This book presents the physical and technical foundation of the state of the art in applied scanning probe techniques. It constitutes a timely and comprehensive overview of SPM applications. The chapters in this volume relate to scanning probe microscopy techniques, characterization of various materials and structures and typical industrial applications, including topographic and dynamical surface studies of thin-film semiconductors, polymers, paper, ceramics, and magnetic and biological materials. The chapters are written by leading researchers and application scientists from all over the world and from various industries to provide a broader perspective.
Ellipsometry is an experimental technique for determining the thickness and optical properties of thin films. It is ideally suited for films ranging in thickness from sub-nanometer to several microns. Spectroscopic measurements have greatly expanded the capabilities of this technique and introduced its use into all areas where thin films are found: semiconductor devices, flat panel and mobile displays, optical coating stacks, biological and medical coatings, protective layers, and more. While several scholarly books exist on the topic, this book provides a good introduction to the basic theory of the technique and its common applications. The target audience is not the ellipsometry scholar, but process engineers and students of materials science who are experts in their own fields and wish to use ellipsometry to measure thin film properties without becoming an expert in ellipsometry itself.
This book presents and introduces ellipsometry in nanoscience and nanotechnology making a bridge between the classical and nanoscale optical behaviour of materials. It delineates the role of the non-destructive and non-invasive optical diagnostics of ellipsometry in improving science and technology of nanomaterials and related processes by illustrating its exploitation, ranging from fundamental studies of the physics and chemistry of nanostructures to the ultimate goal of turnkey manufacturing control. This book is written for a broad readership: materials scientists, researchers, engineers, as well as students and nanotechnology operators who want to deepen their knowledge about both basics and applications of ellipsometry to nanoscale phenomena. It starts as a general introduction for people curious to enter the fields of ellipsometry and polarimetry applied to nanomaterials and progresses to articles by experts on specific fields that span from plasmonics, optics, to semiconductors and flexible electronics. The core belief reflected in this book is that ellipsometry applied at the nanoscale offers new ways of addressing many current needs. The book also explores forward-looking potential applications.
Ellipsometry is a powerful tool used for the characterization of thin films and multi-layer semiconductor structures. This book deals with fundamental principles and applications of spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Beginning with an overview of SE technologies the text moves on to focus on the data analysis of results obtained from SE, Fundamental data analyses, principles and physical backgrounds and the various materials used in different fields from LSI industry to biotechnology are described. The final chapter describes the latest developments of real-time monitoring and process control which have attracted significant attention in various scientific and industrial fields.
Filling the gap for a reference dedicated to the characterization of polymer blends and their micro and nano morphologies, this book provides comprehensive, systematic coverage in a one-stop, two-volume resource for all those working in the field. Leading researchers from industry and academia, as well as from government and private research institutions around the world summarize recent technical advances in chapters devoted to their individual contributions. In so doing, they examine a wide range of modern characterization techniques, from microscopy and spectroscopy to diffraction, thermal analysis, rheology, mechanical measurements and chromatography. These methods are compared with each other to assist in determining the best solution for both fundamental and applied problems, paying attention to the characterization of nanoscale miscibility and interfaces, both in blends involving copolymers and in immiscible blends. The thermodynamics, miscibility, phase separation, morphology and interfaces in polymer blends are also discussed in light of new insights involving the nanoscopic scale. Finally, the authors detail the processing-morphology-property relationships of polymer blends, as well as the influence of processing on the generation of micro and nano morphologies, and the dependence of these morphologies on the properties of blends. Hot topics such as compatibilization through nanoparticles, miscibility of new biopolymers and nanoscale investigations of interfaces in blends are also addressed. With its application-oriented approach, handpicked selection of topics and expert contributors, this is an outstanding survey for anyone involved in the field of polymer blends for advanced technologies.
Ellipsometry is the method of choice to determine the properties of surfaces and thin films. It provides comprehensive and sensitive characterization in contactless and non-invasive measurements. This book gives a state-of-the-art survey of ellipsometric investigations of organic films and surfaces, from laboratory to synchrotron applications, with a special focus on in-situ use in processing environments and at solid-liquid interfaces. In conjunction with the development of functional organic, meta- and hybrid materials for new optical, electronic, sensing and biotechnological devices and fabrication advances, the ellipsometric analysis of their optical and material properties has progressed rapidly in the recent years.
The term biomimetic is comparatively new on the chemical scene, but the concept has been utilized by chemists for many years. Furthermore, the basic idea of making a synthetic material that can imitate the func tions of natural materials probably could be traced back into antiquity. From the dawn of creation, people have probably attempted to duplicate or modify the activities of the natural world. (One can even find allusions to these attempts in the Bible; e. g. , Genesis 30. ) The term "mimetic" means to imitate or mimic. The word "mimic" means to copy closely, or to imitate accurately. Biomimetic, which has not yet entered most dictionaries, means to imitate or mimic some specific bio logical function. Usually, the objective of biomimetics is to form some useful material without the need of utilizing living systems. In a simi lar manner, the term biomimetic polymers means creating synthetic poly mers which imitate the activity of natural bioactive polymers. This is a major advance in polymer chemistry because the natural bioactive polymers are the basis of life itself. Thus, biomimetic polymers imitate the life process in many ways. This present volume delineates some of the recent progress being made in this vast field of biomimetic polymers. Chemists have been making biomimetic polymers for more than fifty years, although this term wasn't used in the early investigations.
Second volume of a 40-volume series on nanoscience and nanotechnology, edited by the renowned scientist Challa S.S.R. Kumar. This handbook gives a comprehensive overview about UV-visible and photoluminescence spectroscopy for the characterization of nanomaterials. Modern applications and state-of-the-art techniques are covered and make this volume essential reading for research scientists in academia and industry in the related fields.
