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RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE, RESEARCH FACILITIES

12. Laboratory of Phisico‑Chemical Characterization (within the Department of
Materials and Products Characterization for Electrical and Power Engineering)

Expertise Areas in 2018
Morpho‑structural, physico‑mechanical and chemical characterization of materials by the following advanced
techniques:
- X-ray diffractometry in order to identify the crystalline phase of the solid materials, powders or thin films, with
the possibility to determine the unit cell parameters and crystallite size, as well as tracking any changes in the
crystal network in the temperature range of ‑180°C to 1000°C (in case of materials as thin films);
- scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which provides viewing and studying of the microscopic structures and
surfaces of different materials types (inorganic, organic, conductive or non‑conductive, magnetic, under the
compact structure, powder or thin films);
- atomic force microscopy (AFM) which allows detecting the mechanical properties of the surface, and the
degree of elasticity or adhesion;
- tunneling electron microscopy (STM) which allows the study of surface properties from the microscopic to
atomic level, on conductive or non‑conductive thin films deposited on conductive substrates;
‑ determination of the Vickers and Knoop micro-hardness, and of the Vickers şi Brinell hardness for solid,
metallic, ceramic, carbonic or polymeric materials;
‑ X-ray fluorescence (XRF), mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) that allow
qualitative and quantitative elemental chemical analysis in different ranges of concentrations and types of
samples (solid, powder or liquid), depending on the applied technique.

Expertise Areas in 2019
• Research‑development of new materials with functional properties for specific applications;
• Investigation of micro and nano scale interface phenomena for micro and optoelectronics applications;
• Study and morpho‑structural, physical‑mechanical and chemical characterization of materials through the
following characterization techniques:
- X‑ray diffraction in order to identify the crystalline phases on solid materials, powders or thin films, with the
possibility of determining the parameters of the elementary cell (for example their variation with temperature,
network tension, or due to dopants) and crystallite size, such as and tracking any changes in the crystal
lattice in the temperature range: ‑180°C ÷ + 1000°C (in the case of thin film materials), Rietveld analysis;
- scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the study of microscopic structures and surfaces of different types of
materials (inorganic, organic, conductive or non‑conductive electric, magnetic, in compact form, powder or
thin layers);
- atomic force microscopy (AFM) that allows 3D analysis in the nano and micrometric field of surface
topography and determination of local physical properties such as: electrical resistance, leakage currents,
piezoelectric response, magnetization, elasticity; also, one can study the morphology and evaluate the
degree of roughness of the thin layers of organic and inorganic materials deposited by various methods;
- tunneling electron microscopy (STM) that allows the study of the properties of surfaces from microscopic
to atomic level, on electrically conductive thin films;
- high resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM) which allows the study of the properties and structure of the
network for different types of materials (bulk, thin layers, wires, powders ‑ all processed according to the
level of electron transparency), with crystalline, amorphous or nanocrystalline;

- Vickers and Knoop microd hardness determination and Vickers and Brinell hardness on solid metallic
materials;
- wavelength X‑ray fluorescence spectrometry (WD‑XRF);
- atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS);
- inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‑MS);
- characteristic X‑ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS).

PAGE 78 | ANNUAL REPORT | 2019