit präsentierten Artikel eine deutlich ausführlichere Beschreibung der Experimente enthalten als vergleichbare Publikationen, stellen sie eine wichtige Anleitung für andere Wissenschaftler dafür dar, wie aussagekräftige Informationen über CSNPs durch Oberflächenanalytik erhalten werden können. KW - Core-shell nanoparticle (CSNP) KW - X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) KW - Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.18452/24312 SP - i EP - 243 PB - Humboldt-Universität CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-54991 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ermilova, Elena A1 - Weise, Matthias A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Application of imaging ellipsometry and white light interference microscopy for detection of defects in epitaxially grown 4H-SiC layers N2 - Critical defects, also known as device killers, in wide bandgap semiconductors significantly affect the performance of power electronic devices. We used the methods imaging ellipsometry (IE) and white light interference microscopy (WLIM) in a hybrid optical metrology study for fast and non-destructive detection, classification, and characterisation of defects in 4H–SiC homoepitaxial layers on 4H–SiC substrates. Ellipsometry measurement results are confirmed by WLIM. They can be successfully applied for wafer characterisation already during production of SiC epilayers and for subsequent industrial quality control. T2 - EOS Annual Meeting (EOSAM 2022) CY - Porto DA - 12.09.2022 KW - Imaging ellipsometry KW - White light interference microscopy KW - 4H–SiC KW - Defects PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-574209 DO - https://doi.org/10.1051/jeos/2023018 SN - 1990-2573 VL - 19 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - EDP Sciences AN - OPUS4-57420 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fink, Friedrich A1 - Stawski, Tomasz M. A1 - Stockmann, Jörg Manfred A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Falkenhagen, Jana T1 - Surface Modification of Kraft Lignin by Mechanochemical Processing with Sodium Percarbonate N2 - In this article, we present a novel one-pot mechanochemical reaction for the surface activation of lignin. The process involves environmentally friendly oxidation with hydrogen peroxide, depolymerization of fractions with high molecular mass, and introduction of new carbonyl functions into the lignin backbone. Kraft lignin was ground with sodium percarbonate and sodium hydroxide in a ball mill at different time intervals. Analyses by infrared spectroscopy (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), dynamic vapor sorption (DVS), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) showed significant improvements. After only 5 min of reaction, there was a 47% reduction in mass-average molecular weight and an increase in carboxyl functionalities. Chemical activation resulted in an approximately 2.8-fold increase in water adsorption. Principal component analysis (PCA) provided further insight into the correlations between IR spectra and SAXS parameters KW - Kraft Lignin KW - Mechanochemical oxidation KW - SEC KW - FTIR KW - SAXS KW - PCA PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.3c00584 SN - 1525-7797 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - American Chemical Society AN - OPUS4-58074 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - John, Elisabeth A1 - Lothenbach, Barbara ED - Carter, C. B. T1 - Cement hydration mechanisms through time – a review N2 - In this article the progress of the research on cement hydration mechanisms is critically reviewed, starting with the work of Le Chatelier and Michaelis during the late 19th century. Proposed mechanisms are discussed in the light of experimental data to highlight the role of new or improved analytical techniques. The focus of this article lies on the dormant period and the silicate reaction. Today many of the mechanisms proposed throughout time cannot withstand experimental evidence and need to be rejected, including the classical protective hydrate layer theory. However, it seems likely that hydrated surface species are involved in the mechanism. Theories that aim to explain the rate changes solely based on the nucleation and growth of portlandite can also not withstand experimental evidence. Nevertheless, the retardation of portlandite crystal growth through silicate ions is a relevant factor. Especially since it might present a mechanism for the nucleation of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), backing up theories that propose C-S-H and portlandite to grow from the same nuclei. Finally, an overview over facts, that are currently considered to be valid and hence need to be regarded in future mechanisms is given. KW - Cement hydration KW - Calcium silicate hydrate PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-577460 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-08651-9 SN - 1573-4803 VL - 58 IS - 24 SP - 9805 EP - 9833 PB - Springer Science + Business Media B.V CY - Dordrecht [u.a.] AN - OPUS4-57746 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Characterisation of thin layers of Polydopamine used as functional coatings in X-Ray optics N2 - Polydopamine (PDA) is a biological / biomimetic polymer which has spiked considerable interest in recent years. Its monomer is an important neurotransmitter and it is one of the strongest glues produced by biological organisms. Polydopamine is a candidate for several applications, mainly in the field of biology and medicine, but also - recently - for layer coatings with optical, electrical, and mechanical function. In this work, we investigate PDA layers intended as reflectivity enhancers for mirror surfaces in X-ray astronomical observatories. It has previously been shown, that such X-ray telescopes can be improved by a coating of PDA in the thickness range of several nm. Accurate thickness determination is required to monitor and optimise the coating process. We use spectroscopic ellipsometry to determine first the dielectric function of the polydopamine layers using model coatings of sufficient thickness. This data is then used to accurately determine the layer thickness of much thinner PDA layers. This study resulted in data on the thickness and dielectric function of PDA layers that could lead to a better understanding of the correlation of layer thickness and layer properties depending on the process parameters. T2 - Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft - Frühjahrstagung CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 17.03.2024 KW - Ellipsometry KW - Polydopamine KW - Thin Polymer Layers KW - X-Ray Reflectometry KW - Biopolymers PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59760 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Determining thermal transitions in thin polymer layers by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry N2 - Thin polymer layers have enormous technical significance as polymer coatings on materials are very cost-effective for tailoring properties of surfaces. Apart from technical aspects in their use, thin polymer layers can be used to determine dimensional aspects in properties of material, such as confinement effects. In this work, we investigated several different polymer layer materials and determined their glass transition region by means of temperature-dependent spectroscopic ellipsometry. We have optimised our fitting procedure of the ellipsometric data produced in temperature ramp experiments. By this, we could measure the dependence of Tg on the layer thickness in a wide variety of thickness values, proving the existence of confinement effects in the investigated systems. We compare numerical methods for determining the location of the glass transition and discuss the possibilities of different analysis methods when determining thermal transitions. We also discuss the simultaneous existence of these transitions and annealing effects and the implications on the accuracy of the determined data. T2 - 12th Workshop Ellipsometry 2023 CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 18.09.2023 KW - Thin Films KW - Polymers KW - Ellipsometry KW - Themal Transitions PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58413 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ermilova, Elena T1 - Hybrid measurement technique for defect characterisation in wide bandgap semiconductors N2 - Climate change and increasing demand for electricity require the use of power electronics based on new wide bandgap (WBG) compound semiconductors. Power electronics devices are used in numerous application areas to control and convert electric energy. These may include generation and distribution of renewable energy for green hydrogen, electrification of transport or 5G communication. WBG electronics have much higher efficiency than the silicon-based ones and can operate at higher power densities, voltages, temperatures and switching frequencies with low energy losses. However, defects in the semiconductors can considerably affect the performance of power electronic devices or make their operation even impossible. The presentation will show the application of spectroscopic and imaging ellipsometry as well as white light interference microscopy for defect characterisation in SiC, GaN and Ga2O3 over a wide wavelength range. We used parameterized modelling of ellipsometric transfer parameters to determine the dielectric properties of bulk materials and thin layers. Imaging ellipsometry offers more information and is an advanced variant of optical microscopy, combining the lateral resolution of optical microscopy with the extreme sensitivity to surface and interface effects of ellipsometry. Surface topography and morphology of different types of defects were additionally investigated with imaging white light interference microscopy. Modern electronic thin film components require complex surface analysis methodologies and hybrid metrology. Hybrid measurement techniques enable fast and non-destructive traceable characterisation of thin film compound semiconductors as well as accurate detection and identification of defects. This methodical approach leads to a better understanding of the materials themselves and of the defect formation mechanisms during manufacturing. This work aims to enable highly reproducible manufacturing of compound semiconductor power electronics as well as operation monitoring to ensure failure-safety of electronic systems in power electronic devices. T2 - Abteilungskolloquium 2023, BAM CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 09.02.2023 KW - Spectroscopic and imaging ellipsometry KW - White light interference microscopy KW - Wide bandgap semiconductors KW - Surface analysis, PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-59443 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Grundmann, Jana A1 - Ermilova, Elena A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Klapetek, Petr A1 - Pereira, Silvania F. A1 - Rafighdoost, Jila A1 - Bodermann, Bernd T1 - Optical and Tactile Measurements on SiC Sample Defects N2 - The different defect types on SiC samples are measured with various measurement methods including optical and tactile methods. The defect types investigated include particles, carrots and triangles and they are analyzed with imaging ellipsometry, coherent Fourier scatterometry and atomic force microscopy. Each of these methods measures different properties of the defects and they all together contribute to a complete analysis. T2 - SMSI 2023 - Sensor and Measurement Science International CY - Nuremberg, Germany DA - 08.05.2023 KW - Defects KW - Silicon carbide KW - Imaging ellipsometry KW - Atomic force microscopy KW - Coherent Fourier scatterometry PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-593397 SN - 978-3-9819376-8-8 DO - https://doi.org/10.5162/SMSI2023/D5.2 VL - 2023/D5 SP - 233 EP - 234 PB - AMA Service CY - Wunstorf AN - OPUS4-59339 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ermilova, Elena T1 - Imaging spectroscopic ellipsometry for investigation of energy materials and materials for nano-electronics N2 - Ellipsometry is a very powerful tool used for accurate material investigation in a wide wavelength range. It is a non-destructive and fast method. Imaging ellipsometry as a combination of optical microscopy and ellipsometry enables spatially resolved measurements when determining the layer thickness and dielectric properties of thin layers. It is known for its high polarisation sensitivity and high contrast for the surface structures. In this contribution we show the application of the imaging ellipsometry for detection of defects in energy materials and quality validation of possible reference materials for nano-electronics. Defects in wide bandgap semiconductors, in homoepitaxial SiC and heteroepitaxial GaN layers on transparent SiC substrates, can be successfully detected and classified by means of imaging ellipsometry. Correlation of imaging ellipsometry results with results from complementary techniques such as white light interference microscopy as well as atomic force microscopy contribute to understanding of surface topography and defect formation mechanisms. We discuss the potential of different methods for analysing ellipsometric map data for monitoring the defect densities. Electric properties of materials at the nanoscale can be investigated by means of scanning probe microscopy methods such as scanning microwave microscopy and conductive atomic force microscopy. However, development of new robust and easy-to-use calibration methods and calibration standards is essential to increase the traceability of these methods and allow their broad application in industry. We show how imaging spectroscopic ellipsometry can be used for development and monitoring of processing quality of patterned reference samples based on indium tin oxide (ITO) layer with different thickness and conductivity. T2 - 12th Workshop on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (WSE) CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 18.09.2023 KW - Ellipsometry KW - Thin Films KW - Transparent Conductive Oxides KW - Energy materials KW - White light interference microscopy KW - Nanoelectronics KW - Wide-bandgap semiconductors PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-59340 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ermilova, Elena T1 - Modell based ellipsometry standards for different application cases and their application for real non-ideal systems N2 - Ellipsometry enables the investigation of material properties over a broad spectral range. As a fast and non-destructive method, it is widely used in industry for quality assurance. Despite the wide application of ellipsometry and its high industrial relevance there are some material-specific standards and there have been no generally accepted standards dealing with model validation and measurement uncertainties. The first German standard DIN50989-1: 2018 Ellipsometry – Part1: Principles (currently international standard ISO 23131: 2021) marks the beginning of a 6-part standard series for ellipsometry, which was developed under consideration of GUM. T2 - International Conference on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (ICSE-9) CY - Beijing, China DA - 22.05.2022 KW - Spectroscopic and imaging ellipsometry KW - Standards KW - Uncertainties PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56698 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ermilova, Elena T1 - Hybrid optical measurement technique for detection of defects in epitaxially grown 4H-SiC layers N2 - Recent developments in power electronics require the use of new wide bandgap compound semiconductors. Silicon carbide (SiC) is one of the most promising materials for power electronics due to its outstanding properties and commercial availability. Some types of defects in the SiC substrates or homoepitaxial SiC layers can affect the performance of electronic devices in a serious manner or make its operation even impossible. Optical methods such as imaging ellipsometry (IE) and white light interference microscopy (WLIM) were applied for fast and non-contact investigation of defects in the epitaxially grown 12 µm 4H-SiC layers on 4H- SiC substrates. T2 - EOS Annual Meeting (EOSAM 2022) CY - Porto, Portugal DA - 12.09.2022 KW - Imaging ellipsometry KW - White light interference microscopy KW - Epitaxially grown 4H-SiC layers KW - Wide bandgap compound semiconductors PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56705 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ermilova, Elena A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Döhring, Thorsten A1 - Stanik, Eva A1 - Cotroneo, Vincenzo A1 - Gibertini, Eugenio T1 - Ellipsometrical characterization of poly-dopamine layers considered for technical applications N2 - Although the organic molecule dopamine (3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is commonly known as the “hormone of happiness”, thin films of poly-dopamine also have interesting technical properties. When produced by dip coating, the self-organizing layers grow in a reproducible thickness of single or multiple molecule monolayers of a few nanometer thickness only. In this work, we introduce a method of determining the layer thickness of poly-dopamine on mirrors for astronomical X-ray telescopes. This work is based on spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements and involves the development of an optical model for the poly-dopamine layers including the dielectric function. Thereby the complex refractive index of the produced layers was determined, covering the range from the ultraviolet to the near infrared spectral region. These measurement results and the corresponding technical challenges are presented in this contribution. Furthermore, an outlook to potential technical applications of this interesting material is given and poly-dopamine layers will make scientist and engineers hopefully happy as an innovative and fascinating technical solution for the future. T2 - SPIE PHOTONICS EUROPE CY - Strasbourg. France DA - 08.04.2024 KW - Polydopamine KW - Thin Solid Layers KW - X-ray optics KW - Spectroscopic Ellipsometry PY - 2024 SN - 978-1-5106-7344-1 DO - https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3015281 VL - 13013 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - SPIE digital library AN - OPUS4-60954 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Omar, Hassan A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Signature of the Adsorbed Layer on the glass transition of thin polymer Films: Broadband Dielectric spectroscopy and related techniques N2 - In well annealed thin polymer films with non-repulsive polymer/substrate interaction with a substrate an irreversibly adsorbed layer is expected to form. These adsorbed layers have shown a great potential for technological applications [1]. However, the growth kinetics and the molecular mobility of the adsorbed layer is still not fully understood. This concerns also the influence of the adsorbed layer on the thickness dependence of the glass transition temperature of thin films. This is partly due to the difficult accessibility of these layers in thin films. Here, the irreversibly adsorbed layers of semi-rigid mail chain polymers like polycarbonate or polysulfone are revealed by solvent-leaching experiments. First, the growth kinetics of these layers is investigated as a function of annealing time. The film thickness, topography and the quality of the adsorbed layer is controlled by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Secondly, the molecular mobility of the adsorbed layer is investigated by Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS). A developed nanostructured capacitor arrangement is employed to measure the layer with a free surface. In addition to the dielectric experiments, spectroscopic Ellipsometry measurements are carried out to estimate the glass transition of the thin films. The thickness dependence of the glass transition of the thin films is correlated with the adsorbed layer [2,3]. Acknowledgments D. Hülagü and G. Hidde thanked for the help with the ellipsometry measurements. T2 - 12. Conference on Broabband Dielectric Spectroscopy and its Application CY - Lisbon, Portugal DA - 01.09.2024 KW - Thin films PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60959 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ermilova, Elena A1 - Weise, Matthias A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Hybrid optical measurement technique for detection of defects in epitaxially grown 4H-SiC layers N2 - Recent developments in power electronics require the use of new wide bandgap compound semiconductor. We demonstrate the use of the ellipsometry and white light interference microscopy to detect defects in epitaxially grown SiC layers on SiC substrates. Such hybrid optical metrology methods can be used to better understand the mechanism of the development of the defects as well as their effects on the material´s optoelectronic properties. T2 - EOS Annual Meeting (EOSAM 2022) CY - Porto, Portugal DA - 12.09.2022 KW - Imaging ellipsometry KW - White light interference microscopy KW - Wide bandgap compound semiconductor KW - Epitaxially grown 4H-SiC layers PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-561113 DO - https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202226610001 VL - 266 SP - 1 EP - 2 AN - OPUS4-56111 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Völker, Christoph A1 - John, Elisabeth A1 - Firdous, Rafia A1 - Hirsch, Tamino A1 - Kaczmarek, Daria A1 - Ziesack, Kevin A1 - Buchwald, Anja A1 - Stephan, Dietmar A1 - Kruschwitz, Sabine ED - Ferrara, Liberato ED - Muciaccia, Giovanni ED - di Summa, Davide T1 - Beyond Theory: Pioneering AI-Driven Materials Design in the Sustainable Building Material Lab N2 - This work focuses on Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven materials design, addressing the challenge of improving the sustainability of building materials amid complex formulations. These formulations involve various components, such as binders, additives, and