Department of Materials and Nuclear Engineering

University of Maryland

College Park, Maryland

ENMA 310 Experimental Methods in Materials Science (Materials Laboratory I)

Course Description: Introduction to experimental methods in materials characterization; diffraction (X-ray, TEM, optical); scanning techniques (SEM, AFM); optical microscopy; vibrational spectroscopy.

Pre-requisite: ENMA 230

Co-requisite: ENMA 460

Texbook: Faculty notes and written instructions on how to do the experiments, A good textbook to have (especially for ENMA 311) is Understanding the Properties of Matter, by M. DePodesta

Course Objectives: At the end of this course, the student should be able to

1. Describe a variety of experimental methods.

2. Identify what materials' properties a particular method probes.

3. Identify the most appropriate method or methods to probe specific materials characteristics. Be able to design experiments, based on this knowledge.

4. Identify the limitations of a specific characterization method.

5. Understand how different characterization methods complement each other.

6. Be able to communicate effectively their results and findings through reports.

7. Become familiar with modern methods of materials characterization, similar to those they will encounter in industrial and government laboratory and testing facilities.

Laboratory Exercises (Topics covered):

I. Introduction: 1 lecture

1. Class organization

2. Overview: Structure characterization methods - mehods studied in this course

II. Safety issues: radiation training - required (1/2 week) - Sept. 5, 2001 in Rm 2104 CHE Steve Hand, Radiation Office.

III. DIFFRACTION - approx. 3 weeks

1. Diffraction - General (Prof. Martínez-Miranda; Prof. Salamanca-Riba)

a. Lecture: characterization methods

b. Lecture/library search: use of structure tables

c. Exercise/demonstration: optical-size diffraction pattern

d. Exercise: Lattice determination

2. X- ray diffraction (Prof. Martínez-Miranda)

a. Lecture: average (global structure)

b. Demonstration: thin film measurement

c. Exercise: epitaxy vs powder; sample size/strain

d. Structure Form Factor (Prof. Martínez-Miranda)

i. Lecture: relationship to diffraction measurements

ii. Exercise: Calculation for different structures

iii. Exercise: Comparison to data

3. TEM (Prof. Salamanca-Riba)

a. Lecture: local structure

b. Demonstration: thin film measurement

c. Exercise: local lattice determination - Use of FTIR method

. 4. Optical (Visible) Diffraction (Prof. Martínez-Miranda, Prof. Salamanca-Riba)

a. Structure Determination - micrometer-size structures

IV. SURFACE PROBE TECHNIQUES

1. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) - approx. 1.5 - 2 weeks (Prof. I. Lloyd)

a. Lecture:

- capabilities

- sample topography, grain size

b. Exercise: grain size, deformation

c. Quantitative metallography

2. Surface microscope probes: AFM (TBA) - approx. 0.5 - 1 week

a. Lecture: AFM principles - comparison and similarities to other surface probes

b. Exercise/demonstration: surface imaging

V. VIBRATIONAL SPECTROSCOPY - approx. 2 weeks

1. Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) (Prof. M. Al-Sheikly)

a. Radiation Effects in Polymers

VI. OPTICAL MICROSCOPY:

1. Optical microscopy observation: (Prof. Martínez-Miranda; Prof. R. Briber) - approx. 1 - 1.5 weeks

a. Lecture: optical characteristics and relation to structure; anisotropy

b. Exercise: observation of micron-size domains and structures; grain size; birefringence

c. Exercise: observation of phase transformations

2. Ellipsometry (Prof. R. Briber, Prof. J. Kidder, Prof. L. J. Martínez-Miranda) - approx. 1 - 1.5 weeks

Class Schedule:

Lecture: ENG. 3106, Tues., 2- 3:15PM)

Laboratory: Undergrad Materials Laboratory, RM. 2304CHE, MW 9AM - 12 noon. Other Locations scheduled according to the exercises to be performed.

Grading: Grading will be based on written reports submitted at the end of each exercise,a laboratory notebook grade, and student participation in class and the discusssin. In addition to the reports, selected exercises may include "thought questions", which will be graded independently. The purpose of the thought questions is to help students design experiments and measurements to characterize a particular material.

Reports homework, and participation: 80%

Laboratory notebook: 20%

Deadline to submit last report: December 11, 2001

ATTENTION: Reports, homeworks (whne given) and Laboratory notebook, will be due a week after the completion of the experiment. After the week, the report, homework and laboratory notebook will loose 1.45/10 points per day until two weeks afterwards, when the total points will be taken from them. In other words, homework turned in after two weeks will not be graded, and will be given a zero.

Contribution of course to meeting the professional component:

This course is a laboratory course aimed at introducing the students to the methods used to characterize materials in order to explain and improve the material's behavior as specified by certain design criteria or needs.

Relationship of course to program objectives:

This course is a required junior level course in Materials Science and Engineering. Its purpose is to allow the students to become familiar with characterization methods and data analysis techniques, through a combination of hands-on experience, measurement demonstration and data analysis.

Instructor-Coordinator: Teaching Assistant:

Prof. Luz J. Martínez-Miranda Kvin McCarthy

Bldg. 090, RM. 1110D times TBA

email: martinez@eng.umd.edu

Office Hours: TBA week of Sept.3