Materials Characterization Facility (MCF)

Ontario Tech University (University of Ontario Institute of Technology), Oshawa, Ontario
What the facility does

Facilitate the development of novel materials and provide research on hard and soft matter to draw breakthroughs and implement innovations.

Areas of expertise

The Materials Characterization Facility is focused on science, technology, and innovation provides access to a variety of resources and services to support research activities and development in materials science. Modern surface preparation, treatment, and characterization instruments integrated under the umbrella of Materials Characterization Facility (MCF) and operated by a world-class multidisciplinary team of experts allow comprehensive analysis and rapid development of novel materials and technologies. A wide range of top-notch instrumentation and striving for an individual approach to resolve each scientific or technological challenge allows us to design an experiment and choose the most applicable technique that fits the best client's expectations and budget.

Research services
  • Surface chemical composition (X-ray Photoelectron and Auger Electron Spectroscopy, Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV-VIS and Raman spectroscopy, Reflected Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy)
  • Surface topography (Atomic Force Microscopy and 3D profilometry)
  • Surface morphology (Scanning Electron Microscopy and Optical Microscopy)
  • Surface area measurements (Nitrogen Absorption)
  • Thermoanalytical properties and thermal stability (Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Thermogravimetric Analysis)
  • Thin film coating (metal, carbon, organic, and inorganic films deposition by vacuum and wet chemistry techniques) and thin film analysis (ellipsometry, Atomic Force Microscopy)
  • XPS, Raman, and REELS surface analysis of air- and moisture-sensitive specimens are possible
Sectors of application
  • Chemical industries
  • Clean technology
  • Energy
  • Environmental technologies and related services
  • Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
  • Manufacturing and processing

Equipment 

Function

Thermo Scientific Nexsa System

 

XPS, Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), Reflected Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (REELS), and Raman. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy - non-destructive surface analytical technique used to determine the quantitative atomic composition and chemical state of the elements within a surface of solid material.

Hitachi FlexSEM 1000 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with Peltier cooling energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDS)

Provides imaging of specimen surfaces at high- and low-accelerating voltages with up to 5 nm resolution. EDS detector allows quantitative elemental analysis and mapping.

Profilm3D profilometer

Uses state-of-the-art non-contact white light interferometry (WLI) to measure surface profiles at the micrometre scale.

NT-MDT NTEGRA Multifunctional Scanning Probe Microscope

To perform the most typical tasks in the field of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).

NOVA 1200e BET Analyzer

Surface Area and Pore Size Analyzer.

TA Instruments SDT Q600 Thermal Analyzer

Used to perform thermal analysis by measuring both heat flow (DCS) and weight changes (TGA) in a material as a function of temperature under a controlled (dry air or argon) atmosphere.

Film Sense Multi-Wavelength Ellipsometer

Measures film thickness.

PerkinElmer LAMBDA 750 UV/Vis/NIR spectrophotometer

UV-Visible Spectroscopy of solid samples, films, and coatings.