CD Laboratory for Microscopic and Spectroscopic Material Characterisation

The development and application of new analytical methods for the characterisation of material surfaces and layer systems of various materials are the main focus of our work. They are used to better understand physical and chemical processes and to answer questions about material properties down to the nano level.

A key focus is the development of a new type of microscope that delivers 3D images with flexible contrast options. At the same time, numerous non-linear optical methods for imaging are being further developed. These include depth-resolved imaging using second-harmonic generation, imaging sum-frequency spectroscopy and Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman scattering techniques.

These special microscopy methods will be used in particular for the structural and chemical analysis of organic coatings, oxide structures and the surfaces of semiconductors and metals.

Another key aspect is the validation of these innovative methods for characterising material surfaces and coating systems. To this end, the new technologies are tested and assessed by simultaneously applying established methods. These established methods include transmission electron microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

One specific task within the scope of research activities is the application of both established and new methods for the further development of bonding processes in the semiconductor industry. New analytical methods for characterising the material surfaces and layer systems are particularly important in the wafer bonding process, in which two different semiconductor substrates are permanently bonded together. Only a better understanding of the material properties allows the production of reliable and defect-free connections.

The ability to analyse the slightest changes on a nanometre scale makes the newly developed methods, in combination with the techniques already available, interesting for steel production. The methods, which are being developed in cooperation with the Medicine University of Innsbruck, will also be able to make an important contribution to continuous steel strip coating in the future.