| Pacific Rim Symposium on Surfaces, Coatings and Interfaces (PacSurf 2018) | |
| Thin Films | Monday Sessions |
| Session TF-MoM |
| Session: | Nanostructured Surfaces and Thin Films: Synthesis and Characterization I |
| Presenter: | David Surman, Kratos Analytical Inc. |
| Authors: | J. Counsell, Kratos Analytical Ltd., UK S.J. Coultas, Kratos Analytical Ltd., UK D.J. Surman, Kratos Analytical Inc. C. Moffitt, Kratos Analytical Inc. |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Combinatorial approaches have been widely used to discover new material phases for many years, allowing rapid exploration of composition–structure properties in complex material systems1. The mapping of chemical properties such as oxidation state and alloying as a function of composition is an integral part of understanding the underlying physical and chemical properties. Here we apply combinatorial techniques for preparation of model systems to be characterised by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Two diverse sample sets have been characterised by high throughput XPS - ternary alloy formation post thin-film deposition and polymer microarrays for biomaterial screening.
Ternary metal compounds are used in a wide range of applications; as high-performance alloy materials and electronic semiconductors. We have examined a range of thin-films of first-row transition metals co-deposited on Si wafers to form a matrix of ternary alloys. The surface composition was analysed with XPS to determine the stoichiometric mixing for different alloy compositions and the extent of oxidation and chemical bond formation during deposition. Further analysis of large datasets allows the user to determine areas of particular interest and performance for further investigation – leading to more detailed bulk/surface comparison studies by destructive and non-destructive depth profiling techniques.
Combinatorial methods are also exploited for screening of functional biomaterials. The surface composition of a series of printed polymer microarrays are analysed with XPS to correlate differences in surface chemistry with specific biological performance. This high throughput method allows for library databases to be created for parallel screening of a wide range of polymer blends.
Workflow and data-handling will be discussed for the two different systems. Data visualisation through XPS processing is also described for large datasets generated during these analyses.
1. C. J. Long, J. Hattrick-Simpers, M. Murakima, R. C. Srivastava, I. Takeuchi, V.L. Karen and X. Li, Rev. Sci. Inst., 78, 072217, 2007.