Functional inorganic materials (especially complex metal oxides) are used in almost every modern device. Inorganic materials exhibit properties that are mostly difficult or impossible to achieve with other materials, so their presence is often crucial for the functionality of a device. Nanoelectronics, superconductors, magnetic and many electrical materials are just some examples. The way in which inorganic components are made is usually decisive for the final crystallographic structure, microstructure and functional properties of the material. This lab course is intended as a hands-on introduction to the field of advanced functional inorganic materials, their synthesis and characterization. Students get an individual assignment depending on his/her interests. The assignment may focus on the deposition of thin films or nanostructures by advanced physical or chemical deposition methods, the characterization of crystallographic structure by X-ray diffraction, the characterization of microstructure by atomic force microscopy or elecron microscopy, or a combination of these.
Contact persons are Dr. Ir. G.J. Koster, Dr. Ing. G. Rijnders, and Dr. ir. J.E. ten Elshof.