recycled aggregates, necessitating a balance between environmental impact and performance. Traditional experimental methods often fall short in managing the complexity of material composition, hindering fast enough development of optimal solutions. Our research explores complex composition materials design through a comprehensive, comparative lab study between Data-Driven Design, using SLAMD - an open-source AI materials design tool, and traditional Design of Experiments (DOE). We aimed to develop a high-performance, alkali-activated material using secondary precursors, aiming for a compressive strength exceeding 100 MPa after 7-days. The findings reveal that AI-driven design outperforms DOE in development speed and material quality, successfully identif. T2 - 4 RILEM Spring Convention and Conference on advanced construction materials and processes for a carbon neutral society 2024 CY - Milano, Italy DA - 07.04.2024 KW - Secondary Raw Materials KW - Data-Driven Design KW - Sequential Learning KW - Design of Experiments KW - Alkali-Activated Binder PY - 2024 SN - 978-3-03170281-5 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-70281-5_31 SN - 2211-0852 VL - 2 SP - 274 EP - 282 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-61662 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Omar, Hassan A1 - Ahmadi, Shayan A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Molecular Mobility of Thin Films of Poly (bisphenol-A carbonate) Capped and with one Free Surface: From Bulk-like Samples down to the Adsorbed Layer N2 - The molecular mobility of thin films of poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (PBAC) was systematically investigated using broadband dielectric spectroscopy, employing two distinct electrode configurations. First, films were prepared in a capped geometry between aluminum electrodes employing a crossed electrode capacitor (CEC) configuration, down to film thicknesses of 40 nm. The Vogel temperature, derived from the temperature dependence of relaxation rate of the α-relaxation, increases with decreasing film thickness characterized by an onset thickness. The onset thickness depends on the annealing conditions, with less intense annealing yielding a lower onset thickness. Additionally, a broadening of the β-relaxation peak was observed with decreasing thickness, attributed to the interaction of phenyl groups with thermally evaporated aluminum, resulting in a shift of certain relaxation modes to higher temperatures relative to the bulk material. A novel phenomenon, termed the slow Arrhenius process (SAP), was also identified in proximity to the α-relaxation temperature. For films with thicknesses below 40 nm, nanostructured electrodes (NSE) were utilized, incorporating nanostructured silica spacers to establish a free surface with air. This free surface causes an enhancement in the molecular mobility for the 40 nm sample, preserving the β-relaxation as a distinct peak. The α-relaxation was detectable in the dielectric loss down to 18 nm, shifting to higher temperatures as film thickness is decreased. Notably, the onset thickness for the increase in Vogel temperature was lower in the NSE configuration compared to the CEC setup, attributed to the presence of the polymer-air interface. KW - Thin polymer films PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-623422 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d4sm01238k SN - 1744-6848 VL - 21 IS - 2 SP - 241 EP - 254 PB - RSC AN - OPUS4-62342 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gaal, Mate T1 - Focussed sound field of thermoacoustic transmitters N2 - The thermoacoustic effect offers a method for selectively exciting broadband and focused ultrasonic waves, which can be utilized in air-coupled ultrasonic testing of lightweight components that might otherwise sustain damage from liquid couplants. Thermoacoustic transmitters are composed of an electrically conductive layer deposited on an insulating substrate. When electrical pulses are applied, the conductive layer heats, briefly warming the adjacent air and inducing thermal expansion, which generates an acoustic wave. In testing applications, the thermoacoustic transmitter is positioned at the focal distance to the structure under examination, where the resolution of the resulting ultrasonic image is influenced by the focus diameter. To optimize imaging resolution, understanding the focusing characteristics of thermoacoustic transmitters is essential. In this study, thermoacoustic transmitters with an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer on a quartz glass substrate were developed. Geometrical parameters, including substrate curvature and conductive layer thickness, along with electrical excitation parameters, were systematically varied to investigate their impact on the sound field up to approximately 1 MHz. The results indicate that, among the parameters studied, substrate curvature exerts the most significant influence on the sound field. T2 - DAS-DAGA Tagung CY - Copenhagen, Denmark DA - 17.03.2025 KW - Air-coupled ultrasound KW - Thermoacoustic transmitter KW - Focussed transducer PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63093 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Omar, Hassan A1 - Hiid, Gundula A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Growth kinetics of the adsorbed layer of poly(bisphenol A carbonate) and its effect on the glass transition behavior in thin films N2 - The glass transition behavior of thin films of poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (PBAC) was studied employing ellipsometry. The glass transition temperature increases with the reduction of the film thickness. This result is attributed to the formation of an adsorbed layer with a reduced mobility compared to bulk PBAC. Therefore, for the first time, the growth kinetics of the adsorbed layer of PBAC was investigated, prepared by leaching samples from a 200 nm thin film which were annealed for several times at three different temperatures. The thickness of each prepared adsorbed layer was measured by multiple scans using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Additionally, an unannealed sample was measured. Comparison of the measurements of the unannealed and the annealed samples provides proof of a pre-growth regime for all annealing temperatures which was not observed for other polymers. For the lowest annealing temperature after the pre-growth stage only a growth regime with a linear time dependence is observed. For higher annealing temperatures the growth kinetics changes from a linear to a logarithmic growth regime at a critical time. At the longest annealing times the films showed signs of dewetting where segments of the adsorbed film were removed from the substrate (dewetting by desorption). The dependence of the surface roughness of the PBAC surface on annealing time also confirmed that the films annealed at highest temperatures for the longest times desorbed from the substrate. KW - Ultra thin polymer films PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-574531 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D3RA02020G SN - 2046-2069 VL - 13 IS - 21 SP - 14473 EP - 14483 PB - RSC Publishing CY - London AN - OPUS4-57453 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - ELENA: a European project for electrical nanoscale metrology in industry N2 - A competitive advantage in the semiconductors industry is gained through the exploitation of new materials and processes, translating into improved components’ performances. This requires a metrological infrastructure allowing reliable nanoscale characterisation of new materials and devices, particularly in terms of their electrical parameters and properties. Traceability and reliability of nanoscale measurements stand as a major challenge for electrical properties (i.e. resistance, impedance) using conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) and scanning microwave microscopy (SMM) techniques. The non-destructive analysis nature of these two methods is of paramount importance for the characterization of devices and components. However, the state of the art still lacks established measurement protocols, easy to use reference standards, well-defined best practice guides and easy to use 3D models to assess environmental and external stimulation effects. Moreover, costly instrumentation, particularly for high-frequency measurements, still hinders efficient advancements in these directions. ELENA is a 3-years European project that aims at bringing solutions to the aforementioned difficulties. To achieve this goal, the project uses a combination of nanoscale electrodynamic scanning probe methods in combination with optical tools such as spectroscopic ellipsometry on several lateral length scales to determine the electrical properties of layers and small structures. T2 - ICSE-9: The 9th International Conference on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry CY - Beijing, China DA - 2022-05-21 KW - Imaging Ellipsometry KW - Electrical thin layers KW - Scanning Probe methods KW - Hybrid metrology PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-55464 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Knigge, Xenia T1 - First Experiences with the new HAXPES@BAM N2 - This talk was part of the inauguration event for the new x-ray photoelectron spectrometer with the possibility to measure HAXPES (hard energy x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy). With HAXPES detailed chemical information can now be gained not only from the first outermost nanometres of the sample surface, but also from deeper regions. In this talk first results and experiences handling the spectrometer are shown. T2 - Inauguration of the HAXPES@BAM - A new Hard-X-Ray Photoelectron Spectrometer CY - Online meeting DA - 25.01.2022 KW - HAXPES KW - Nano@BAM KW - Surface Analysis KW - XPS PY - 2022 UR - https://www.bam.de/Content/EN/Events/2022/2022-01-25-hapex.html AN - OPUS4-54434 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - New analytic ways to characterise mesoporous thin layers used in electrocatalytic water splitting N2 - Mesoporous materials are needed in many applications where a high specific surface area and adsorptive behaviour is needed. Important examples are separation techniques and barrier layers and catalysts. Electrochemical water splitting is the key technology for producing green hydrogen and there is no foreseeable alternative to this process for producing elementary hydrogen from green electrical power. Water electrolysis can be divided into the anodic Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) and the cathodic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER). Both processes have to be heavily optimised to a large extent to avoid energy losses caused by overvoltage. The development of electrodes for these processes is especially difficult due to the many boundary conditions. Water splitting is a catalytic as well as electrochemical process. The contact area between the electrolyte and the electrode must be maximised maintaining the stability of the surface. Side reactions must be suppressed, and effective gas transport must be ensured. The whole process has to be tolerant with respect to temperature, harsh chemical conditions from the electrolyte as well as high current densities. We present a hybrid analytical method combining several analytical techniques for determining the properties of thin layers of mixed oxides of the general composition Ir:TiOx. These materials are promising candidates for electrocatalytical top coatings of OER electrodes. To lower the costs of the electrolysers, the main goal is to lower the Ir content retaining the system efficiency. The main properties which are hard to determine are the porous volume fraction and the Ir:Ti element ratio. By a combination of electron microscopy, spectroscopic operando ellipsometry, ellipsometric porosimetry, and other techniques, we can determine key features of mesoporous thin layer materials. We aim to develop operando capable techniques used in process monitoring as well as measurement techniques optimised for accuracy. By developing reference materials, we support long term uptake of our methodology. This work can directly be used for optimising electrocatalytic layers and is a good example for the power of hybrid metrology for improving materials design. T2 - International Conference on Resource Chemistry CY - Alzenau, Germany DA - 11.03.2024 KW - Ellipsometry KW - Electrocatalytic Water Splitting KW - Mesoporous Materials KW - Electron Probe Microanalysis KW - Hydrogen Generation PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59764 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bonse, Jörn T1 - Single Femtosecond Laser Pulse induced Amorphization, Re-crystallization and Native Oxide Removal at Silicon Wafer Surfaces N2 - Single femtosecond laser pulse induced amorphization, re-crystallization and native oxide layer removal at silicon wafer surfaces of different crystal orientation is studied via spectroscopic imaging ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. T2 - 2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics/Europe – European Quantum Electronics Conferences CY - Munich, Germany DA - 26.06.2023 KW - Femtosecond laser KW - Laser-induced amorphization KW - Spectroscopic imaging ellipsometry KW - Transmission electron microscopy KW - Native oxide layer PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57829 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - John, Elisabeth A1 - Jakob, Cordula A1 - Pott, Ursula A1 - Sando, Mona T1 - Repeatability and reproducibility challenges of isothermal heat flow calorimetry with in situ mixing N2 - Isothermal heat flow calorimetry evaluates heat development during binder reactions. It distinguishes between in situ calorimetry, where mixing occurs within the device, and ex situ calorimetry, involving externally mixed samples. Despite ex situ calorimetry being a standard method in binder research, in situ calorimetry is underutilized. This paper aims to promote its adoption by summarizing challenges related to repeatability and reproducibility and offering solutions. The initial section addresses repeatability issues caused by preventable errors, providing a structured guide for experimental design. It was found that water leakage had minimal impact, and sample size is crucial for data robustness. The second section examines operational challenges, revealing that frictional heating, affecting recorded heat, can be minimized with an optimized mixing protocol. The final part highlights that significant errors in measured data stem from signal delay and heat loss, offering methods to correct these issues for improved reproducibility in in situ calorimetric experiments. KW - In situ calorimetry PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-628431 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107872 SN - 1873-3948 VL - 194 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-62843 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Omar, Hassan T1 - Growth Kinetics and Molecular Mobility of the Adsorbed Layer of Poly(bisphenol-A Carbonate) (PBAC), Polysulfone (PSU), and Poly (2-Vinyl Pyridine) (P2VP) N2 - Interactions between a polymer and a substrate interface play a vital role in understanding the improvement in thin film material properties as well as serving as a model for nanocomposites. For any non-repulsive polymer-substrate interactions, polymer segments form an irreversibly adsorbed layer and show a slowdown in the glassy dynamics and thus an increase in the thermal glass transition temperature compared to the bulk-like values. The growth kinetics of the adsorbed layer showed a deviation for both poly (bisphenol-A carbonate) (PBAC) and polysulfone (PSU), two bulky polymers containing a functional group (phenyl ring) in the backbone, compared to conventional polymers previously studied like poly-2-vinyl pyridine (P2VP). This deviation was attributed to the bulkiness of the phenyl rings. . Further investigations into the influence of the adsorbed layer on glassy dynamics were conducted. The molecular mobility and glass transition for thin films of PBAC and PSU were compared to bulk samples of each polymer. Broadband dielectric spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and ellipsometry were primarily used and additionally supported by sum frequency generation spectroscopy. T2 - Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG) Tagung CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 17.03.2024 KW - Thin films KW - Adsorbed Layer KW - Atomic Force Microscopy KW - Ellipsometry KW - Dielectric Spectroscopy PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59821 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Ellipsometry as a production measurement tool N2 - Spectroscopic Ellipsometry is an enormously versatile measurement tool for surfaces and thin layers. We discuss the use of ellipsometry in the context of quality control in production processes of eletrconic devices. T2 - Photonics Days Berlin Brandenburg CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 09.10.2023 KW - Ellipsometry KW - Quality control KW - Metrology PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-59837 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ermilova, Elena T1 - Multi-scale optical imaging methods for quality control of electronic devices N2 - The presentation demonstrates an application of multi-scale optical imaging methods such as spectroscopic imaging ellipsometry and white light interference microscopy for the investigation of wide-bandgap semiconductors for power electronics. The capabilities of these methods for the development of new reference calibration samples for scanning microwave microscopes (SMM) and conductive atomic force microscopes (C AFM) are discussed. T2 - Photonics Days Berlin Brandenburg 2023 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 09.10.2023 KW - Imaging ellipsometry KW - White light interference microscopy KW - Power electronics KW - Reference standards KW - Metrology KW - Nanoelectronics PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-59838 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Ellipsometry as a tool for electrical metrology - Referencing electrical properties of thin layers with TCO materials N2 - Ellipsometry is a highly valuable technology for bridging different measurement methods. As a fast, highly sensitive, and non-destructive optical technique with low environmental requirements, it is ideal for transporting measurement accuracy and for up-scaling measurements in the production environment. It can be used for highly precise determination of properties, material identity and correctness confirmation, as well as defect detection. Comparable, traceable, and accurate electrical measurements, especially at small scales are one of the biggest challenges in the development of the electrical and electronic devices of the future. In this project, we develop structured thin layer systems of the transparent conductive material indium tin oxide (ITO) to prove the concept of using these systems as standards for conductivity and permittivity. The layers are produced in a reactive magnetron sputtering process from raw ITO targets with additional oxidation achieved by oxygen injection. We present results of a study correlating the coating process conditions with the properties of the final layer material. We found that especially the temperature development during coating is of key importance and determines the layer properties to a large extent. We will discuss questions of homogeneity and reproducibility of the coating processes used. The finished layers undergo lithographic structuring and etching to produce patterns to serve as reference structures for scanning probe electrical measurements. TCOs have a large variety of applications. In this work we also study the usability of ITO for other purposes and investigate the stability of this material under application conditions. T2 - 12th Workshop Ellipsometry 2023 CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 18.09.2023 KW - Thin Films KW - Transparent Conductive Oxides KW - Ellipsometry KW - Electrical Properties KW - Nanoelectronics PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58410 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Babutzka, Martin A1 - Grabowski, Sven A1 - Sahrhage, H. A1 - Lampke, T. T1 - Electrochemical corrosion investigations on binary and ternary zinc alloy coatings using gel electrolytes N2 - Novel agar-based test electrolytes are used to perform electrochemical corrosion investigations on ZnFe and ZnNi binary as well as ZnFeMo ternary zinc coatings. The objectives of the electrochemical investigations include the characterization of the corrosion behavior, the description of the protective effect of the coatings as well as the investigation of the layer formation and degradation under artificial aging. ZnFe and ZnFeMo coatings are applied with varying iron content as well as an additional passivation layer, respectively, to study the effect on corrosion resistance. The results show that the protective effect of the coatings is not negatively influenced by different iron contents or the addition of molybdenum. Additional passivation of the ZnFe-containing coatings by means of a passivating agent leads to a significant improvement in the protective effect. Artificial aging leads to slight degradation of the additional passivation layer whereas coatings without post-treatment enhance their protective effect by the formation of corrosion product layers. KW - Binary zinc alloys KW - Ternary zinc alloys KW - Corrosion testing KW - Gel electrolytes KW - Corrosion PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-543013 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.202101336 SN - 1438-1656 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-54301 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Beck, Uwe T1 - Materials testing using centrifuge technology a journey through time from 2004 to 2024 N2 - This presentation provides an overview of materials testing using centrifuge technology in the period from 2004 to 2024. The development, the proof of concept, the functional principle, various operating modes as well as applications and examples are shown. T2 - ICDAMT 2024 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 10.06.2024 KW - Centrifuge technology KW - Materials testing KW - Centrifugal adhesion testing KW - Tensile and cmpressive stress testing PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60541 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - On the use of spectroscopic imaging ellipsometry for quantification and characterisation of defects in thin films for power electronics N2 - Compound semiconductors (CS) are promising materials for the development of high-power electrical applications. They have low losses, can withstand high temperatures and can operate at very high voltages and currents. This makes them a key technology for the electrification of many high energy applications, especially electromobility and HVDC power lines. The challenge with CS technology is that most of the process technology has to be developed anew to the high standards required by electronic applications. Today, compound semiconductors can be produced in thin layers on top of substrates fabricated from classical crystal growth processes that are already well established. A promising method for this is metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE). With this method, many different compounds with semiconducting properties can be synthesized. Additionally, this process technology is a direct thin layer deposition method. Therefore, complex multilayer systems can be generated directly by the deposition process and without the need of doping after growing. There are a number of critical defects that can originate from the deposition process of these thin film devices. Within this project, we intend to develop new correlative imaging and analysis techniques to determine defect types, to quantify defect size and number density, as well as to characterise defects for process optimisation. We report here on the use of spectroscopic ellipsometry and imaging ellipsometry to investigate defects in several different compound semiconductor materials used in high-power electronic devices. The materials we investigated are β-Ga2O3, SiC, GaN, AlN, and AlGaN materials as well as oxidised SiC surfaces. All of these materials have their typical defects and require optimised measurement and analysis schemes for reliable detection and analysis. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a highly sensitive method for determining the thicknesses and dielectric function of thin layers, yielding potentially a high number of microscopic properties. The combined method between ellipsometry and optical microscopy is called imaging ellipsometry and is especially powerful for the large amount of data it produces. We have analysed defects in SiC- and AlN-based thin film semiconductors as well as characterised the properties of different types of SiO2 layers created on top of SiC monocrystals. We developed ellipsometric models for the data analysis of the different semiconductor materials. If the defects have geometric features, it is useful to combine the ellipsometric analysis with topometry method like interference microscopy and scanning probe microscopy. We have successfully characterised function-critical defects in MOVPE SiC layers and correlated the findings with topography from WLIM measurements. We have developed an imaging ellipsometric measurement methodology that allows to estimate the relative defect area on a surface by a statistical raw data analysis. T2 - EMRS Spring Meeting 2024 - ALTECH 2024 CY - Strasbourg, France DA - 27.05.2024 KW - compound semiconductors KW - Ellipsometry KW - Layer Materials KW - Defect Analysis PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61005 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kimiaei, E. A1 - Farooq, M. A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Ahmadi, Shayan A1 - Babaeipour, S. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas A1 - Österberg, M. T1 - The role of lignin as interfacial compatibilizer in designing lignocellulosic-polyester composite films N2 - Advancing nanocomposites requires a deep understanding and careful design of nanoscale interfaces, as interfacial interactions and adhesion significantly influence the physical and mechanical properties of these materials. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) as interfacial compatibilizer between hydrophilic cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) and a hydrophobic polyester, polycaprolactone (PCL). In this context, we conducted a detailed analysis of surface-to-bulk interactions in both wet and dry conditions using advanced techniques such as quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), atomic force microscopy (AFM), water contact angle (WCA) measurements, broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS), and inverse gas chromatography (IGC). QCM-D was employed to quantify the adsorption behavior of LNPs on CNF and PCL surfaces, demonstrating LNPs’ capability to interact with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic phases, thereby enhancing composite material properties. LNPs showed extensive adsorption on a CNF model film (1186 ± 178 ng.cm−2) and a lower but still significant adsorption on a PCL model film (270 ± 64 ng.cm−2). In contrast, CNF adsorption on a PCL model film was the lowest, with a sensed mass of only 136 ± 35 ng.cm−2. These findings were further supported by comparing the morphology and wettability of the films before and after adsorption, using AFM and WCA analyses. Then, to gain insights into the molecular-level interactions and molecular mobility within the composite in dry state, BDS was employed. The BDS results showed that LNPs improved the dispersion of PCL within the CNF network. To further investigate the impact of LNPs on the composites’ interfacial properties, IGC was employed. This analysis showed that the composite films containing LNPs exhibited lower surface energy compared to those composed of only CNF and PCL. The presence of LNPs likely reduced the availability of surface hydroxyl groups, thus modifying the physicochemical properties of the interface. These changes were particularly evident in the heterogeneity of the surface energy profile, indicating that LNPs significantly altered the interfacial characteristics of the composite materials. Overall, these findings emphasize the necessity to control the interfaces between components for next-generation nanocomposite materials across diverse applications. KW - Lignin KW - Nanocomposites PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-615098 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2024.10.083 SN - 0021-9797 VL - 679 SP - 263 EP - 275 PB - Elsevier Inc. AN - OPUS4-61509 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Xu, Q. A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Kolmangadi, Mohamed A. A1 - Yang, Z. A1 - Wang, S. A1 - Gao, Y. A1 - Shang, J. A1 - Hunger, J. A1 - Aldiyarov, A. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas A1 - Ge, Y. A1 - Qi, Z. T1 - Molecular engineering of supramolecular polymer adhesive with confined water and a single crown ether N2 - Here, we report a water-induced supramolecular polymer built from confined structural water and an intrinsic amphiphilic macrocyclic self-assembly in a nanophase separated structure. The newly designed crown ether macrocycle, featuring strong hydrophilic hydrogen bonding receptor selenoxide and a synergistical hydrophobic selenium-substituted crown core, confines the structural water in a segregated, interdigitated architecture. Although water molecules typically freeze around 0 °C, the confined structural water in this supramolecular polymer remains in a liquid-like state down to 80 °C. Previous studies suggest that multiple crown ether units are needed to generate structural water. However, here, one unit is sufficient to control the formation and disappearance of structural water and consequent supramolecular polymerization. Typically, the DC conductivity of water shows Arrhenius temperature dependency (lnσDC ∝ 1/T). In contrast, this new crown unit maintains water in confined states, which exhibit a Vogel/Fulcher/Tammann behavior (lnσDC ∝ 1/(T-T0)) at temperatures above the glass transition temperature. Moreover, this water-induced supramolecular polymer exhibits remarkable adhesion properties to hydrophilic surfaces and maintains tough adhesion at low temperatures. These findings show how a single small macrocycle can govern the complex structure and functionality of water in supramolecular systems. KW - Supramolecular polymerization PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-623631 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SC06771A SN - 2041-6539 VL - 16 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - RSC AN - OPUS4-62363 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wolff, M. A1 - Wonneberger, R. A1 - Freiberg, K.E. A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Bonse, Jörn A1 - Giebeler, L. A1 - Koitzsch, A. A1 - Kunz, C. A1 - Weber, H. A1 - Hufenbach, J.K. A1 - Müller, F.A. A1 - Gräf, S. T1 - Formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures on Zr-based bulk metallic glasses with different chemical composition N2 - Bulk metallic glasses (BMG) are amorphous metal alloys known for their unique physical and mechanical properties. In the present study, the formation of femtosecond (fs) laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on the Zr-based BMGs Zr46Cu46Al8, Zr61Cu25Al12Ti2, Zr52.5Cu17.9Al10Ni14.6Ti5 (Vit105) and Zr57Cu15.4Al10Ni12.6Nb5 (Vit106) was investigated as a function of their different chemical composition. For this purpose, LIPSS were generated on the sample surfaces in an air environment by fs-laser irradiation (λ = 1025 nm, τ = 300 fs, frep = 100 kHz). The surface topography was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Moreover, the impact of LIPSS formation on the structure and chemical surface composition was analyzed before and after fs-laser irradiation by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as well as by transmission electron microscopy in combination with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Despite the different chemical composition of the investigated BMGs, the fs-laser irradiation resulted in almost similar properties of the generated LIPSS patterns. In the case of Zr61Cu25Al12Ti2, Vit105 and Vit106, the surface analysis revealed the preservation of the amorphous state of the materials during fs-laser irradiation. The study demonstrated the presence of a native oxide layer on all pristine BMGs. In addition, fs-laser irradiation results in the formation of laser-induced oxide layers of larger thickness consisting of an amorphous ZrAlCu-oxide. The precise laser-structuring of BMG surfaces on the nanoscale provides a versatile alternative to thermoplastic forming of BMG surfaces and is of particular interest for the engineering of functional material surfaces. KW - Bulk metallic glasses KW - Femtosecond laser KW - Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) KW - Chemical analysis KW - Oxidation PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-581799 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfin.2023.103305 SN - 2468-0230 VL - 42 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-58179 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Ahmadzadeh, Majid A1 - Weise, Matthias T1 - Focussed sound field of thermoacoustic transmitters N2 - The thermoacoustic effect offers a method for selectively exciting broadband and focused ultrasonic waves, which can be utilized in air-coupled ultrasonic testing of lightweight components that might otherwise sustain damage from liquid couplants. Thermoacoustic transmitters are composed of an electrically conductive layer deposited on an insulating substrate. When electrical pulses are applied, the conductive layer heats, briefly warming the adjacent air and inducing thermal expansion, which generates an acoustic wave. In testing applications, the thermoacoustic transmitter is positioned at the focal distance to the structure under examination, where the resolution of the resulting ultrasonic image is influenced by the focus diameter. To optimize imaging resolution, understanding the focusing characteristics of thermoacoustic transmitters is essential. In this study, thermoacoustic transmitters with an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer on a quartz glass substrate were developed. Geometrical parameters, including substrate curvature and conductive layer thickness, along with electrical excitation parameters, were systematically varied to investigate their impact on the sound field up to approximately 1 MHz. The results indicate that, among the parameters studied, substrate curvature exerts the most significant influence on the sound field. T2 - DAS-DAGA Tagung CY - Kopenhagen, Danmark DA - 17.03.2025 KW - Air-coupled ultrasound KW - Thermoacoustic transmitter KW - Focussed transducer PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 4 AN - OPUS4-63092 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Minenkov, Alexey A1 - Hollweger, Sophia A1 - Duchoslav, Jiri A1 - Erdene-Ochir, Otgonbayar A1 - Weise, Matthias A1 - Ermilova, Elena A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Schiek, Manuela T1 - Monitoring the Electrochemical Failure of Indium Tin Oxide Electrodes via Operando Ellipsometry Complemented by Electron Microscopy and Spectroscopy N2 - Transparent conductive oxides such as indium tin oxide (ITO) are standards for thin film electrodes, providing a synergy of high optical transparency and electrical conductivity. In an electrolytic environment, the determination of an inert electrochemical potential window is crucial to maintain a stable material performance during device operation. We introduce operando ellipsometry, combining cyclic voltammetry (CV) with spectroscopic ellipsometry, as a versatile tool to monitor the evolution of both complete optical (i.e., complex refractive index) and electrical properties under wet electrochemical operational conditions. In particular, we trace the degradation of ITO electrodes caused by electrochemical reduction in a pH-neutral, water-based electrolyte environment during electrochemical cycling. With the onset of hydrogen evolution at negative bias voltages, indium and tin are irreversibly reduced to the metallic state, causing an advancing darkening, i.e., a gradual loss of transparency, with every CV cycle, while the conductivity is mostly conserved over multiple CV cycles. Post-operando analysis reveals the reductive (loss of oxygen) formation of metallic nanodroplets on the surface. The reductive disruption of the ITO electrode happens at the solid–liquid interface and proceeds gradually from the surface to the bottom of the layer, which is evidenced by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy imaging and complemented by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping. As long as a continuous part of the ITO layer remains at the bottom, the conductivity is largely retained, allowing repeated CV cycling. We consider operando ellipsometry a sensitive and nondestructive tool to monitor early stage material and property changes, either by tracing failure points, controlling intentional processes, or for sensing purposes, making it suitable for various research fields involving solid–liquid interfaces and electrochemical activity. KW - General Materials Science PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-597625 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c17923 SN - 1944-8252 VL - 16 IS - 7 SP - 9517 EP - 9531 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-59762 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - François, P. T1 - ELENA Project: Creating a simplified uncertainty calculation for industrial applications N2 - In this workpackage of the ELENA project, we develop a way to express the measurement uncertainty of nanoscale determination of electrical propserties. The method developed aims to be usable for industrial contexts and described in technical documents and standards drafts. Standards and reference samples are used to make traceable measurements available for the end user. T2 - Congrès International de Metrologie CY - Lyon, France DA - 06.03.2023 KW - Nanoscale measurements KW - Electrical properties KW - Optical measurements KW - Surfaces KW - Scanning probe measurements PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57155 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grundmann, Jana A1 - Bodermann, Bernd A1 - Ermilova, Elena A1 - Weise, Matthias A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Klapetek, Petr A1 - Rafighdoost, Jila A1 - Pereira, Silvania F. T1 - Optical and tactile measurements on SiC sample defects N2 - Abstract. In power electronics, compound semiconductors with large bandgaps, like silicon carbide (SiC), are increasingly being used as material instead of silicon. They have a lot of advantages over silicon but are also intolerant of nanoscale material defects, so that a defect inspection with high accuracy is needed. The different defect types on SiC samples are measured with various measurement methods, including optical and tactile methods. The defect types investigated include carrots, particles, polytype inclusions and threading dislocations, and they are analysed with imaging ellipsometry, coherent Fourier scatterometry (CFS), white light interference microscopy (WLIM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). These different measurement methods are used to investigate which method is most sensitive for which type of defect to be able to use the measurement methods more effectively. It is important to be able to identify the defects to classify them as critical or non-critical for the functionality of the end product. Once these investigations have been completed, the measurement systems can be optimally distributed to the relevant defects in further work to realize a hybrid analysis of the defects. In addition to the identification and classification of defects, such a future hybrid analysis could also include characterizations, e.g. further evaluation of ellipsometric data by using numerical simulations. KW - Compound semiconductors KW - Hybrid metrology KW - Material defects KW - Spectroscopic ellipsometry KW - Scanning probe microscopy KW - White-light interference microscopy PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-601220 DO - https://doi.org/10.5194/jsss-13-109-2024 SN - 2194-878X VL - 13 IS - 1 SP - 109 EP - 121 PB - Copernicus Publ. CY - Göttingen AN - OPUS4-60122 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Characterisation of thin layers of Polydopamine used as functional coatings in X-Ray optics N2 - Polydopamine (PDA) is a biological / biomimetic polymer which has spiked considerable interest in recent years. Its monomer is an important neurotransmitter and it is one of the strongest glues produced by biological organisms. Polydopamine is a candidate for several applications, mainly in the field of biology and medicine, but also - recently - for layer coatings with optical, electrical, and mechanical function. In this work, we investigate PDA layers intended as reflectivity enhancers for mirror surfaces in X-ray astronomical observatories. It has previously been shown, that such X-ray telescopes can be improved by a coating of PDA in the thickness range of several nm. Accurate thickness determination is required to monitor and optimise the coating process. We use spectroscopic ellipsometry to determine first the dielectric function of the polydopamine layers using model coatings of sufficient thickness. This data is then used to accurately determine the layer thickness of much thinner PDA layers. This study resulted in data on the thickness and dielectric function of PDA layers that could lead to a better understanding of the correlation of layer thickness and layer properties depending on the process parameters. T2 - Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft - Frühjahrstagung CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 17.03.2024 KW - Polydopamine KW - Thin Solid Layers KW - X-ray optics KW - Spectroscopic Ellipsometry PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60955 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Omar, Hassan A1 - Ahamadi, Shayan A1 - Hülagü, Deniz A1 - Hidde, Gundula A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Investigations of the adsorbed layer of polysulfone: Influence of the thickness of the adsorbed layer on the glass transition of thin films N2 - This work studies the influence of the adsorbed layer on the glass transition of thin films of polysulfone. Therefore, the growth kinetics of the irreversibly adsorbed layer of polysulfone on silicon substrates was first investigated using the solvent leaching approach, and the thickness of the remaining layer was measured with atomic force microscopy. Annealing conditions before leaching were varied in temperature and time (0–336 h). The growth kinetics showed three distinct regions: a pre-growth step where it was assumed that phenyl rings align parallel to the substrate at the shortest annealing times, a linear growth region, and a crossover from linear to logarithmic growth observed at higher temperatures for the longest annealing times. No signs of desorption were observed, pointing to the formation of a strongly adsorbed layer. Second, the glass transition of thin polysulfone films was studied in dependence on the film thickness using spectroscopic ellipsometry. Three annealing conditions were compared: two with only a tightly bound layer formed in the linear growth regime and one with both tightly bound and loosely adsorbed layers formed in the logarithmic growth regime. The onset thickness and increase in the glass transition temperature increases with annealing time and temperature. These differences