Search results for "Electron microscope"

Layer-by-Layer Graphene Growth on β-SiC/Si(001)

2019

ACS nano 13(1), 526 - 535 (2019). doi:10.1021/acsnano.8b07237

Multi-scale characterization of porosity in Boom Clay (HADES-level, Mol, Belgium) using a combination of X-ray μ-CT, 2D BIB-SEM and FIB-SEM tomography

2015

Abstract The Oligocene age Boom Clay is a potential host material for radioactive waste disposal in Belgium. To better understand the physical basis of transport mechanisms of radionuclides, we aim to characterize the pore space and its connectivity at nm-scale in 3D. In the present study, X-ray μ-CT and FIB-SEM (focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy) tomography were combined, to investigate the 3D pore space of a Boom Clay sample from the Mol-1 borehole (depth corresponding to the level of the HADES-URF – ‘high activity disposal experimental site underground research facility’) at the Mol–Dessel research site for radioactive waste disposal (Belgium). BIB-SEM (broad ion beam scannin…

2019

TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TCNFs) have unique properties, which can be utilised in many application fields from printed electronics to packaging. Visual characterisation of TCNFs has been commonly performed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). However, a novel imaging technique, Helium Ion Microscopy (HIM), offers benefits over SEM, including higher resolution and the possibility of imaging non-conductive samples uncoated. HIM has not been widely utilized so far, and in this study the capability of HIM for imaging of TCNFs was evaluated. Freeze drying and critical point drying (CPD) techniques were applied to preserve the open fibril structure of the gel-like TCNFs. Both dry…

Evaluation of Silver Ion Bioavailability from Silver Doped Hydroxyapatite

2014

Thein vitrobehavior of silver doped hydroxyapatite (HAp/Ag) prepared by two wet precipitation routes were studied in water and simulated body fluid (SBF). In order to evaluate the silver ion bioavailability from HAp/Ag, the samples were soaked in SBF or water and kept at 37°C for fixed periods of time up to one year. After fixed periods of time, analyses of SBF and water solutions were performed and silver ion concentration within the solutions determined. According to silver release data from dense and porous HAp/Ag ceramic scaffolds, release rate of silver ions were reduced in water as the ion exchange there was slower compared to SBF solution. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron micr…

Gallium nitride thin films as processed by several techniques: Their possible applications for PV-devices

2011

We present in this work the characterization studies carried on GaN — thin films as processed by the Close Spaced Vapor Technique (CSVT), Laser Ablation (LA), and Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE), under particular growth parameters for each of the three techniques. The films characterization was performed by x-ray diffraction (X-RD), Photoluminescence (PL), Raman spectroscopy, optical transmission, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). With these results an analysis of the samples was done, with an aim for a possible application of these thin films for PV-devices.

Ge-doped silica nanoparticles: production and characterisation

2016

Silica nanoparticles were produced from germanosilicate glasses by KrF laser irradiation. The samples were investigated by cathodoluminescence and scanning electron microscopy, providing the presence of nanoparticles with size from tens up to hundreds of nanometers. The emission of the Germanium lone pair center is preserved in the nanoparticles and atomic force microscopy revealed the presence of no spherical particles with a size smaller than ~4 nm. The absorption coefficient enhancement induced by Ge doping is reputed fundamental to facilitate the nanoparticles production. This procedure can be applied to other co-doped silica materials to tune the nanoparticles features.

Porous structure of Purevision™ versus Focus® Night&Day™ and conventional hydrogel contact lenses

2002

The surface and bulk structures of hydrogel contact lenses that contain siloxane moieties, Purevision™ (balafilcon A) and Focus®Night&Day™ (lotrafilcon A), were investigated. Standard hydrogel lenses of low (Seequence®), medium (Acuvue®), and high water content (Precision UV®) were used as controls. All the lenses were dehydrated in a series of ethanol solutions of increased concentration, critical-point dried in CO2, and sputter coated with gold/palladium before they were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Of all lenses examined, only the balafilcon lenses presented, in addition to the polymer network porosity characteristic of all hydrogels, a macroporous structure that was observe…

Effect of zinc concentration on the microstructure and relaxation frequency of Mn–Zn ferrites synthesized by solid state reaction

2013

Abstract Mn3Zn polycrystalline ferrites with Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 stoichiometry (x=0.59, 0.61, 0.65) were prepared by solid state reaction. These ferrites were heated at different temperatures. The cubic structure with space group Fd3m (Oh7) No. 227 was confirmed by the refinement of x-ray diffraction (XRD) powders through Rietveld´s method using fullprof. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results revealed for all compounds a non-homogeneous grain size and shape distribution, with a mean grain size of 9 μm. The Curie temperature Tc was found to decrease as the Zn concentration increases. The magnetic domain relaxation was investigated by inductance spectroscopy (IS). The relaxation frequency fr s…

Effect of antisite defects on the magnetic properties of ZnFe2 O4

2013

Magnetic zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) nanopowders were synthesized using the sol–gel autocombustion method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements demonstrated that thermal decomposition of the 1-mm-thick xerogel layers in air formed monophasic spinel ferrite nanopowders with a particle size less than 30 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that the obtained reaction product contained antisite defects, with zinc ions occurring at the octahedral sites of the spinel structure. The concentration of antisite defects or inversion degree decreased when the relatively low annealing temperature was increased from 150 to 500 °C. Overall, the obtained ZnFe2…

Development of a scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis system for magnetic imaging with ns time resolution and phase-sensitive dete…

2018

Scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis is a powerful lab-based magnetic imaging technique offering simultaneous imaging of multiple magnetization components and a very high spatial resolution. However, one drawback of the technique is the long required acquisition time resulting from the low inherent efficiency of spin detection, which has limited the applicability of the technique to certain quasi-static measurement schemes and materials with high magnetic contrast. Here we demonstrate the ability to improve the signal-to-noise ratio for particular classes of measurements involving periodic excitation of the magnetic structure via the implementation of a digital phase-sens…