An important part of the materials-related research at IMAP involves the development, characterization and modeling of the processing and properties of thin films and coatings, including both metallic and ceramic (mainly metallic oxide) systems. As to the processing, specific lab-scale equipment for electrochemical, physical, thermal or chemical growth and deposition has been developed in-house, featuring in-situ monitoring of internal stress evolution for coupled processing – mechanical testing. Examples include the reactive sputtering of binary oxides, the anodization of metals or semiconductors, and the hydriding and thermal treatment of thin films. Currently envisioned applications include Al oxide for corrosion protection, Si oxide for microelectronics, Pd films for hydrogen technologies, TiO2 films for self-cleaning, Au films for flexible electronics and ZnO layers for solar cells. Besides the unique in-situ monitoring capability, advanced tools and know-how has been gathered over the years for a profound chemical, physico-chemical and structural characterization, including SEM, TEM and X-ray diffraction. Moreover, specific expertise is available for on-chip nanomechanical testing and nanoindentation – nanoscratch techniques. Combining the experimental insights gathered for the processing and characterization finally also allows to develop or improve models for thin film growth, reactivity and mechanical behavior, including stress affected ionic transport in metallic oxides, and the size dependent plasticity of thin metallic films.