were attributed to the distinct conformations of the formed adsorbed layers. KW - Glass transition KW - Adsorbed Layer PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-607701 DO - https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0223415 SN - 0021-9606 VL - 161 IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - AIP Publishing AN - OPUS4-60770 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Ermilova, Elena T1 - Optical constants of a single AlN layer on Si N2 - Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to determine the thickness and dielectric function of a Aluminium Nitride (AlN) layer on a Si wafer. The layer was determined to be 170 nm thick. The layer was provided by AIXTRON and manufactured by means of MOVPE. The data was created using a M2000DI spectroscopic ellipsometer from Woollam Co. Inc. Analysis was done using the CompleteEASE software. The model used is a multi-peak oscillator model for the AlN layer. The data resembles common database values for the material AlN. KW - Aluminium nitride KW - Thin solid layers KW - Spectroscopic ellipsometry KW - Compund semiconductors KW - MOVPE PY - 2024 UR - https://zenodo.org/records/12743500 DO - https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12743499 PB - Zenodo CY - Geneva AN - OPUS4-60661 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Smales, G. J. T1 - DACHS-MOFs Database for Automation, Characterisation, and Holistic Synthesis N2 - The DACHS (Database for Automation, Characterization and Holistic Synthesis) project aims to create completely traceable experimental data, covering syntheses, measurements, analyses, and interpretations. DACHS MOFs focuses on the synthesis and characterisation of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), across multiple, automation-assisted experimental series (AutoMOFs), with the overall goal of producing reproducible MOF syntheses. So far > 1200 MOF samples have been synthesised, with SAXS/WAXS data currently being collected on all samples. All results, including those from “failed” syntheses, are included in the database, as results are results and should be considered agnostic to any positive ornegative interpretations. DACHS MOFs represents the initial trial of the DACHS project, serving as a comprehensive resource for researchers aiming to optimize the synthesis and characterization of MOFs. T2 - XIX International Small Angle Scattering Conference CY - Taipei, Taiwan DA - 04.11.2024 KW - Lab automation KW - Synthesis KW - Metal organic frameworks KW - Zif-8 KW - Databases KW - Synthesis data PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61626 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt-Grund, R. A1 - Sturm, C. A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Ellipsometry and polarimetry - Classical measurement techniques with always new developments, concepts, and applications N2 - Ellipsometry is a matured experimental method, whose roots reach back into the early phase of modern optics itself. It is often attributed to be invented by Paul Drude in the last decade of the 19th century, but similar techniques had already been applied for years before Drude started his work. With this Special Issue about ellipsometry and related techniques, we hope to bring more attention to this method and advance and propagate it to be used by a broader community. We have collected a good mixture of articles: some texts are more in the line of users’ tutorial and best practice guides; others are intended to show recent developments of the method. With this collection, we also hope to show the generally rapidly expanding possibilities of ellipsometry and polarimetry to draw attention of new users and previously unrelated communities to this valuable tool. KW - Ellipsometry KW - Polarimetry KW - Surfaces KW - Thin films KW - Optical analysis PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1515/aot-2022-0025 SN - 2192-8584 SN - 2192-8576 VL - 11 IS - 3-4 (Topical issue: Ellipsometry) SP - 57 EP - 58 PB - De Gruyter CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-55467 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR ED - Schmidt-Grund, R. ED - Sturm, C. ED - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Topical issue: Ellipsometry N2 - Ellipsometry is a matured experimental method, whose roots reach back into the early phase of modern optics itself. It is often attributed to be invented by Paul Drude in the last decade of the 19th century, but similar techniques had already been applied for years before Drude started his work. With this Special Issue about ellipsometry and related techniques, we hope to bring more attention to this method and advance and propagate it to be used by a broader community. KW - Spectroscopy KW - Ellipsometry KW - Surfaces KW - Thin films KW - Advanced optics KW - Optical measurement technology PY - 2022 UR - https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/aot/11/3-4/html#contents SN - 2192-8584 SN - 2192-8576 VL - 11 IS - 3-4 SP - 47 EP - 147 PB - De Gruyter CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-55468 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ermilova, Elena T1 - Ellipsometry as optical metrology method for analysis of reference materials for nanoelectronics N2 - Electrical properties of materials at the nanoscale can be characterized using scanning microwave microscopes (SMM) and conductive atomic force microscopes (C AFM). However, the measurement results are difficult to compare since different setups and different reference standards are used. The development of new “out-of-lab” reference standards can contribute to the traceability and reliability of these scanning probe microscopy methods (SPM) and facilitate their broader industrial application. In this study, we discuss the capability of optical methods such as ellipsometry for the characterization of existing and the development of new reference calibration samples for scanning microwave microscopy. Ellipsometry is a fast and non-destructive method, which enables very accurate determination of the layer thickness and the dielectric functions of the materials. Imaging ellipsometry is suitable for spatially resolved measurements when analyzing thin layers in microstructured samples. We show how the electrical resistivity of indium tin oxide (ITO) layers in newly designed resistive calibration samples can be obtained from spectroscopic ellipsometric measurements. The extension of the measurement range into the mid-infrared region was necessary when analyzing ITO layers with low conductivity. This parameter was obtained by fitting a Drude function describing the absorption of the free carriers. The impact of the coating process conditions on the layer properties is discussed. Imaging ellipsometry was applied for the characterisation of thin ITO and SiO2 layers in microstructured resistive and capacitance calibration kits. The uncertainties of determined layer thicknesses were specified according to standardized practice guides used in ellipsometry. We show how statistical fingerprint analysis of the measured ellipsometric transfer quantities can be used to validate the quality of potential reference materials for nano-electronics and to monitor the processing of structured samples. T2 - L. ALTECH 2024 - Analytical techniques for accurate nanoscale characterization of advanced materials CY - Strasbourg, France DA - 27.05.2024 KW - Ellipsometry KW - Reference materials KW - Transparent conductive Oxides KW - Scannig probe microscope KW - Metrology KW - Nanoelectronics PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60268 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Determining Material Properties with Spectroscopic Ellipsometry N2 - In this lecture, an introduction will be given on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, what quantities can be obtained with it, and how we use it in ELENA and other projects to determine functional parameters of thin layers at the nanoscale. T2 - Summer school ELENAM : metrology at the nanoscale CY - Fréjus, France DA - 02.06.2024 KW - Thin Layers KW - Ellipsometry KW - Nanotechnology KW - Electrical Paramters PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60247 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - On the use of spectroscopic imaging ellipsometry for quantification and characterisation of defects in thin films for power electronics N2 - Compound semiconductors (CS) are promising materials for the development of high-power electrical applications. They have low losses, can withstand high temperatures and can operate at very high voltages and currents. This makes them a key technology for the electrification of many high energy applications, especially electromobility and HVDC power lines. The challenge with CS technology is that most of the process technology has to be developed anew to the high standards required by electronic applications. Today, compound semiconductors can be produced in thin layers on top of substrates fabricated from classical crystal growth processes that are already well established. A promising method for this is metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE). With this method, many different compounds with semiconducting properties can be synthesized. Additionally, this process technology is a direct thin layer deposition method. Therefore, complex multilayer systems can be generated directly by the deposition process and without the need of doping after growing. There are a number of critical defects that can originate from the deposition process of these thin film devices. Within this project, we intend to develop new correlative imaging and analysis techniques to determine defect types, to quantify defect size and number density, as well as to characterise defects for process optimisation. We report here on the use of spectroscopic ellipsometry and imaging ellipsometry to investigate defects in several different compound semiconductor materials used in high-power electronic devices. The materials we investigated are β-Ga2O3, SiC, GaN, AlN, and AlGaN materials as well as oxidised SiC surfaces. All of these materials have their typical defects and require optimised measurement and analysis schemes for reliable detection and analysis. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a highly sensitive method for determining the thicknesses and dielectric function of thin layers, yielding potentially a high number of microscopic properties. The combined method between ellipsometry and optical microscopy is called imaging ellipsometry and is especially powerful for the large amount of data it produces. We have analysed defects in SiC- and AlN-based thin film semiconductors as well as characterised the properties of different types of SiO2 layers created on top of SiC monocrystals. We developed ellipsometric models for the data analysis of the different semiconductor materials. If the defects have geometric features, it is useful to combine the ellipsometric analysis with topometry method like interference microscopy and scanning probe microscopy. We have successfully characterised function-critical defects in MOVPE SiC layers and correlated the findings with topography from WLIM measurements. We have developed an imaging ellipsometric measurement methodology that allows to estimate the relative defect area on a surface by a statistical raw data analysis. Compound semiconductors (CS) are promising materials for the development of high-power electrical applications. They have low losses, can withstand high temperatures and can operate at very high voltages and currents. This makes them a key technology for the electrification of many high energy applications, especially electromobility and HVDC power lines. The challenge is that most of the process technology has to be developed specifically and tailored to the high standards required by electronic applications. Today, many different CS materials can be produced in thin layers on top of substrates fabricated from classical crystal growth processes that are already well established. A promising method for this is metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE). This technology is a direct thin layer deposition method capable of producing complex multilayer systems directly from one deposition process without the need of doping after growing. There are a number of critical defects that can originate from the deposition process when targeting electronic thin film devices. Within this project, we intend to develop new correlative imaging and analysis techniques to determine defect types, to quantify defect size and density, as well as to characterise defects for further process optimisation. We report here on the use of spectroscopic and multispectral imaging ellipsometry to investigate defects in several different compound semiconductor materials used in high-power electronic devices. The materials we investigated are β-Ga2O3, SiC, GaN, AlN, and AlGaN as well as oxidised SiC. All of these materials have their typical defects and require optimised measurement and analysis schemes for reliable detection and analysis. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a highly sensitive method for determining the thicknesses and dielectric function of thin layers, yielding potentially a high number of microscopic properties. The combined method between ellipsometry and optical microscopy is known as imaging ellipsometry and is especially powerful for the large amount of data it produces. We have analysed defects in SiC- and AlN-based thin film semiconductors as well as characterised the properties of different types of SiO2 layers created on top of SiC monocrystals. We developed ellipsometric models for the data analysis of the different semiconductor materials. If the defects have geometric features, it is useful to combine the ellipsometric analysis with topometry methods like interference microscopy and scanning probe microscopy. We have successfully characterised function-critical defects in MOVPE SiC layers and correlated the findings with topography from WLIM measurements. We have developed an imaging ellipsometric measurement methodology that allows to estimate the relative defect area on a surface by a statistical raw data analysis. T2 - EMRS Spring Meeting 2024 - ALTECH 2024 CY - Strasbourg, France DA - 27.05.2024 KW - Ellipsometry KW - Power Electronics KW - Layer Materials KW - Defect Analysis PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60266 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Piquemal, François A1 - Hoffmann, Johannes A1 - Gautier, Brice A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Frabricius, Norbert T1 - Publishable Summary for 20IND12 Elena Electrical nanoscale metrology in industry N2 - Consumer electronics, innovative quantum technologies, and Internet of Things applications all rely on semiconductors, where reliable characterisation of electrical properties at the nanoscale is essential for European innovation and competitiveness. The measurement of these properties allows the evaluation of critical parameters used to define the performance of electronic materials and components. Currently, Conductive Atomic Force Microscopes and Scanning Microwave Microscopes enable nanoscale electrical characterisation, but they are costly, complicated and, in many cases where they are used, unreliable as measurements are not traceable. The aim of the project was to make such measurements traceable for the first time, with stated uncertainties, and affordable by developing and testing cost effective instrumentation and the first “out of lab” reference standards from DC to GHz and by elaborating robust calibration methods and good practice guides using simplified uncertainty budgets. All the objectives were achieved. The project has successfully improved the user-friendly uncertainty quantification for the electrical measurements at the nanoscale in the industrial environment. The design of calibration standards has been improved and new standards for DC resistance / current as well as HF impedance have been introduced and quantified. Good practice guides for the calibration and uncertainty quantification have been written and will be available to the users’ community. New ways of determining the properties of standard samples like ellipsometry have been evaluated. The interaction with stakeholders and industry collaborators was very important for the consortium and several case studies were carried out with industry-relevant samples. All data, procedures, and example uncertainty data from the project are included into the standardisation process and two IEC standards projects have been started during this project. These standards will be used as one important dissemination ways for the results of the project. KW - Electrical Properties KW - Nanometrology KW - Scanning Probe Microscopy KW - Optical Surface Analysis PY - 2024 SP - 1 EP - 9 AN - OPUS4-61812 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Kolmangadi, Mohamed A. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Application of Fast Scanning Calorimetry in Soft Matter Research – Two Examples: 1. Polymers for Gas separation membranes 2. Ionic Liquid Crystals N2 - The application of fast scanning calorimetry (FSC) with heating rates in the range from 10 K/s to 10,000 K/s in soft matter research is discussed through two examples. In the first part, FSC is applied to polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs). No glass transition could be measured for these polymers by conventional calorimetry before their degradation. By decoupling the time scales of chemical degradation and the glass transition, it could be shown for the first time that PIMs undergo a glass transition. In the second part, FSC is applied to ionic liquid crystals to investigate their molecular mobility. In order to cover a broad dynamical range, FSC is combined with temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry, and temperature-modulated FSC. T2 - Colloqium at the physics department of the Charles university Prague CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 12.11.2024 KW - Fast Scanning Calorimetry PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61670 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kjaervik, Marit A1 - Schwibbert, Karin A1 - Dietrich, P.M. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - NAP-XPS spectra of the bacterial cell-envelope of Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria N2 - Pseudomonas fluorescens (Gram-negative) bacteria purchased from Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures were analyzed using high-resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at near ambient pressure conditions (NAP-XPS), 1500 Pa water vapor atmosphere. Fresh layers of P. fluorescence bacteria were grown on Luria Broth agar plates. Bacteria were taken from the agar plate with a sterile spatula and gently spread on a Si-wafer piece for NAP-XPS analysis. The NAP-XPS spectra of the bacterial envelope of P. fluorescence were obtained using monochromatic Al Kα radiation and include a survey scan and high-resolution spectra of C 1s, N 1s, P 2p, and O 1s as well. The presentation of the C 1s high-resolution spectrum includes the results of peak fitting analysis. KW - Pseudomonas fluorescens KW - Cell-envelope KW - Water atmosphere KW - Near ambient x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy KW - NAP-XPS PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0001543 SN - 1055-5269 VL - 29 IS - 1 SP - 014008-1 PB - AVS AN - OPUS4-54464 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Richter, Anja T1 - Reducing Escherichia coli adhesion to PET by modulating spatial periods of laser-induced surface nanoripples N2 - Using nanofiber-like cell appendages, secreted proteins and sugars, bacteria can establish initial surface contact followed by irreversible adhesion and the formation of multicellular biofilms. Here, the stabilizing extracellular biofilm matrix together with physiological changes on the single cell level leads to an increased resilience towards harsh environmental conditions, antimicrobials, the host immune response and established cleaning procedures. Persistent microbial adhesion on e.g., medical implants, in water supply networks or food-processing industry is often associated with chronic inflammation, nosocomial and foodborne infections, enhanced biofouling and product contamination. To prevent persistent microbial colonization, antibacterial surface strategies often target the initial steps of biofilm formation and impede adhesion of single cells before a mature biofilm is being formed. While chemical coatings have been widely used, their restricted biocompatibility for eukaryotic cells and attenuated antibacterial-effects due to compound release limit their areas of application and alternative strategies focus on modified surfaces topographies to impede bacterial adhesion. In this work, we used ns-UV laser treatment (wavelength 248 nm and a pulse duration of 20 ns) to generate laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) with different submicrometric periods ranging from ~210 to ~610 nm on commercial poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) foils. Following structurally and chemically analyses, PET samples were subjected to bacterial colonization studies with Escherichia coli TG1, a bacterial test strain with a strong biofilm formation capacity due to the formation of nanofiber-like cell-appendages (pili). Bacterial adhesion tests revealed that E. coli repellence decisively depends on the spatial periods of the LIPSS with the strongest reduction (~91%) in cell adhesion observed for LIPSS periods of 214 nm. Scanning electron microscopy and additional biofilm studies using a pili-deficient E. coli TG1 strain revealed the importance of extracellular appendages in the bacterial repellence observed here, thus, pointing out new antibiotics-free strategies for antibacterial surfaces by impeding nanofiber-mediated bacterial adhesion. T2 - E-MRS Spring Meeting 2022 CY - Online meeting DA - 30.05.2022 KW - Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) KW - Bacterial adhesion tests KW - Bacteria repellent surfaces KW - Polymer foils KW - E. coli PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-54930 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schoenhals, Andreas T1 - The bahvior of inonic liquid crystals as investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy and complementary methodas N2 - The behavior of liquid crystals based on phenylbenzoate was investigated using broadband dielectric spectroscopy and advanced calorimetry. The length of the alkyl side chain was systematically varied from 8 to 16 carbon atoms. The experimental results were compared with those obtained from molecular dynamics simulations. T2 - Sympoium: "Dipoles is soft matter - How they move and organize" CY - Leuven, Belgium DA - 06.06.2025 KW - Ionic liquid crystals PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63316 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Juranyi, F. A1 - Kruteva, M. A1 - Zorn, R. