Enabling microfocus & thin film X-ray scattering at the University of Southampton
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: Sch of Chemistry
Abstract
X-ray diffraction is the main technique by which scientists and engineers study the structures of crystalline materials, however some sample types are often neglected due to the requirement for specialised instrumentation and expertise. This proposal provides advanced equipment to apply diffraction and related methods to a series of lesser-studied sample types of great importance in technology and in understanding environmental processes. These include thin layers of material on surfaces, where information about atomic separations, particle sizes, crystal orientation and changes in the size of the lattice due to interactions with the underlying material can be obtained. This will be critical to the understanding of a range of functional materials with applications in energy conversion and storage, electronics, optoelectronics and engineering. It will also be possible to study very small regions of a material, this is important in examination of single components or regions of a sample where variations are important in understanding properties. Sample types include minerals, where the structure of individual grains will contribute to knowledge of interactions with the environment, and single components of grids of material designed to have specific interactions with light.
Planned Impact
Our strategy is formulated around the specific aim of embedding advanced X-ray scattering experiments into a series of world-leading research projects across several disciplines and academic units at the University of Southampton. This aim will be achieved not just by providing the equipment, but also by educating a broad research community about the types of information that can be obtained from X-ray diffraction and reflectivity and how to perform these experiments and analyse data. The equipment will be managed in the first year of operation in a manner designed to maximise opportunities for a large number of researchers to try out experiments with high level support for data colection and analysis. A series of measures have also been designed to ensure that this impact is sustained, including a network of high level users and incentive systems for groups to maintain expertise.
The key user groups are at the forefront of research in new materials deposition, energy conversion and storage, electronics, optoelectronics, engineering materials, oceanography and environmental science. The main impacts felt outside the University will be in enhanced quality outputs from a large number of research projects in these areas. After the initial year of operation, however, it may also be possible to make some time available for selected users from outside the University of Southampton to use the equipment. This would then similarly impact the work of these academic and/or industrial users.
We strongly believe that this proposal will enhance the research quality of many groups and fulfil a critical role in a number of key University and national strategic research themes. In so doing it will provide added value to areas of recent and future investment.
The key user groups are at the forefront of research in new materials deposition, energy conversion and storage, electronics, optoelectronics, engineering materials, oceanography and environmental science. The main impacts felt outside the University will be in enhanced quality outputs from a large number of research projects in these areas. After the initial year of operation, however, it may also be possible to make some time available for selected users from outside the University of Southampton to use the equipment. This would then similarly impact the work of these academic and/or industrial users.
We strongly believe that this proposal will enhance the research quality of many groups and fulfil a critical role in a number of key University and national strategic research themes. In so doing it will provide added value to areas of recent and future investment.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Andrew Hector (Principal Investigator) | |
Mark Light (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Callisti M
(2014)
The role of Ni-Ti-(Cu) interlayers on the mechanical properties and nano-scratch behaviour of solid lubricant W-S-C coatings
in Surface and Coatings Technology
Benjamin S
(2014)
Controlling the nanostructure of bismuth telluride by selective chemical vapour deposition from a single source precursor
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Li X
(2014)
Evaluation of Cu 3 N and CuO as Negative Electrode Materials for Sodium Batteries
in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
Benjamin SL
(2014)
Niobium(V) and tantalum(V) halide chalcogenoether complexes--towards single source CVD precursors for ME2 thin films.
in Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)
Beecher SJ
(2014)
Diode-end-pumped 1.2 W Yb:Y2O3 planar waveguide laser.
in Optics express
Morgan K
(2014)
Total Dose Hardness of <formula formulatype="inline"> <tex Notation="TeX">${\rm TiN}/{\rm HfO}_{\rm x}/{\rm TiN}$</tex></formula> Resistive Random Access Memory
in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science
Mittal V
(2015)
Fabrication and characterization of high-contrast mid-infrared GeTe4 channel waveguides.
in Optics letters
Littlejohns C
(2015)
Ge-on-Si Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition for Low-Cost Photodetectors
in IEEE Photonics Journal
Frutos E
(2015)
Length-scale-dependent mechanical behaviour of Zr/Nb multilayers as a function of individual layer thickness
in Materials Science and Engineering: A
Benjamin S
(2015)
Chemical vapour deposition of antimony chalcogenides with positional and orientational control: precursor design and substrate selectivity
in Journal of Materials Chemistry C
Huang R
(2015)
Phase-Change Memory Properties of Electrodeposited Ge-Sb-Te Thin Film.
