MSE465
Structural and Chemical Characterization of Materials
Study of the basic structural and chemical characterization techniques that are commonly used in materials science and engineering. X-ray, electron and neutron diffraction, a wide range of spectroscopies, microscopies, and scanning probe methods will be covered. Lectures will be integrated with a laboratory where the techniques will be demonstrated and/or used by the student to study a material. Techniques will be presented in terms of the underlying physics and chemistry.
Course Objectives
- To provide students with a foundation in the structural and chemical characterization of materials to prepare them for jobs in industry or research in this field.
- To teach students intermediate concepts of diffraction and scattering mechanisms both physically and with a high degree of mathematical sophistication.
- To apply concepts from physics, chemistry and mathematics to the underlying mechanisms responsible for the spectroscopic methods presented in the course.
- To teach students basic concepts of forensic design to solve real problems in materials characterization.
- To teach students, the advantages, limitations and inherent resolution of characterization methods.
- To expose the students to the actual characterization technologies used in modern materials analysis via a laboratory component of the course.
Course Outcomes
- To provide students with a foundation in the structural and chemical characterization of materials to prepare them for jobs in industry or research in this field.
- To teach students intermediate concepts of diffraction and scattering mechanisms both physically and with a high degree of mathematical sophistication.
- To apply concepts from physics, chemistry and mathematics to the underlying mechanisms responsible for the spectroscopic methods presented in the course.
- To teach students basic concepts of forensic design to solve real problems in materials characterization.
- To teach students, the advantages, limitations and inherent resolution of characterization methods.
- To expose the students to the actual characterization technologies used in modern materials analysis via a laboratory component of the course.
Assessment Tools
- Two, in-class, closed-book exams.
- Weekly problem sets and/or Laboratory reports.
- Project involving the construction of a web page on a selected characterization problem and solution.
Course Topics
- X-ray production and properties
- Crystallography and Diffraction
- Lab 1: Safety and operation of x-ray equipment and x-ray adsorption (Miniflex)
- Diffraction
- Reciprocal Space
- Lab 2: Diffraction from bone and refractory metals (Miniflex)
- Ewald sphere construction
- Structure factor
- Diffraction Intensity
- Electron Diffraction
- Lab 3: Transmission Electron Diffraction (JEOL 4000 FX)
- Surface Diffraction and Film growth
- Lab 4: Orientation and quality of crystals (RHEED)
- Diffraction from real crystals
- Electron Microscopy and image contrast
- Lab 5: TED/TEM of polycrystalline film
- Fourrier Transform methods and diffraction
- Scanning electron microscopy
- Lab 6: Orientation imaging and Biological imaging in the environmental SEM (Phillips Scope and OIM system and environmental SEM)
- Neutron Diffraction
- General Concepts of Spectroscopy
- Non-radiative spectroscopy: Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES)
- Lab 7: AES (Phi Scanning Auger)
- X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)
- Lab 8: XPS (Perkin Elmer XPS system)
- Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS)
- Lab 9: RBS (Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory)
- Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy
- Radiative spectroscopy: X-ray energy and wavelength dispersive spectroscopies (XEDS/WDS)
- Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS)
- Lab 10: XEDS/EELS (JEOL 2010)
- Absorption spectroscopy: Fourrier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (IR)
- Lab 11: FTIR from Natural Silk Fibers (Nicolet FTIR)
- Scanning probe microscopies (STM and AFM)
- Lab 12: AFM: Crystallites of Dental Enamel (Nanoscope III)