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Low-Frequency Vibrational Density of States of Nanophase- Separated Poly(n‑alkyl methacrylate)s: Confined Phonons and Relationship to Specific Heat N2 - This study investigates the low-frequency vibrational Density of states of nanophase-separated poly(n-alkyl methacrylate)s (PnMAs) and its relationship to specific heat. This system undergoes a nanophase separation for n > 1 in alkyl side chain-rich domains and a backbone-rich matrix. Using inelastic neutron scattering, the low-frequency vibrational density of states (Boson peak, BP) of PnMAs with varying alkyl side chain lengths (methyl, butyl, hexyl, and octyl) is measured. The results reveal that the BP shifts to higher frequencies with increasing side chain length reaching a maximum. This result indicates a counterbalance of confinement effects and the scattering of the matrix. The behavior of the Boson peak of the PnMAs is compared to other nanophase-separated systems, such as Janus-polynorbornenes and hexakis(n-alkyloxy)triphenylene discotic liquid crystals. The study also explores the connection between the BP and specific heat capacity, showing a linear relationship between the maximum frequency of the BP and the maximum temperature of the specific heat capacity anomaly. Moreover, from the measured vibrational density of states, the specific heat capacity is calculated and compared to experimental results. The comparison reveals qualitative agreement between the calculated and experimental data. These findings provide evidence for the sound wave interpretation of the Boson peak. KW - Inelastic Neutron Scattering PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-636928 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.5c00898 SN - 1520-5835 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-63692 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gawek, Marcel A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Hülagü, Deniz A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Molecular Mobility of Thin Films and the Adsorbed Layer of Poly(2-vinylpyridine) N2 - The molecular dynamics of thin films and the adsorbed layer of poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP) were investigated using broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Thin films of P2VP were prepared on silicon substrates and characterized to understand the influence of film thickness on the thermal glass transition temperature (Tg) and molecular mobility. The ellipsometric study revealed a decrease in Tg with decreasing film thickness, attributed to the enhanced mobility at the polymer/air interface. The adsorbed layer, prepared via the solvent leaching approach, exhibited a higher Tg compared to the bulk, indicating reduced molecular mobility due to strong polymer substrate interactions. The dielectric measurements were carried out in two different electrode configurations, crossed electrode capacitors (CEC) and nanostructured electrodes (NSE), where the latter allows for a free surface layer at the polymer/air interface. The relaxation rates of the α-relaxation measured in the CEC geometry collapse into one chart independent from the film thickness. For the thin films measured in the NSE arrangement the relaxation rates slow down with decreasing film thickness which was discussed as related to a stronger interaction of the P2VP segments with the native SiO2 at the surface of the silicon substrate compared to aluminum. It is worth to note that the effect of the enhanced mobility at the polymer/air interface is not observed in the dielectric measurements. BDS measurements in NSE geometry identified an additional relaxation process (α*-relaxation) in thin films, which was more pronounced in the adsorbed layer. This process is hypothesized to be related to molecular fluctuations within the adsorbed layer including the adsorption/desorption dynamics of segments or to a Slow Arrhenius Process (SAP) related to the equilibration dynamics deep in the glassy state. KW - Thin polymer films PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-637181 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00539f SN - 1744-6848 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-63718 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Kolmangadi, Mohamed A. A1 - Böhning, Martin A1 - De Souza, N. R. A1 - Juranyi, F. A1 - Zorn, R. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Inelastic and Quasielastic Neutron Scattering on Polynorbornenes with Bulky Carbocyclic Side groups N2 - This study investigates the molecular mobility and vibrational properties of polynorbornenes with bulky carbocyclic side groups using inelastic and quasielastic neutron scattering techniques. The polymers, synthesized via metathesis and addition polymerization, exhibit varying degrees of microporosity, which ignificantly influences their gas separation performance. By inelastic neutron scattering experiments, it could be shown that all considered polymers have excess contributions to the low frequency vibrational density of states known as the Boson peak. The maximum frequency of the Boson peak correlates to the microporosity of the polymers. This correlation supports the sound wave interpretation of the Boson peak, suggesting that the microporous structure enhances the compressibility of the material at a microscopic length scale. The molecular mobility, particularly the methyl group rotation, was characterized using elastic scans and quasielastic neutron scattering. The study revealed a temperature dependent relaxation process, with the onset of molecular fluctuations observed around 200 K for the polymer containing methyl groups. For the polymer having no methyl groups only elastic scattering is observed. The methyl group rotation was analyzed in terms of a jump diffusion in a threefold potential with three equivalent energy minima. This leads to an almost correct description of the q dependence of the elastic incoherent scattering function when the number of hydrogen nuclei undergoing the methyl group rotation is considered. It was further evidenced that the fraction of methyl undergoing the methyl group rotation increases with increasing temperature. KW - Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity KW - Neutron scattering PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630297 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128358 SN - 1873-2291 VL - 328 SP - 241 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-63029 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kjaervik, Marit A1 - Ramstedt, M. A1 - Schwibbert, Karin A1 - Dietrich, P. M A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - Comparative Study of NAP-XPS and Cryo-XPS for the Investigation of Surface Chemistry of the Bacterial Cell-Envelope N2 - Bacteria generally interact with the environment via processes involving their cell-envelope. Thus, techniques that may shed light on their surface chemistry are attractive tools for providing an understanding of bacterial interactions. One of these tools is Al Kα-excited photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) with its estimated information depth of <10 nm. XPS-analyses of bacteria have been performed for several decades on freeze-dried specimens in order to be compatible with the vacuum in the analysis chamber of the spectrometer. A limitation of these studies has been that the freeze-drying method may collapse cell structure as well as introduce surface contaminants. However, recent developments in XPS allow for analysis of biological samples at near ambient pressure (NAP-XPS) or as frozen hydrated specimens (cryo-XPS) in vacuum. In this work, we have analyzed bacterial samples from a reference strain of the Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens using both techniques. We compare the results obtained and, in general, observe good agreement between the two techniques. Furthermore, we discuss advantages and disadvantages with the two analysis approaches and the output data they provide. XPS reference data from the bacterial strain are provided, and we propose that planktonic cells of this strain (DSM 50090) are used as a reference material for surface chemical analysis of bacterial systems. KW - P. Fluorescens KW - Cryo XPS KW - NAP-XPS KW - DSM 5009 PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-525640 DO - https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2021.666161 VL - 9 SP - Article 666161 PB - Frontiers CY - Switzerland AN - OPUS4-52564 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Schiek, Manuela A1 - Minenkov, Alexey A1 - Hollweger, Sophia A1 - Duchoslav, Jiri A1 - Erdene-Ochir, Otgonbayar A1 - Weise, Matthias A1 - Ermilova, Elena A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Optical constants of In2O3-SnO2 (Indium tin oxide, ITO) N2 - Optical constants of In2O3-SnO2 (Indium tin oxide, ITO) Minenkov et al. 2024: on glass; n,k 0.191–1.69 µm Optical constants of In2O3-SnO2 (Indium tin oxide, ITO) Minenkov et al. 2024: on Si wafer, top; n,k 0.191–1.69 µm Optical constants of In2O3-SnO2 (Indium tin oxide, ITO) Minenkov et al. 2024: on Si wafer, bottom; n,k 0.191–1.69 µm KW - Indium Tin Oxide KW - Optical constants KW - Magnetron Sputtering KW - Electrochemical Degradation KW - Spectroscopic Ellipsometry PY - 2024 UR - https://refractiveindex.info/?shelf=other&book=In2O3-SnO2&page=Minenkov-glass UR - https://refractiveindex.info/?shelf=other&book=In2O3-SnO2&page=Minenkov-wafer-top UR - https://refractiveindex.info/?shelf=other&book=In2O3-SnO2&page=Minenkov-wafer-bottom PB - Refractiveindex.info AN - OPUS4-59766 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Haacke, Nasrin T1 - Design and construction of a rainfall simulator to test metal runoff at atmospheric conditions N2 - A rainfall simulator was presented as an environmental assessment tool to quantify wash-off concentrations from metallic materials. It is part of the RUNOFF-project, which studies and re-assesses the durability of roofing and facade materials under current atmospheric conditions in Germany. Studying building materials is important as they have a significant impact on achieving a variety of goals and targets within the sustainable developments goals (SDGs). The durability of materials is essential to reach sustainability. However, the durability of metallic materials is strongly depended on climate conditions, which have changed as a result of technical measures in industry, climate change and increasing urbanisation. In Germany at least, the data base is not up-to-date leading to prediction models regarding corrosion resistance and durability of metallic materials which can no longer be trusted and therefore need to be re-assessed and updated. Also, not only the demand for sustainable but also environmentally friendly building materials has increased dramatically. A number of construction materials produce chemical hazards, and therefore have negative impacts on water quality, soils health and ecosystems. To limit these impacts, environmental assessment methods and tools are needed to measure and quantify the inputs and outputs of building materials throughout their lifetime. T2 - EUROCORR 2023 CY - Brussels, Belgium DA - 27.08.2023 KW - Rainfall simulator KW - Runoff KW - Atmospheric conditions KW - Laboratory experiments PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58152 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hülagü, Deniz A1 - Ermilova, Elena A1 - Weise, Matthias A1 - de Préville, Sophie A1 - Hoffmann, Johannes A1 - Morán-Meza, José A1 - Piquemal, Francois A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Characterization of electrical properties in microstructured ITO layers using spectroscopic ellipsometry N2 - Thin indium tin oxide (ITO) layers are essential in optoelectronics due to their good electrical conductivity, optical transparency in the visible and near infrared regions, substrate adherence and chemical stability. They are widely used in photovoltaic cells, displays, and organic LEDs, and as low emissivity coatings in smart windows and energy-efficient buildings. For nanophotonic devices, understanding the interplay of ITO’s optical and electrical properties is crucial. Electrical resistivity can be tuned by modifying deposition conditions and layer thickness. However, measuring these properties, especially on microstructured surfaces, remains challenging due to the issues like homogeneity and instability during etching. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), a non-destructive and phase-sensitive optical technique, offers precise measurement of thin film thickness and dielectric properties. In this study, we investigated the layer thickness, optical constants, and sheet resistance of unstructured and microstructured ITO thin layers using SE. Unstructured layers were deposited via DC-magnetron sputtering on silicon (Si) substrates in argon (Ar) atmospheres with varying oxygen (O2) flows. This multi-technique approach enhances the understanding of ITO layer structuring and provides robust methodologies for correlating optical and electrical properties, advancing metrology for nanotechnology applications and material science. It also opens the pathway to new reference samples and calibration methods for electrical properties involving device-like structured samples. T2 - ICSE10 - 10th International Conference on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry CY - Boulder, CO, USA DA - 08.06.2025 KW - Ellipsometry KW - Indium tin oxide (ITO) KW - Scanning microwave microscopy (SMM) KW - Sheet resistance calibration standards KW - ITO wet etching PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63631 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yildirim, Arda A1 - Haug, T. C. V. A1 - Fröba, M. A1 - Huber, P. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Molecular fluctuations in mixed-metal MOF-74: influence of the metal composition N2 - A selected series of metal–organic frameworks M-MOF-74 (M = Mg, Co, Ni) and mixed metal MM-MOF-74 (Mg/Co or Mg/Ni) with different compositions of metal atoms have been prepared and further investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) in a wide temperature range. The dielectric spectra show at least two relaxation processes. Process-A is observed only for the Ni-containing MOFs and is attributed to localized fluctuations of the metal oxide corners. Relaxation processes-B and -C are observed for all prepared MOFs, except that process-B is not observed for Ni-MOF-74. Large-angle fluctuations such as free rotations of the linkers can be excluded due to the structure of MOF-74, but small-angle fluctuations such as torsions are possible. According to numerical simulations carried out for MOF-74, process-B can be attributed to inward and outward fluctuations of the linkers relative to the pore center. Process-C is related to small-angle rotational fluctuations of the linker together with co-rotations of the metal nodes. The latter interpretation is supported by the dependence of the activation energy of the relaxation rate of process-C on the metal composition of the MOFs, which is discussed in terms of the bond lengths between the metal atoms and the linker which decrease in the sequence Mg, Co and Ni. KW - Metal Organic Frameworks PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-639378 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ra05357a SN - 2046-2069 VL - 15 IS - 35 SP - 29109 EP - 29118 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-63937 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kolmangadi, Mohamed A. A1 - Raab, A. R. A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Li, Z. A1 - Huber, P. A1 - Laschat, S. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Molecular mobility and electrical conductivity of amino acid-based (DOPA) ionic liquid crystals in the bulk state and nanoconfinement N2 - This study explores the molecular mobility, phase behavior, and electrical conductivity of dihydroxyphenylalanine-based ionic liquid crystals (DOPAn, with alkyl side chains n = 12, 14, 16) featuring cyclic guanidiniumchloride headgroups, in both bulk and nanoconfined states. Using broadband dielectric spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and fast scanning calorimetry, the research uncovers a complex interplay between molecular structure, self-assembly, and molecular mobility. In bulk, DOPAn shows a phase sequence from plastic crystalline to hexagonal columnar and isotropic phases, driven by superdisc formation and columnar organization. Multiple relaxation processes are identified: localized side-chain dynamics (γ-relaxation), ionic headgroup or core motions (α1-relaxation), and cooperative alkyl domain fluctuations (α2-relaxation). Conductivity decreases with increasing side chain length. Under nanoconfinement in anodic aluminum oxide membranes, phase behavior changes: the Colh–Iso transition is suppressed, and a new α3-relaxation appears, linked to dynamics in an adsorbed interfacial layer. DC conductivity drops by up to four orders of magnitude due to confinement effects, altered molecular orientation, and phase transitions—especially the emergence of a nematic-like state in DOPA16. These findings highlight the importance of molecular design, pore geometry, and surface chemistry in tuning ionic liquid crystal properties for advanced applications in nanofluidics, ion transport, and responsive materials. KW - Ionic Liquid Crystals PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-639657 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp02406d SN - 1463-9084 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-63965 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina T1 - Bio-Based Vitrimers: Cracking the Code of Recyclability, Exchange Reactions and Flame Retardancy N2 - Vitrimers are a promising class of sustainable materials that offer an alternative to traditional epoxy thermosets in line with circular economy principles. Built on covalent adaptive networks (CANs), they can rearrange their chemical bonds in response to external stimuli, giving them properties like recyclability, shape-memory, and self-healing. These materials combine the strength of thermosets with the reprocessability of thermoplastics, making them attractive for next-generation applications. This study focuses on a bio-based vitrimer made from glycerol triglycidyl ether (GTE) and a vanillin-derived imine hardener (VA), which reacts through catalyst-free imine metathesis. To better understand the recyclability mechanisms of such systems, especially the dynamic bond exchange, we apply a comprehensive suite of techniques including dielectric spectroscopy, neutron scattering, mechanical analysis, and calorimetry. By linking molecular dynamics with macroscopic performance, the work aims to support the development of vitrimers as practical, recyclable materials. T2 - EPF2025 - European Polymer Congress CY - Groningen, The Netherlands DA - 22.06.2025 KW - Polymer recycling PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63859 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hülagü, Deniz A1 - Ermilova, Elena A1 - Weise, Matthias A1 - de Préville, Sophie A1 - Hoffmann, Johannes A1 - Morán‐Meza, José A1 - Piquemal, François A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - Multimethod Electrical Characterization of Thin Indium Tin Oxide Films: Structuring and Calibration Sample Development for Scanning Probe Microscopy N2 - Indium tin oxide (ITO), a transparent conductive oxide, is widely used in optoelectronic applications due to its electrical conductivity, optical transparency, and chemical stability. This study employs spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) to analyze ITO layers, enabling nondestructive determination of film thickness, dielectric functions, and bulk conductivity. Electrical properties derived from SE are compared with those obtained using the four‐point probe method (4PM) to improve metrological tools for nanotechnology applications and optimize deposition process monitoring for better control of film properties. This work also investigates the chemical stability of ITO layers under etching conditions and explores the development of new sheet resistance standards for scanning microwave microscopy (SMM). The results show that ITO resistivity, calculated from fitted SE data, increases with oxygen flow rate up to 5 cm3(STP) min−1. Good agreement is observed between sheet resistance values obtained by SE and 4PM up to 3 cm3(STP) min−1. Additionally, the sheet resistance values of a distinct set of microstructured ITO samples with different ITO layer thicknesses are determined by SMM, which are highly consistent with those obtained by the 4PM. KW - Ellipsometry KW - Indium tin oxide (ITO) KW - Scanning microwave microscopy (SMM) KW - Sheet resistance calibration standards KW - ITO wet etching PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-626242 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.202400871 SN - 1862-6300 VL - 222 IS - 14 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken, New Jersey, USA AN - OPUS4-62624 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina T1 - Nanoscale Confinement Effects in Thin Films of Rigid-Backbone Polymers N2 - Thin polymer films play a crucial role in modern technologies, with applications spanning flexible electronics, membranes, coatings, and nanodevices. Their reduced dimensions result in unique physical behavior, often deviating significantly from bulk properties due to confinement and interfacial effects. In this study, we investigate how nanoscale confinement and polymer–substrate interactions influence the structural and dynamic properties of supported thin films of two rigid-backbone polymers: poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (PBAC) and polysulfone (PSU). Emphasis was placed on the development of adsorbed interfacial layers, molecular mobility, and the glass transition behavior as functions of film thickness and thermal history. Using a multimodal experimental approach—including Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS), Differential and Fast Scanning Calorimetry (DSC, FSC), and Ellipsometry—we characterized adsorption kinetics, desorption processes, and segmental dynamics across a wide range of thicknesses and annealing conditions. Special attention was given to the formation and growth regimes of the adsorbed polymer layers, including a newly observed pre-growth stage, and their effect on thermal and dielectric relaxation behavior. To probe dynamics in ultrathin films, two dielectric electrode configurations—crossed electrode capacitors and nanostructured electrodes—were employed, enabling measurements down to 10 nm and isolated adsorbed layer. This comprehensive analysis provides insight into how one-dimensional confinement and interfacial interactions modulate macromolecular behavior, which is critical for the design of functional nanostructured polymeric systems in advanced applications. T2 - 10th International Discussion Meeting on Relaxations in Complex Systems (10thIDMRCS) CY - Barcelona, Spanien DA - 20.06.2025 KW - Thin films PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63858 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kamoun, E. A1 - Afifi, K. A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Schönhals, Andreas A1 - Fahmy, Alaa T1 - Structure-property relationship of cross-linked chitosan-ethyl cellulose membranes N2 - Intensive research is focused on creating cost-effective, high-performance polyelectrolyte membranes (PEMs) for electrochemical devices designed to generate and/or store electrical energy. On the other hand, biopolymer materials have been utilized in a wide range of applications across medical and engineering fields, as well as in the textile and energy sectors. Therefore, in this study, chemically cross-linked chito-san/ethyl cellulose-citric acid (CS-EC-CA) membranes were prepared by a casting technique. The structure-property relationship of CS-EC/CA has been discussed based on the molar ratio of CS. The structural properties of the resultant membrane were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy, thermal stability was assessed using thermogravimetric analysis. Moreover, the ion exchange capacity (IEC) and water uptake of the membrane were studied. FTIR analysis revealed a significant broadening of absorption peaks in the range of 3200–3500 cm-1 , corresponding to -OH groups, presence of CA. A new peak at 1725 cm-1 confirmed the formation of chemical linkages between CA and CS-EC. The results of the thermal analysis revealed that a thermally stable membrane was obtained when it was chemically cross-linked compared to non-cross-linked membranes. The IEC values of the modified membranes were enhanced significantly, increasing from 0.08 mmol/g for pure CS to 0.5 mmol/g for CS (50%) and 0.8 mmol/g for CS (50%) cross-linked withCA. Furthermore, the cross-linked membranes demonstrated the lowest water and ethanol uptake values, emphasizing their suitability for fuel cell applications. KW - Polyelectrolyte membranes PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0279022 SN - 1089-7666 VL - 37 IS - 8 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - AIP Publishing AN - OPUS4-63890 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Božičević, Lucija A1 - Altmann, Korinna A1 - Hildebrandt, Jana A1 - Knigge, Xenia A1 - Vrček, Valerije A1 - Peranić, Nikolina A1 - Kalcec, Nikolina A1 - Vinkovic Vrcek, Ivana T1 - Estrogenic activity of plastic nanoparticles mixture under in vitro settings N2 - The plastic value chain, central part of modern living, caused environmental pollution and bioaccumulation of plastic nanoparticles (PNPs). Their ubiquitous presence in different environmental and biological compartments has become a serious threat to human health and ecosystems. Frequently used plastic materials such as polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene (PE) have been detected in the form of PNPs in the food chain, soil, water and air, as well as in human feces and blood. In this study, we aimed to provide novel insights in endocrine disrupting properties of PNPs using in vitro estrogen receptor (ER) transactivation assay. The effects of PP-NPs, PE-NPs and PS-NPs and their mixture on T47D-KBluc cell line stably transfected with luciferase as reporter enzyme was evaluated by means of cytotoxicity, cellular uptake and ER activation. Tested dose range for PNPs was 0.001 – 10 mg/L. Both cellular uptake and cytotoxicity for all PNPs was found to be dose-dependent. Only the highest dose of PP-NPs and PE-NPs induced apoptosis and cell death, while PS-NPs were not cytotoxic in tested dose range. For tested concentrations, PP-NPs and PE-NPs showed significant agonistic activity on ER, while PS-NPs cannot be considered ER active. When, applied as mixture, PNP demonstrated additive toxicity effects compared to the effect of each individual PNPs. Additivity was also observed for ER agonistic effect of PNPs mixture according to the benchmark dose-addition modelling approach. This study provides missing science-based evidence on endocrine disrupting effects of PE-NPs, PP-NPs, PS-NPs and their mixtures and highlights the importance of considering unintentional, aggregate and combined exposure to different PNPs in risk management. KW - Risk assessment KW - Nanoplastics KW - Estrogenic activity of plastic nanoparticles PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D3EN00883E SN - 2051-8153 VL - 11 IS - 5 SP - 2112 EP - 2126 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-59724 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wimmer, L A1 - Hoang, M V N A1 - Schwarzinger, J A1 - Jovanovic, V A1 - Adelkovic, B A1 - Velickovic, T C A1 - Meisel, T C A1 - Waniek, T A1 - Weimann, Christiane A1 - Altmann, Korinna A1 - Dailey, L A T1 - A quality-by-design inspired approach to develop PET and PP nanoplastic test materials for use in in vitro and in vivo biological assays N2 - Micro- and nanoplastics have become environmental pollutants of concern, receiving increased attention from consumers, scientists, and policymakers. The lack of knowledge about possible impacts on wildlife and human health requires further research, for which well-characterized testmaterials are needed. A quality-bydesign (QbD) driven approachwas used to produce sterile, endotoxinmonitored nanoplastics of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) with a size fraction of >90% below 1 μm and high yield of >90%. Glycerol was used as a versatile and biocompatible liquid storage medium which requires no further exogenous dispersing agent andmaintained colloidal stability, sterility (0 CFU mL−1), and low endotoxin levels (<0.1 EU mL−1) for more than one year of storage at room temperature. Further, the glycerol vehicle showed no biological effect on the tested human bronchial cell line Calu-3 up to 0.8% (w/v). Given the concentration of 40 mg g−1 nanoplastics in the glycerol stock, this corresponds to a nanoplastic concentration of 320 μg mL−1. The surfactant-free nanoplastics are dispersible in bio-relevant media from the glycerol stock without changing size characteristics and are suitable for in vitro and in vivo research. KW - Microplastics KW - Reference materials KW - Nanoplastics KW - Polymer 3R KW - Glycerol PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-629934 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D4EN01186D SN - 2051-8161 VL - 12 IS - 5 SP - 2667 EP - 2686 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-62993 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Khropost, Diana A1 - Riethmüller, Franziska A1 - Döhring, Thorsten A1 - Flachs, Dennis A1 - Hülagü, Deniz A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Cotroneo, Vincenzo A1 - gibertini, eugenio T1 - Polydopamine – a bio-inspired polymer for X-ray mirror coatings and other technical applications N2 - Although the organic molecule dopamine (3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is commonly known as one of the “hormones of happiness”, thin polymer films of polydopamine (PDA) also have interesting technical properties. PDA is a very strong glue that sticks on almost everything, even under water. In nature, PDA is found in the byssal thread cuticles of mussels. When produced by dip-coating, the self-organizing PDA layers grow in a reproducible thickness of single or multiple molecule monolayers of a few nanometres thickness only. Here we present an optimized preparation regime as derived from polymerization analysis through absorption spectroscopy. One application is the use of thin PDA overcoatings to increase the soft X-ray reflectivity of astronomical X-ray mirrors. Furthermore, we give an outlook to other technical applications for this interesting material, presenting this bio-inspired organic polymer as an innovative technical solution for the future, with applications such as PDA-based super-capacitors and its promising role in enhancing separator materials for batteries. T2 - SPIE Optics + Optoelectronics 2025 CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 07.04.2025 KW - X-ray mirrors KW - Reflectivity KW - Polydopamine KW - Ellipsometry PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3056298 VL - 13531 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - SPIE AN - OPUS4-63630 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Khropost, Diana A1 - Riethmüller, Franziska A1 - Stanik, Eva A1 - Döhring, Thorsten A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Hülagü, Deniz T1 - Polydopamine -a bionic material and its potential applications for batteries N2 - Polydopamine (PDA) recently came into focus as an innovative material for applications in various technical fields. It is a very strong glue that sticks on almost everything, even under water: In nature, PDA is found in the byssal thread cuticles of mussels. In 2007, Lee et al. first showed that dipping substrates into a solution of dopamine results in the formation of thin PDA films on numerous materials. The simple preparation and the high durability of these coatings have stimulated growing research interest and a wide variety of applications in energy, biomedical and environmental science, and other fields. We have investigated thin layers of PDA with different methods including ellipsometry, tactile measurements of the layer thickness and in situ absorption measurements during the polymerization process. During polymerization the dopamine solution shows a progressive colour change from transparent to brown that has been monitored by spectrometric measurements. The increasing absorption of the cuvette with dopamine solution can be seen in figure 1. The absorption levels off after approximately 2,5 h of polymerization time, thus indicating termination of the primary formation of the PDA film. This data shows that for homogeneous layer growth it is advantageous to interrupt the process after two hours. To generate a higher layer thickness, the samples need to be cleaned and immersed in a fresh dopamine solution subsequently. In addition, ellipsometry measurements on polydopamine layers could determine the corresponding coating thickness as well as its complex refractive index over a broad wavelength range. T2 - Materials Week 2025 CY - Frankfurt am Main, Germany DA - 02.04.2025 KW - Polydopamine KW - Ellipsometry KW - Leyer thickness PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63636 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Ralf A1 - Behrens, Harald A1 - Ageo-Blanco, Boris A1 - Reinsch, Stefan A1 - Wirth, Thomas T1 - Foaming Species and Trapping Mechanisms in Barium Silicate Glass Sealants N2 - Barium silicate glass powders 4 h milled in CO2 and Ar and sintered in air are studied with microscopy, total carbon analysis, differential thermal Analysis (DTA), vacuum hot extraction mass spectroscopy (VHE-MS), Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). Intensive foaming of powder compacts is evident, and VHE studies prove that foaming is predominantly caused by carbonaceous species for both milling gases. DTA Shows that the decomposition of BaCO3 particles mix-milled with glass powders occurs at similar temperatures as foaming of compacts. However, no carbonate at the glass surface could be detected by FTIR spectroscopy, XPS, and TOF-SIMS after heating to the temperature of sintering. Instead, CO2 molecules unable to rotate identified by FTIR spectroscopy after milling, probably trapped by mechanical dissolution into the glass bulk. Such a mechanism or microencapsulation in cracks and particle aggregates can explain the contribution of Ar to foaming after intense milling in Ar atmosphere. The amount of CO2 molecules and Ar, however, cannot fully explain the extent of foaming. Carbonates mechanically dissolved beneath the surface or encapsulated in cracks and micropores of particle aggregates are therefore probably the major foaming source. KW - Milling KW - Foaming KW - Glass powder KW - Sintering PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-531227 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.202100445 SN - 1438-1656 VL - 24 IS - 6 SP - 2100445-1 EP - 2100445-13 AN - OPUS4-53122 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nikitin, D. A1 - Biliak, K. A1 - Protsak, M. A1 - Adejube, B. A1 - Ali-Ogly, S. A1 - Škorvanková, K. A1 - Červenková, V. A1 - Katuta, R. A1 - Tosco, M. A1 - Hanuš, J. A1 - Černochová, Z. A1 - Černoch, P. A1 - Štěpánek, P. A1 - Boiko, O. A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Schönhals, Andreas A1 - Faupel, F. A1 - Biedermann, H. A1 - Vahl, A. A1 - Choukourov, A. T1 - Unveiling the Fundamental Principles of Reconfigurable Resistance States in Silver/Poly(ethylene glycol) Nanofluids N2 - Developing novel memristive systems aims to implement key principles of biological neuron assemblies – plasticity, adaptivity, and self-organization – into artificial devices for parallel, energy-efficient computing. Solid-state memristive devices, such as crossbar arrays and percolated nanoparticle (NP) networks, already demonstrate these properties. However, closer similarity to neural networks is expected from liquid-state systems, including polymer melts, which remain largely unexplored. Here, the resistive switching in silver/poly(ethylene glycol) (Ag/PEG) nanofluids, prepared by depositing gas-aggregated Ag NPs into PEGs of varying molecular mass, is investigated. These systems form long-range conductive NP bridges with reconfigurable resistance states in response to an electric field. The zeta-potential of Ag NPs and molecular mobility of PEG determine the prevalence of low resistance (ohmic) state, high resistance states (poor conductance) or intermediate transition states governed by space-charge-limited conduction or electron tunneling. The occurrence of these states is given by the interparticle gaps, which are determined by the conformation of PEG molecules adsorbed on the NPs. It is presented, for the first time, an equivalent circuit model for the Ag/PEG system. These findings pave the way to adopt polymer melts as matrices for neuromorphic engineering and bio-inspired electronics. KW - Nanofluids PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-635351 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202505103 VL - 12 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-63535 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scholtz, Lena A1 - Tavernaro, Isabella A1 - Eckert, J. G. A1 - Lutowski, Marc A1 - Geißler, Daniel A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Hidde, Gundula A1 - Bigall, N. C. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Influence of nanoparticle encapsulation and encoding on the surface chemistry of polymer carrier beads N2 - Surface-functionalized polymer beads encoded with molecular luminophores and nanocrystalline emitters such as semiconductor nanocrystals, often referred to as quantum dots (QDs), or magnetic nanoparticles are broadly used in the life sciences as reporters and carrier beads. Many of these applications require a profound knowledge of the chemical nature and total number of their surface functional groups (FGs), that control bead charge, colloidal stability, hydrophobicity, and the interaction with the environment and biological systems. For bioanalytical applications, also the number of groups accessible for the subsequent functionalization with, e.g., biomolecules or targeting ligands is relevant. In this study, we explore the influence of QD encoding on the amount of carboxylic acid (COOH) surface FGs of 2 μm polystyrene microparticles (PSMPs). This is done for frequently employed oleic acid and oleylamine stabilized, luminescent core/shell CdSe QDs and two commonly used encoding procedures. This included QD addition during bead formation by a thermally induced polymerization reaction and a post synthetic swelling procedure. The accessible number of COOH groups on the surface of QD-encoded and pristine beads was quantified by two colorimetric assays, utilizing differently sized reporters and electrostatic and covalent interactions. The results were compared to the total number of FGs obtained by a conductometric titration and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In addition, a comparison of the impact of QD and dye encoding on the bead surface chemistry was performed. Our results demonstrate the influence of QD encoding and the QD-encoding strategy on the number of surface FG that is ascribed to an interaction of the QDs with the carboxylic acid groups on the bead surface. These findings are of considerable relevance for applications of nanoparticle-encoded beads and safe-by-design concepts for nanomaterials. KW - Optical spectroscopy KW - Particle KW - Optical assay KW - IR spectroscopy KW - Fluorescence KW - Quantum yield KW - Quality assurance KW - Nano KW - Synthesis KW - Surface chemistry KW - Quantification KW - Method KW - Conductometry PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-581502 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38518-7 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 13 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Springer Nature CY - London AN - OPUS4-58150 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina T1 - Vitrimers – new golden child of polymers? N2 - Vitrimers represent an innovative and promising class of sustainable materials poised as an alternative to conventional epoxy thermosets within the framework of the circular economy. Based on covalent adaptive networks (CANs), vitrimers exhibit dynamic bon d rearrangements upon external stimuli, endowing them with unique properties such as shape memory, self healing, and recyclability. These pioneering materials combine the robust mechanical behavior of classic lightweight thermosets with the inherent mallea bility of thermoplasts, making them highly attractive for next generation sustainable material applications. This study explores the intricate interplay between the nature of CANs and the macroscopic properties of newly developed vitrimers. The investigated material is a bio based vitrimer consisting of a glycerol triglycidyl ether (GTE) resin and a vanillin derived imine hardener (VA). This system represents an ideal biobased substitute for fossil derived epoxy resins and leverages a catalyst free imine metathesis mechanism to enable recycl ability. Despite the advantages of vitrimers, the molecular mechanisms governing their recyclability, particularly the dynamic exchange reactions, remain poorly understood. To gain deeper insights into these mechanisms, this study employs a combination of broadband dielectric spectroscopy , neutron scattering, mechanical spectroscopy, calorimetry, and dynamic thermal investigations. A systematic approach utilizing both standard and innovative characterization techniques is essential to unravel the synergistic relationship between molecular behavior, structure, and thermomechanical performance. This fundamental understanding will help propel vitrimers to the forefront of sustainable material science, advancing their practical implementation as recyclable polymer systems. T2 - Berlin-Brandenburgischer Verband für Polymerforschung Colloquium CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 28.04.2025 KW - Recycling KW - 3R PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64293 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina T1 - Vitrimers - Rethinking Epoxies Towards Recyclable and Reusable Thermosets N2 - Vitrimers represent an innovative and promising class of sustainable materials poised as an alternative to conventional epoxy thermosets within the framework of the circular economy. Based on covalent adaptive networks (CANs), vitrimers exhibit dynamic bon d rearrangements upon external stimuli, endowing them with unique properties such as shape memory, self healing, and recyclability. These pioneering materials combine the robust mechanical behavior of classic lightweight thermosets with the inherent mallea bility of thermoplasts, making them highly attractive for next generation sustainable material applications. This study explores the intricate interplay between the nature of CANs and the macroscopic properties of newly developed vitrimers. The investigated material is a bio based