Event
Beyond Chemical Composition: How Can Surface Science Measure Electronic Properties?
Presented by Dr. James Johns
The overwhelming majority of analytical surface science experiments are devoted to answering the following two questions: “What is the chemical makeup of particular surface?” and “How are those chemical compounds spatially distributed?” Yet for many applications, it is not the arrangement of atoms and molecules that are important, but instead the complimentary behavior of electrons in that arrangement which control key metrics of performance. Semiconductors and the electronics industry are obvious examples, but also photovoltaics, optoelectronics, batteries and other chemical redox applications including catalysis, magnetic materials, and pigments just to name a few. Scientists and engineers will often use chemical composition as a proxy for electronic properties, changing the chemistry in hopes of changing electronics but it remains a complicated structure function relationship.
Fortunately, the same building blocks used to construct tools which measure surface composition can also form the fundamental components of instrumentation which directly probes a surface’s electronic structure. In this webinar, James will present an overview of 3 surface science techniques for measuring the electron states which exist at a surface. He will discuss the information that each technique can provide and how to select the appropriate technique for an experiment. He will also discuss practical aspects of the techniques including sample preparation and mounting, common pitfalls including how to spot sample charging and sample damage, and some hallmarks of good vs bad data. By the end of this webinar, we hope you will have a better idea of some of the tools which may help you address critical problems in your particular field.
