Towards a complete characterization of nanomaterials

LIST researchers specialized in Advanced Instrumentation for Ion Nano-Analytics (AINA) recently launched a new project entitled “Ultra-low energy ion beams: new opportunities for nano-analysis and nanofabrication” or ULOWBEAM.

With the financial support of the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), they will join forces with Thermo Fisher Scientific for the next three years. LIST researchers, experts in the development of innovative nano-analytical techniques for material characterization and life science applications, will thus benefit from the scientific equipment proposed by the American company, in addition to its own existing equipment.

On the trail of low-energy ion beams

By August 2021, they hope to define the experimental conditions that will allow the characterization of the nature of a material on a very small scale based on a process using ultra-low impact energy beams. They aim to provide a relevant response to the current limits of the existing tools and processes on the market for characterizing materials on a very small scale.

Unfortunately, the ion beams projected by these tools and processes, with a proven effectiveness for surface analysis, tend to damage the materials at a deeper level. Consequently, an analysis of the nanomaterials proves impossible. Therefore, LIST and Thermo Fisher Scientific researchers will explore the avenue of low-energy ion beams and attempt to formulate technical recommendations to enable the study of both the surface and depth of materials on an atomic or molecular scale.

>> For more information on ULOWBEAM, please see the project page.