Ellipsometric porosimetry is a non-destructive method to determine characteristics of porous thin-film samples.
J A Woollam invites you to this webinar on Tuesday 23 June 2020 at 7pm BST.
Porous thin films are used in a variety of applications to provide enhanced electrical, sensing, or thermal characteristics dictated by the porous structure of the film. Mixing a skeletal material with air or other fillers, reduces the density compared to the bulk material effectively reducing the refractive index, dielectric constant, and other relevant parameters to levels not achievable with bulk materials. Traditional porosimetry techniques such as high-pressure mercury or liquid nitrogen porosimetry are not applicable to the small volumes of thin porous films.
Ellipsometric porosimetry utilises the excellent sensitivity to small changes in a thin film’s refractive index when a solvent condenses in the pores during the adsorption process. In an ellipsometric porosimetry experiment, we combine standard ellipsometry measurements with our Environment Cell accessory which features a patented vapour-delivery system to create controlled relative pressure sample environments using a wide variety of solvents. Performing dynamic ellipsometry measurements while the relative pressure of a solvent is varied allows extraction of the relevant porous film parameters, porosity and pore size distribution.
Webinar Content
In this webinar, the fundamentals of ellipsometric porosimetry will be covered. Attendees will gain an understanding of the hardware involved in the measurements and an introduction to the underlying theory relating standard ellipsometry measurements to adsorption isotherms and pore characteristics. Example analyses of mesoporous and microporous thin-film samples will be shown.
Who Should Attend?
This webinar is designed for engineers and scientists working with porous thin films and anyone with a general interest in in-situ applications of spectroscopic ellipsometry. The presented analysis approaches are relevant for process control in industrial settings but equally apply to development of novel porous material solutions in a research setting. No prior knowledge is required.
Speaker
Jeremy Van Derslice
Jeremy received his Master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Nebraska. He is working towards his Ph.D. in engineering where he is studying pulsed-laser deposited films using spectroscopic ellipsometry and is currently building a chamber for in-situ ellipsometric characterisation of PLD-grown films.