in Nanoscale research letters
Cummings C
(2015)
Supercritical Fluid Electrodeposition of Elemental Germanium onto Titanium Nitride Substrates
in Journal of The Electrochemical Society
Robertson C
(2015)
Ordered mesoporous silica films with pores oriented perpendicular to a titanium nitride substrate.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Callisti M
(2015)
Microstructural evolution of nanometric Ti(NiCu)2 precipitates in annealed Ni-Ti-Cu thin films
in Vacuum
Regoutz A
(2015)
Role and Optimization of the Active Oxide Layer in TiO 2 -Based RRAM
in Advanced Functional Materials
Bartlett P
(2015)
Non-aqueous electrodeposition of functional semiconducting metal chalcogenides: Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 phase change memory
in Materials Horizons
Robertson C
(2016)
Surface modification and porosimetry of vertically aligned hexagonal mesoporous silica films
in RSC Advances
Callisti M
(2016)
Structural and mechanical properties of ?-irradiated Zr/Nb multilayer nanocomposites
in Materials Letters
Cortese S
(2016)
An amorphous titanium dioxide metal insulator metal selector device for resistive random access memory crossbar arrays with tunable voltage margin
in Applied Physics Letters
Lei C
(2016)
Electrochemical deposition of bismuth telluride thick layers onto nickel
in Electrochemistry Communications
Bartlett P
(2016)
Haloplumbate salts as reagents for the non-aqueous electrodeposition of lead
in RSC Advances
Fan J
(2016)
Microstructure and electrical properties of co-sputtered Cu embedded amorphous SiC
in Materials Letters
Cummings C
(2016)
Electrodeposition of Protocrystalline Germanium from Supercritical Difluoromethane
in ChemElectroChem
Al-Arjan W
(2016)
Speciation in diethanolamine-moderated TiO2 precursor sols and their use in film formation
in Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology
Bartlett PN
(2016)
A Versatile Precursor System for Supercritical Fluid Electrodeposition of Main-Group Materials.
in Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Huang R
(2016)
Forming-free resistive switching of tunable ZnO films grown by atomic layer deposition
in Microelectronic Engineering
Wang Q
(2016)
Evolution of structural, mechanical and tribological properties of Ni-P/MWCNT coatings as a function of annealing temperature
in Surface and Coatings Technology
Li X
(2016)
Evaluation of nanocrystalline Sn 3 N 4 derived from ammonolysis of Sn(NEt 2 ) 4 as a negative electrode material for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Al-Arjan W
(2016)
Sol-gel preparation of well-adhered films and long range ordered inverse opal films of BaTiO3 and Bi2Ti2O7
in Materials Research Bulletin
Robertson C
(2016)
Surface modification and porosimetry of vertically aligned hexagonal mesoporous silica films
in RSC Advances
Callisti M
(2016)
Bubbles formation in helium ion irradiated Cu/W multilayer nanocomposites: Effects on structure and mechanical properties
in Journal of Nuclear Materials
Gray B
(2017)
Effect of oxidative surface treatments on charge storage at titanium nitride surfaces for supercapacitor applications
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Harito C
(2017)
Titanate nanotubes and nanosheets as a mechanical reinforcement of water-soluble polyamic acid: Experimental and theoretical studies
in Composites Part B: Engineering
Monclús M
(2017)
Selective oxidation-induced strengthening of Zr/Nb nanoscale multilayers
in Acta Materialia
Bartlett P
(2017)
Supercritical fluid electrodeposition, structural and electrical characterisation of tellurium nanowires
in RSC Advances
Monclús M
(2017)
Effect of layer thickness on the mechanical behaviour of oxidation-strengthened Zr/Nb nanoscale multilayers
in Journal of Materials Science
Callisti M
(2017)
Combined size and texture-dependent deformation and strengthening mechanisms in Zr/Nb nano-multilayers
in Acta Materialia
Fan J
(2017)
Amorphous SiC resistive memory with embedded Cu nanoparticles
in Microelectronic Engineering
Mittal V
(2017)
Optical quality ZnSe films and low loss waveguides on Si substrates for mid-infrared applications
in Optical Materials Express
Huang R
(2017)
Fermi Level Tuning of ZnO Films Through Supercycled Atomic Layer Deposition.
in Nanoscale research letters
Platt NJ
(2017)
Order of magnitude increase in photocatalytic rate for hierarchically porous anatase thin films synthesized from zinc titanate coatings.
in Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)
Chang YP
(2017)
Chalcogenoether complexes of Nb(v) thio- and seleno-halides as single source precursors for low pressure chemical vapour deposition of NbS2 and NbSe2 thin films.
in Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)
Burton M
(2017)
A novel route to nanostructured bismuth telluride films by electrodeposition
in Electrochemistry Communications
Prentice J
(2018)
Yb-doped mixed-sesquioxide films grown by pulsed laser deposition
in Journal of Crystal Growth
Homewood T
(2018)
Using polyoxometalates to enhance the capacity of lithium-oxygen batteries.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Kissling G
(2018)
Electrodeposition of a Functional Solid State Memory Material: Germanium Antimony Telluride from a Non-Aqueous Plating Bath
in Journal of The Electrochemical Society
Description | The grant was used to support the development of a diffractometer funded through an EPSRC strategic equipment award. The instrument is now heavily used by research groups from three different faculties and also for some commercial work. This part of the funding supported consumables and other minor items during the start up period when users were initially being trained. |
Exploitation Route | n/a |
Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Chemicals,Electronics,Energy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Description | In addition to the academic results, a small number of companies have begun to use the facility. This has largely been linked to the thin film capability. |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Electronics,Energy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | EPSRC Programme Grant |
Amount | £6,331,952 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/N035437/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2016 |
End | 07/2021 |