vitrimer consisting of a glycerol triglycidyl ether (GTE) resin and a vanillin derived imine hardener (VA). This system represents an ideal biobased substitute for fossil derived epoxy resins and leverages a catalyst free imine metathesis mechanism to enable recycl ability. Despite the advantages of vitrimers, the molecular mechanisms governing their recyclability, particularly the dynamic exchange reactions, remain poorly understood. To gain deeper insights into these mechanisms, this study employs a combination of broadband dielectric spectroscopy , neutron scattering, mechanical spectroscopy, calorimetry, and dynamic thermal investigations. A systematic approach utilizing both standard and innovative characterization techniques is essential to unravel the synergistic relationship between molecular behavior, structure, and thermomechanical performance. This fundamental understanding will help propel vitrimers to the forefront of sustainable material science, advancing their practical implementation as recyclable polymer systems. T2 - Fachseminarseminar Flammschutz Heringsdorf CY - Heringsdorf, Germany DA - 26.03.2025 KW - Recycling KW - 3R PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64292 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gaal, Mate T1 - Air-coupled ultrasonic transmission using thermoacoustic transmitters and optical microphones N2 - Background, Motivation and Objective Air-coupled ultrasonic transducers are usually applied for testing of some lightweight components. To increase the bandwidth or air-coupled testing systems and thus increase their application range, thermoacoustic transducers can be paired with optical microphones in a transmission mode. Thermoacoustic transmitters are based on the thermal excitation of sound waves, while optical microphones are based on laser interferometry and Fabri-Pérot etalon. We studied the spectrum and the efficiency of the transmission of an air gap using a thermoacoustic transmitter and an optical microphone. Statement of Contribution/Methods Thermoacoustic transmitters with an electrically conductive layer of indium tin oxide (ITO) on a curved quartz glass substrate were developed. Their sound field was measured using a commercially available optical microphone Eta450 Ultra based on Fabri-Perot etalon. The curvature and the conductive layer thickness of the thermoacoustic transmitter were systematically varied to investigate their impact on the sound field and the spectrum of the measured signal for frequencies up to 1 MHz. The transmitters were excited using rectangular burst signals with a varied width. We examined the influence of all parameters on the focusing, spectrum, and sensitivity. The directivity of the microphone was evaluated as well. Results/Discussion The focusing of the sound fields of all transmitters most strongly depends on the curvature radius of the substrate. The spectrum recorded in the focus of each transducer has several maxima and minima, as shown in the left-hand diagram, which are mostly a consequence of the irregularities of the microphone spectrum. These irregularities are visible also in the directivity diagram on the right, which was recorded by rotating the microphone. The 20 dB bandwidth of the measurement system covers the range up to about 1 MHz, depending strongly on the width of the excitation pulse (left-hand diagram). This highlights a key advantage of thermoacoustic transmitters: their spectral characteristics can be controlled through the excitation conditions, offering a potentially broader range of applications compared to conventional air-coupled transmitters. One promising example is localized ultrasound spectroscopy based on the detection of local resonances. T2 - IEEE International Ultrasonic Symposium CY - Utrecht, The Netherlands DA - 15.09.2025 KW - Air-coupled ultrasound KW - Thermoacoustic transmitter KW - Sound field PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64540 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Ahmadzadeh, Majid A1 - Weise, Matthias T1 - Air-coupled ultrasonic transmission using thermoacoustic transmitters and optical microphones N2 - Background, Motivation and Objective Air-coupled ultrasonic transducers are usually applied for testing of some lightweight components. To increase the bandwidth or air-coupled testing systems and thus increase their application range, thermoacoustic transducers can be paired with optical microphones in a transmission mode. Thermoacoustic transmitters are based on the thermal excitation of sound waves, while optical microphones are based on laser interferometry and Fabri-Pérot etalon. We studied the spectrum and the efficiency of the transmission of an air gap using a thermoacoustic transmitter and an optical microphone. Statement of Contribution/Methods Thermoacoustic transmitters with an electrically conductive layer of indium tin oxide (ITO) on a curved quartz glass substrate were developed. Their sound field was measured using a commercially available optical microphone Eta450 Ultra based on Fabri-Perot etalon. The curvature and the conductive layer thickness of the thermoacoustic transmitter were systematically varied to investigate their impact on the sound field and the spectrum of the measured signal for frequencies up to 1 MHz. The transmitters were excited using rectangular burst signals with a varied width. We examined the influence of all parameters on the focusing, spectrum, and sensitivity. The directivity of the microphone was evaluated as well. Results/Discussion The focusing of the sound fields of all transmitters most strongly depends on the curvature radius of the substrate. The spectrum recorded in the focus of each transducer has several maxima and minima, as shown in the left-hand diagram, which are mostly a consequence of the irregularities of the microphone spectrum. These irregularities are visible also in the directivity diagram on the right, which was recorded by rotating the microphone. The 20 dB bandwidth of the measurement system covers the range up to about 1 MHz, depending strongly on the width of the excitation pulse (left-hand diagram). This highlights a key advantage of thermoacoustic transmitters: their spectral characteristics can be controlled through the excitation conditions, offering a potentially broader range of applications compared to conventional air-coupled transmitters. One promising example is localized ultrasound spectroscopy based on the detection of local resonances. T2 - IEEE International Ultrasonic Symposium CY - Utrecht, The Netherlands DA - 15.09.2025 KW - Air-coupled ultrasound KW - Thermoacoustic transmitter KW - Sound field PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 4 AN - OPUS4-64541 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Scholtz, Lena T1 - Luminescent, nanoparticle-loaded polymer microparticles - comparing synthesis routes N2 - Our comparison showed that the route used for the synthesis of luminescent, NP-loaded PSMPs can play a significant role for the luminescence properties, as well as the number of accessible SFGs, and hence subsequent functionalization. This should be considered for future applications. T2 - Bunsen-Tagung 2023 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 05.06.2023 KW - Fluorescence KW - Polymerization KW - Microbeads KW - Quantum dots KW - Comparison PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57628 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Sander, Luise T1 - Comparison of Commercially Available SIBs: Linking Material and Electrode Properties to Cell Performance N2 - As the first commercial sodium-ion-batteries (SIBs) are available for purchase, it is possible to investigate material composition. Gaining an insight into the material composition of these SIBs is of interest not only for the classification of possible safety risks and hazards, but also in regards to recycling. Herein we report the preliminary investigations of the chemical and structural composition of first commercial SIB-cells. Two different SIB-cell types were compared in terms of electrode size, thickness, loading etc. Furthermore, the composition of the active materials and electrolyte was investigated and compared. Finally, the gained results were linked to the different data sheet performance of the two cell types. T2 - Batterieforum 2025 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 21.01.2025 KW - Battery KW - Sodium-Ion-Battery KW - Electrochemical Energy Storage KW - Energy Storage PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62921 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Sander, Luise T1 - Commercially Available Sodium-Ion Cells: Multi-Scale Analysis and Material Characterisation N2 - As the first commercial sodium-ion-batteries (SIBs) are available for purchase, it is possible to investigate material composition. Gaining an insight into the material composition of these SIBs is of interest not only for the classification of possible safety risks and hazards, but also in regards to recycling. Herein we report the preliminary investigations of the chemical and structural composition of first commercial SIB-cells. Two different SIB-cells with different specification were compared regarding electrode size, thickness and further parameters. Furthermore, the composition of the active materials and electrolyte was investigated and compared. T2 - Adlershofer Forschungsforum 2024 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 11.11.2024 KW - Sodium-Ion KW - Multi-Scale Analysis PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61757 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Böttcher, Katrin A1 - Kraft, Sebastian A1 - Weise, Matthias A1 - Bonse, Jörn A1 - Krüger, Jörg T1 - X-ray emission during ultrafast laser grooving N2 - Ultrashort pulse lasers offer the possibility to process materials with minimal heat input and high precision. However, the X-ray emission at high laser peak intensities represents an undesirable side effect. A laser system (1030 nm wavelength, 40 W maximum average laser power, 925 fs pulse duration, 100 μJ maximum pulse energy, 400 kHz pulse repetition frequency) was used to analyze the X-ray skin dose rates for applied peak intensities between 9.2 × 10^12 W/cm^2 and 1.3 × 10^14 W/cm^2 for mild steel, stainless steel and tungsten during groove processing. The lowest laser peak intensity at which X-ray emission could be measured was 9.2 × 10^12 W/cm^2 for processing of stainless steel. The X-ray emission showed a characteristic evolution in dependence on the number of overscans at the same line positions. For low peak intensities, a measurable X-ray emission only begins after a few passes. The number of scans to reach the maximum dose rate increases with lower laser peak intensity. Analysis of the evolving surface topography by white light interference microscopy in connection with ray-tracing simulations led to the interpretation that the increase in X-ray emission is due to the local intensity redistribution by multiple reflection within the laser-generated grooves which is promoted by a particular choice of the linear laser polarization. KW - Ultrashort pulsed laser KW - Laser-induced X-rays KW - X-ray hazard KW - X-ray emission PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-639483 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-025-08728-z SN - 1432-0630 VL - 131 IS - 8 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Springer CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-63948 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Falk, Florian A1 - Sobol, Oded A1 - Stephan-Scherb, Christiane T1 - The impact of the microstructure of Fe-16Cr-0.2C on high-temperature oxidation – sulphidation in SO2 N2 - This study elucidates the impact of the microstructure of Fe-16Cr-0.2C on oxide layer formation at 650 ◦C in Ar-0.5 % SO2. A cold-rolled and two heat-treated states of the alloy were exposed for up to 1000 h. The samples were characterised in detail from microstructural and chemical perspectives using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The microstructural modification of the alloy by heat-treatment was advantageous. It was found that Cr-carbides support chromia formation and reduce sulphidation when their area fraction is low and diameter is small. KW - Steel KW - Iron KW - SIMS KW - SEM KW - High temperature corrosion KW - Oxidation KW - Sulphidation PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2021.109618 VL - 190 SP - 109618 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-53001 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Röhsler, Andreas A1 - Sobol, Oded A1 - Hänninen, H. A1 - Böllinghaus, Thomas T1 - In-situ ToF-SIMS analyses of deuterium re-distribution in austenitic steel AISI 304L under mechanical load N2 - Hydrocarbons fuel our economy. Furthermore, intermediate goods and consumer products are often hydrocarbon-based. Beside all the progress they made possible, hydrogen-containing substances can have severe detrimental effects on materials exposed to them. Hydrogen-assisted failure of iron alloys has been recognised more than a century ago. The present study aims to providing further insight into the degradation of the austenitic stainless steel AISI 304L (EN 1.4307) exposed to hydrogen. To this end, samples were electrochemically charged with the hydrogen isotope deuterium (2H, D) and analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). It was found that deuterium caused a phase transformation from the original γ austenite into ε- and α’-martensite. Despite their low solubility for hydrogen, viz. deuterium, the newly formed phases showed high deuterium concentration which was attributed to the increased density of traps. Information about the behaviour of deuterium in the material subjected to external mechanical load was gathered. A four-point-bending device was developed for this purpose. This allowed to analyse in-situ pre-charged samples in the ToF-SIMS during the application of external mechanical load. The results indicate a movement of deuterium towards the regions of highest stress. KW - ToF-SIMS KW - Hydrogen KW - Deuterium KW - AISI 304L KW - EBSD PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-505142 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60370-2 VL - 10 IS - 1 SP - 3611 PB - Nature AN - OPUS4-50514 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Steiner, S. A1 - Heldt, J. A1 - Sobol, Oded A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Frömeling, T. T1 - Influence of oxygen vacancies on core-shell formation in solid solutions of (Na,Bi)TiO3 and SrTiO3 N2 - Solid solutions of (Na,Bi)TiO3 (NBT) and SrTiO3 (ST) are materials of interest for high-strain or high-energy density capacitor applications. Often, they exhibit chemical heterogeneity and develop core-shell structures during regular solid-state synthesis with an NBT-rich core. In this case, the NBT forms first so that the strontium needs to diffuse into the material to reach chemical homogeneity. Depending on the presence of core-shell structures, the electrical properties can vary drastically. In this work, we rationalize the effect of variations in oxygen vacancy concentration by Fe-acceptor and Nb-donor doping. It can be shown that a diffusion couple of strontium and oxygen is responsible for chemical homogenization and that the oxygen vacancy content can control the formation of a core-shell structure. KW - Lead-free ceramics KW - Bismuth titanates KW - Core-shell structures KW - Diffusion/diffusivity KW - Ferroelectricity/ferroelectric materials PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-525988 DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.17845 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Wiley Periodicals LLC, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. AN - OPUS4-52598 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Afantitis, A. A1 - Melagraki, G. A1 - Isigonis, P. A1 - Tsoumanis, A. A1 - Varsou, D. D. A1 - Valsami-Jones, E. A1 - Papadiamantis, A. A1 - Ellis, L.-J. A. A1 - Sarimveis, H. A1 - Doganis, P. A1 - Karatzas, P. A1 - Tsiros, P. A1 - Liampa, I. A1 - Lobaskin, V. A1 - Greco, D. A1 - Serra, A. A1 - Kinaret, P. A. S. A1 - Saarimäki, L. A. A1 - Grafström, R. A1 - Kohonen, P. A1 - Nymark, P. A1 - Willighagen, E. A1 - Puzyn, T. A1 - Rybinska-Fryca, A. A1 - Lyubartsev, A. A1 - Jensen, K. A. A1 - Brandenburg, J. G. A1 - Lofts, S. A1 - Svendsen, C. A1 - Harrison, S. A1 - Maier, D. A1 - Tamm, K. A1 - Jänes, J. A1 - Sikk, L. A1 - Dusinska, M. A1 - Longhin, E. A1 - Rundén-Pran, E. A1 - Mariussen, E. A1 - El Yamani, N. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Tropsha, A. A1 - Cohen, Y. A1 - Lesczynski, J. A1 - Hendren, C. O. A1 - Wiesner, M. A1 - Winkler, D. A1 - Suzuki, N. A1 - Yoon, T. H. A1 - Choi, J.-S. A1 - Sanabria, N. A1 - Gulumian, M. A1 - Lynch, I. T1 - NanoSolveIT Project: Driving nanoinformatics research to develop innovative and integrated tools for in silico nanosafety assessment N2 - Nanotechnology has enabled the discovery of a multitude of novel materials exhibiting unique physicochemical (PChem) properties compared to their bulk analogues. These properties have led to a rapidly increasing range of commercial applications; this, however, may come at a cost, if an association to long-term health and environmental risks is discovered or even just perceived. Many nanomaterials (NMs) have not yet had their potential adverse biological effects fully assessed, due to costs and time constraints associated with the experimental assessment, frequently involving animals. Here, the available NM libraries are analyzed for their suitability for integration with novel nanoinformatics approaches and for the development of NM specific Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment (IATA) for human and environmental risk assessment, all within the NanoSolveIT cloud-platform. These established and well-characterized NM libraries (e.g. NanoMILE, NanoSolutions, NANoREG, NanoFASE, caLIBRAte, NanoTEST and the Nanomaterial Registry (>2000 NMs)) contain physicochemical characterization data as well as data for several relevant biological endpoints, assessed in part using harmonized Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) methods and test guidelines. Integration of such extensive NM information sources with the latest nanoinformatics methods will allow NanoSolveIT to model the relationships between NM structure (morphology), properties and their adverse effects and to predict the effects of other NMs for which less data is available. The project specifically addresses the needs of regulatory agencies and industry to effectively and rapidly evaluate the exposure, NM hazard and risk from nanomaterials and nano-enabled products, enabling implementation of computational ‘safe-by-design’ approaches to facilitate NM commercialization. KW - Nanoinformatics KW - Hazard assessment KW - (Quantitative) Structure-Active Relationships KW - Safe-by-design KW - Predictive modelling PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-505952 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2020.02.023 VL - 18 SP - 583 EP - 602 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-50595 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Agostini, G. A1 - Radnik, Jörg T1 - Spectroscopy in Catalysis N2 - Knowledge-based catalyst development is always an interaction between preparation, analysis and catalytic testing. Only if these three factors fit together can success be expected. For the analytic side of this triangle, spectroscopic methods play a crucial role. Whereas with diffraction, scattering and microscopy, decisive insights into the structure and morphology of the catalysts can be obtained, spectroscopy produces new knowledge about the chemical nature of the catalyst, e.g., its bonding and valence states. KW - Spectroscopy KW - Catalysis KW - Operando KW - In situ PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-506507 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/catal10040408 VL - 10 IS - 4 SP - 408 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-50650 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hahn, Marc Benjamin A1 - Dietrich, P. M. A1 - Radnik, Jörg T1 - In situ monitoring of the influence of water on DNA radiation damage by near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy N2 - Ionizing radiation damage to DNA plays a fundamental role in cancer therapy. X-ray photoelectron-spectroscopy (XPS) allows simultaneous irradiation and damage monitoring. Although water radiolysis is essential for radiation damage, all previous XPS studies were performed in vacuum. Here we present near-ambient-pressure XPS xperiments to directly measure DNA damage under water atmosphere. They permit in-situ monitoring of the effects of radicals on fully hydrated double-stranded DNA. The results allow us to distinguish direct damage, by photons and secondary low-energy electrons (LEE), from damage by hydroxyl radicals or hydration induced modifications of damage pathways. The exposure of dry DNA to x-rays leads to strand-breaks at the sugar-phosphate backbone, while deoxyribose and nucleobases are less affected. In contrast, a strong increase of DNA damage is observed in water, where OH-radicals are produced. In consequence, base damage and base release become predominant, even though the number of strand-breaks increases further. KW - DNA KW - XPS KW - NAP-XPS KW - Radiation damage KW - Single-strand break (SSB) KW - Double-strand break (DSB) KW - Xray KW - OH radical KW - Hydroxyl radical KW - LEE KW - Low energy electrons KW - Dosimetry KW - Geant4 KW - Geant4-DNA KW - TOPAS KW - TOPAS-nbio KW - Microdosimetry KW - DNA radiation damage KW - Direct damage KW - Indirect damage KW - Quasi-direct damage KW - Hydration shell KW - Dry DNA KW - Hydrated DNA KW - ROS KW - Radical KW - Reactive oxygen species KW - Net-ionization reaction KW - Radiation therapy KW - Cancer therapy KW - Xray photo electron spectrocopy KW - Near ambient pressure xray photo electron spectroscopy KW - Base damage KW - Base loss KW - Dissociative electron transfer (DET) KW - Dissociative electron attachment (DEA) KW - Hydrated electron KW - Prehydrated electron KW - Ionization KW - PES PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-524060 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-021-00487-1 SN - 2399-3669 VL - 4 IS - 1 SP - 50 PB - Springer Nature CY - London AN - OPUS4-52406 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mohammadifar, E. A1 - Ahmadi, V. A1 - Gholami, M.F. A1 - Oehrl, A. A1 - Kolyvushko, O. A1 - Nie, C. A1 - Donskyi, Ievgen A1 - Herziger, S. A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Ludwig, K. A1 - Böttcher, C. A1 - Rabe, J.P. A1 - Osterrieder, K. A1 - Azab, W. A1 - Haag, R. A1 - Adeli, M. T1 - Graphene-Assisted Synthesis of 2D Polyglycerols as Innovative Platforms for Multivalent Virus Interactions N2 - 2D nanomaterials have garnered widespread attention in biomedicine and bioengineering due to their unique physicochemical properties. However, poor functionality, low solubility, intrinsic toxicity, and nonspecific interactions at biointerfaces have hampered their application in vivo. Here, biocompatible polyglycerol units are crosslinked in two dimensions using a graphene-assisted strategy leading to highly functional and water-soluble polyglycerols nanosheets with 263 ± 53 nm and 2.7 ± 0.2 nm average lateral size and thickness, respectively. A single-layer hyperbranched polyglycerol containing azide functional groups is covalently conjugated to the surface of a functional graphene template through pH-sensitive linkers. Then, lateral crosslinking of polyglycerol units is carried out by loading tripropargylamine on the surface of graphene followed by lifting off this reagent for an on-face click reaction. Subsequently, the polyglycerol nanosheets are detached from the surface of graphene by slight acidification and centrifugation and is sulfated to mimic heparin sulfate proteoglycans. To highlight the impact of the two-dimensionality of the synthesized polyglycerol sulfate nanosheets at nanobiointerfaces, their efficiency with respect to herpes Simplex virus type 1 and severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 inhibition is compared to their 3D nanogel analogs. Four times stronger in virus Inhibition suggests that 2D polyglycerols are superior to their current 3D counterparts.2D nanomaterials have garnered widespread attention in biomedicine and bioengineering due to their unique physicochemical properties. However, poor functionality, low solubility, intrinsic toxicity, and nonspecific interactions at biointerfaces have hampered their application in vivo. Here, biocompatible polyglycerol units are crosslinked in two dimensions using a graphene-assisted strategy leading to highly functional and water-soluble polyglycerols nanosheets with 263 ± 53 nm and 2.7 ± 0.2 nm average lateral size and thickness, respectively. A single-layer hyperbranched polyglycerol containing azide functional groups is covalently conjugated to the surface of a functional graphene template through pH-sensitive linkers. Then, lateral crosslinking of polyglycerol units is carried out by loading tripropargylamine on the surface of graphene followed by lifting off this reagent for an on-face click reaction. Subsequently, the polyglycerol nanosheets are detached from the surface of graphene by slight acidification and centrifugation and is sulfated to mimic heparin sulfate proteoglycans. To highlight the impact of the two-dimensionality of the synthesized polyglycerol sulfate nanosheets at nanobiointerfaces, their efficiency with respect to herpes Simplex virus type 1 and severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 inhibition is compared to their 3D nanogel analogs. Four times stronger in virus Inhibition suggests that 2D polyglycerols are superior to their current 3D counterparts. KW - 2D Materials KW - Graphene template KW - Multivalency KW - Polyglycerol KW - Virus inhibition PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-527726 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202009003 VL - 31 IS - 32 SP - 2009003 PB - Wiley VCH AN - OPUS4-52772 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jungnickel, R. A1 - Mirabella, Francesca A1 - Stockmann, Jörg Manfred A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Balasubramanian, K. T1 - Graphene‑on‑gold surface plasmon resonance sensors resilient to high‑temperature annealing N2 - Gold films coated with a graphene sheet are being widely used as sensors for the detection of label-free binding interactions using surface plasmon resonance (SPR). During the preparation of such sensors, it is often essential to subject the sensor chips to a high-temperature treatment in order to ensure a clean graphene surface. However, sensor chips used currently, which often use chromium as an adhesion promoter, cannot be subjected to temperatures above 250 °C, because under such conditions, chromium is found to reorganize and diffuse to the surface, where it is easily oxidized, impairing the quality of SPR spectra. Here we present an optimized preparation strategy involving a three-cycle tempering coupled with chromium (oxide) etching, which allows the graphene-coated SPR chips to be annealed up to 500 °C with little deterioration of the surface morphology. In addition, the treatment delivers a surface that shows a clear enhancement in spectral response together with a good refractive index sensitivity. We demonstrate the applicability of our sensors by studying the kinetics of avidin–biotin binding at different pH repeatedly on the same chip. The possibility to anneal can be exploited to recover the original surface after sensing trials, which allowed us to reuse the sensor for at least six cycles of biomolecule adsorption. KW - Surface plasmon resonance KW - Graphene KW - Sensing KW - Surface regeneration PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-564585 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-022-04450-4 SN - 1618-2642 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-56458 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nickl, Philip A1 - Hilal, T. A1 - Olal, D. A1 - Donskyi, Ievgen A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Ludwig, K. A1 - Haag, R. T1 - A New Support Film for Cryo Electron Microscopy Protein Structure Analysis Based on Covalently Functionalized Graphene N2 - Protein adsorption at the air–water interface is a serious problem in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) as it restricts particle orientations in the vitrified ice-film and promotes protein denaturation. To address this issue, the preparation of a graphene-based modified support film for coverage of conventional holey carbon transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids is presented. The chemical modification of graphene sheets enables the universal covalent anchoring of unmodified proteins via inherent surface-exposed lysine or cysteine residues in a one-step reaction. Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) trough approach is applied for deposition of functionalized graphene sheets onto commercially available holey carbon TEM grids. The application of the modified TEM grids in single particle analysis (SPA) shows high protein binding to the surface of the graphene-based support film. Suitability for high resolution structure determination is confirmed by SPA of apoferritin. Prevention of protein denaturation at the air–water interface and improvement of particle orientations is shown using human 20S proteasome, demonstrating the potential of the support film for structural biology. KW - Functionalized graphene KW - Transmission electron microsocpy KW - Protein structure PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-566443 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202205932 SN - 1613-6810 SP - 2205932 PB - Wiley VCH AN - OPUS4-56644 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hallier, Dorothea C. A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Dietrich, Paul M. A1 - Seitz, Harald A1 - Hahn, Marc Benjamin T1 - Radiation damage to amino acids, peptides and DNA-binding proteins: the influence of water directly monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy N2 - Ionizing radiation damage to biomolecules plays a crucial role in radiotherapy as a cancer treatment. Among these, DNA-binding proteins are of particular interest due to their pivotal roles in shielding DNA and facilitating its repair. Hence, in this study, we present first-ever recorded data of radiation damage to a protein monitored directly with near-ambient pressure (NAP) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) under a water atmosphere. This surface sensitive technique was used to in situ damage and probe gene-V protein (G5P, a model DNA-binding protein) under wet NAP conditions and dry vacuum (UHV) conditions to determine the effect of water on the radiation response. In addition, the X-ray radiation damage to selected pure amino acids and short homopeptides was determined to better understand the variety of damage mechanisms within the complex protein. In dry samples, drastic chemical changes were detected in all biomolecules dominated by fragmentation processes. Here, the breakage of peptide bonds in the peptides and the protein are dominant. Surprisingly, hydration – despite introducing additional indirect damage pathways via water radiolysis – led to a reduction in overall radiation damage. This behaviour was attributed to hydration-dependent changes in reaction rates and respective deexcitation and damaging channels within the molecules and secondary species such as low-energy (LEE), (pre)-hydrated/(pre)-solvated electrons and radical species such as hydroxyl radicals. KW - Radiation damage KW - (Near-ambient pressure) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy KW - Ultra-high vacuum PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-647565 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp01887k VL - 27 IS - 48 SP - 1 EP - 22 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-64756 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Amiri, Hesam A1 - Nikookhesal, Aidin A1 - Murugan, Divagar A1 - Scholz, Stefan A1 - Frentzen, Michael A1 - Cao, Yuan A1 - Nickl, Philip A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Stockmann, Jörg M. A1 - Vu, Xuan-Thang A1 - Narayanan, Madaboosi S. A1 - Knoch, Joachim A1 - Ingebrandt, Sven A1 - Adeli, Mohsen A1 - Pachauri, Vivek T1 - High precision correlative analysis of dielectric behavior evolution and anisotropy in graphene oxide thin film as a function of thermal annealing parameters N2 - Graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) attract keen interest from different science and technology sectors owing to their tunable material characteristics dependent on C/O ratio. Thermal annealing in different gaseous environments serves as an effective approach to manipulate the C/O ratio in graphitic lattice, making it suitable for various electronic, optical and composites applications. Despite regular use of thermal annealing, systematic studies on dielectric properties evolution in GO against different annealing parameters remain elusive. This work reports on a reliable approach that adopts a joint Raman Spectroscopy, Mueller Matrix Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (MMSE) and high-precision electrical impedance spectroscopy (HP-EIS) framework for studying the evolution of dielectric behavior and anisotropies in GO. The experimental platform involved lithography-defined GO patterns connected to metal microelectrodes and glass passivation for protection from gaseous environments during annealing and measurements using Raman, MMSE and HP-EIS. The presented study delineates the effects of annealing parameters such as temperature, heating rate, and gaseous environment on GO permittivity. Novel findings include the discovery of a direct relationship between heating rate and dielectric properties, as well as determination of vertical limitation of MMSE for permittivity distribution characterization in GO, for the first time, to be around 8 nm. KW - Thermal annealing KW - Reduced graphene oxide KW - Thin films KW - 2D materials KW - Spectroscopic ellipsometry PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-652428 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nwnano.2025.100130 SN - 2666-9781 VL - 11 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-65242 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tavernaro, Isabella A1 - Rajotte, Isabelle A1 - Thibeault, Marie-Pier A1 - Sander, Philipp C. A1 - Kodra, Oltion A1 - Lopinski, Gregory A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Johnston, Linda J. A1 - Brinkmann, Andreas A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Quantifying surface groups on aminated silica nanoparticles of different size, surface chemistry, and porosity with solution NMR, XPS, optical assays, and potentiometric titration N2 - We assessed the quantification of surface amino functional groups (FGs) for a large set of commercial and custom-made aminated silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) with sizes of 20–100 nm, prepared with different sol–gel routes, different amounts of surface amino FGs, and different porosity with four methods providing different, yet connected measurands in a bilateral study of two laboratories, BAM and NRC, with the overall aim to develop standardizable measurements for surface FG quantification. Special emphasis was dedicated to traceable quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy (qNMR) performed with dissolved SiO2 NPs. For the cost efficient and automatable screening of the amount of surface amino FGs done in a first step of this study, the optical fluorescamine assay and a potentiometric titration method were utilized by one partner, i.e., BAM, yielding the amount of primary amino FGs accessible for the reaction with a dye precursor and the total amount of (de)protonatable FGs. These measurements, which give estimates of the minimum and maximum number of surface amino FGs, laid the basis for quantifying the amount of amino silane molecules with chemo-selective qNMR with stepwise fine-tuned workflows, involving centrifugation, drying, weighting, dissolution, measurement, and data evaluation steps jointly performed by BAM and NRC. Data comparability and relative standard deviations (RSDs) obtained by both labs were used as quality measures for method optimization and as prerequisites to identify method-inherent limitations to be later considered for standardized measurement protocols. Additionally, the nitrogen (N) to silicon (Si) ratio in the near-surface region of the SiO2 NPs was determined by both labs using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), a well established surface sensitive analytical method increasingly utilized for microparticles and nano-objects which is currently also in the focus of international standardization activities. Overall, our results underline the importance of multi-method characterization studies for quantifying FGs on NMs involving at least two expert laboratories for effectively identifying sources of uncertainty, validating analytical methods, and deriving NM structure–property relationships. KW - Advanced Materials KW - Amino Groups KW - Calibration KW - Characterization KW - Functional groups KW - Method Comparison KW - Nano Particle KW - Validation KW - XPS KW - Optical Assay KW - Quantification KW - Surface Analysis KW - Reference Materials KW - Synthesis KW - Fluorescence PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-649992 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d5na00794a VL - 7 IS - 21 SP - 6888 EP - 6900 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-64999 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schusterbauer, Robert A1 - Schünemann, Pia A1 - Nickl, Philip A1 - Er, Jasmin A1 - Kämmer, Victoria A1 - Junge, Florian A1 - Fazzani, Salim A1 - Mrkwitschka, Paul A1 - Meermann, Björn A1 - Haag, Rainer A1 - Donskyi, Ievgen T1 - Bifunctional Reduced Graphene Oxide Derivatives for PFOA Adsorption N2 - Innovative materials are crucial for removing persistent pollutants per‐ and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) from water. Here, a novel bifunctional reduced graphene oxide (TRGO) adsorbent is developed and characterized by advanced surface sensitive methods. Compared to pristine TRGO, the functionalized TRGO shows markedly improved PFAS removal efficiency and demonstrates strong potential for water purification applications. KW - Adsorber KW - PFAS KW - HR-CS-GFMAS PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-651238 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/ceur.202500240 SN - 2751-4765 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag AN - OPUS4-65123 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kim, K.J. A1 - Kim, C.S. A1 - Ruh, S. W. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Mata-Salazar, J. A1 - Juarez-Garcia, J.M. A1 - Cortazar-Martinez, O. A1 - Herrera-Gomez, A. A1 - Hansen, P.E. A1 - Madesen, J.S. A1 - Senna, C.A. A1 - Archanjo, B.S. A1 - Damasceno, J.C. A1 - Achete, C.A. A1 - Wang, H. A1 - Wang, M. A1 - Windover, D. A1 - Steel, E. A1 - Kurokawa, A. A1 - Fujimoto, T. A1 - Azuma, Y. A1 - Terauchi, S. A1 - Zhang, L. A1 - Jordaan, W.A. A1 - Spencer, S.J. A1 - Shard, A.G. A1 - Koenders, L. A1 - Krumrey, M. A1 - Busch, I. A1 - Jeynes, C. T1 - Thickness measurement of nm HfO2 films N2 - A pilot study for the thickness measurement of HfO2 films was performed by the Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) of the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM). The aim of this pilot study was to ensure the equivalency in the measurement capability of national metrology institutes for the thickness measurement of HfO2 films. In this pilot study, the thicknesses of six HfO2 films with nominal thickness from 1 nm to 4 nm were measured by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Reflectometry(XRR), X-ray Fluorescence Analysis (XRF), Transmission Electron Spectroscopy (TEM), Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) and Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). The reference thicknesses were determined by mutual calibration of a zero-offset method (Medium Energy Ion Scattering Spectroscopy (MEIS) of KRISS) and a method traceable to the length unit (the average thicknesses of three XRR data except the thinnest film). These reference thicknesses are traceable to the length unit because they are based on the traceability of XRR. For the thickness measurement by XPS, the effective attenuation length of Hf 4f electrons was determined. In the cases of XRR and TEM, the offset values were determined from a linear fitting between the reference thicknesses and the individual data by XRR and TEM. The amount of substance of HfO2, expressed as thickness of HfO2 films (in both linear and areal density units), was found to be a good subject for a CCQM key comparison. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM. KW - Thickness measurements KW - nm films KW - X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy KW - Mutual calibration PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/58/1A/08016 SN - 0026-1394 VL - 58 IS - 1a SP - 08016 PB - IOP Publishing Lt. CY - Bristol AN - OPUS4-54175 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - The emp project smurfnano – Standardizing the quantification of surface functionalities, ligands, and coatings on nanomaterials N2 - For industrial applications such as medical diagnostics, drug delivery, sensing, catalysis, energy conversion and storage, opto-electronics, and information storage, meanwhile engineered nanoparticles (NPs) with various chemical compositions and surface functionalities are routinely fabricated. NP function, interaction with biological species, and environmental fate are largely determined by surface functionalities. Reliable, reproducible, and standardized surface characterization methods are therefore vital for quality control of NPs, and mandatory to meet increasing concerns regarding their safety. Also, industry, international standardization organizations, regulatory agencies, and policymakers need validated and standardized measurement methods and reference materials. These needs are addressed by the recently started European metrology project SMURFnano involving 12 partners from different National Metrology Institutes, designated institutes, and research institutes, two university groups as well as one large company and one SME producing NPs. This project as well as first results derived from the development of test and reference materials with a well characterized surface chemistry and ongoing interlaboratory comparisons will be presented. T2 - LNE Workshop CY - Paris, France DA - 04.11.2025 KW - Quality assurance KW - Fluorescence KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - Synthesis KW - Characterization KW - Advanced material KW - Surface KW - Standardization KW - Reference material KW - Functional group KW - Quantification KW - Coating KW - Automation KW - Potentiometry KW - Method KW - Validation KW - Optical assay KW - Fluram KW - qNMR KW - Comparison KW - ILC PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64725 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Radnik, Jörg T1 - Interlaboratory comparisons as tool in advanced materials characterisation N2 - Interlaboratory comparisons (ILCs) are an important tool for the validation of characterisation methods, and, herwith, a prerequisite for standardisation. The "Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards" offers a framework for performing such ILCs: (i) TiO2 nanoparticles using ToF-SIMS, and (ii) the chemical composition of functionalized graphene using XPS. The results of both ILCs underline the importance of sample preparation for the measured results. T2 - NanoMeasure France Meeting CY - Online meeting DA - 07.06.2024 KW - Standardisation KW - Validation KW - Interlaboratory comparison KW - Graphene related 2D materials KW - Titania nanoparticles PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60532 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -