In a joint project across three universities and MAX IV laboratory, researchers have developed a revolutionary experimental setup for atomic layer deposition.
The new instrument was designed specifically for MAX IV and will allow for observations previously impossible.
SPECIES, one of the soft X-ray beamlines in MAX IV 1.5 GeV storage ring, has added to its portfolio a new cutting-edge instrument. The new experimental setup has been specially developed to use Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (APXPS) for the study of atomic layer deposition (ALD), a process where thin films of material are grown depositing one layer at a time.
This experimental setup is composed of a custom cell where the ALD process is performed and observed using APXPS. The instrument is the result of an extensive collaboration between the University of Helsinki, world-leading in ALD studies, University of Oulu, Lund University, and MAX IV Laboratory, and funded by the University of Helsinki through the FiMAX consortium.
In February, the team from the University of Helsinki led by professor Mikko Ritala, and from the University of Oulu came to MAX IV for the final experiments and refinement activities on the experimental setup. We talked with the scientists to understand how the cell they have developed allows for unprecedented observations.
>Read more on the MAX IV website
Image credit: Matti Putkonen.