- Space Segment
- Ground Segment
- Services Segment
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
Dr. Henri-Noël MIGEON
CREATION DATE
1992
ORGANISATION TYPE
Public Research Centre
EMPLOYEES
Total: 60
Space: 5
ADDRESS
CRP-Gabriel Lippmann
Science and Materials Analysis
Department (SAM)
41, rue du Brill
L-4422 Belvaux
Luxembourg
CONTACT, TEL & FAX
Thierry GIROT
Tel: +352 47 02 61 -537
Fax: +352 47 02 64
WEB SITE
CRP-GABRIEL LIPPMANN SAM
SCIENCE AND MATERIALS ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT
CORE BUSINESS
The SAM department is a reference laboratory in the fields of:
- Characterisation of materials, surfaces and interfaces down to nanometre scale;
- Innovative surface treatments, to treat and functionalise surfaces and deposit thin layers with optimised chemical, thermal, mechanical and physical properties;
- Nanomaterials: industry-scalable and/or unique production processes are used to fabricate innovative nanostructured materials with a very fine control of the composition, structure and architecture down to the atomic scale for industrial applications;
- Design/development of scientific instruments using ultra-vacuum techniques, electrostatic optics and plasma physics, allowing developing unique analytical instruments and custom-designed surface treatment techniques that can be transferred directly to industry.
SAM gives its partners access to ultra-specialised technical platforms, and brings them the expertise of a multiple-discipline team of specialists in materials science. It provides a wide range of services to assist its customers, in all their materials and surfaces R&D projects and technological development work, as well as helping them with their day-to-day problems concerning materials.
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
The SAM department is specialized in Materials analysis / Surface treatments / Nanomaterials / Scientific instrumentation for which it has an extended expertise in:
- Characterisation of the microstructure and composition of materials, surfaces and interfaces and crystallography
- Elaboration of innovative materials, nanomaterials, surfaces through industry-scalable processes
- Characterisation of the functional properties of materials and surfaces
- Physics and chemistry of solids and surfaces
- Corrosion, engineering of materials and surfaces, process engineering, ion/matter interactions
The range of skills and equipment enable SAM to provide effective support for root cause analysis, materials expertise; applied and fundamental research in materials and surface science; materials and surface engineering; technological development; etc
The SAM is both a fundamental and applied research facility and an analytical services laboratory. Its roles are to:
- Promote an interface between research and industry
- Improve the competitiveness of enterprises by providing them with innovative technologies
- Assist and support industries in all phases of development of their products
- Undertake diagnostics and provide a technological solution to industries’ needs.
TECHNICAL MEANS
Materials analysis
- Metallography (chemical etching; optical microscopy)
- Scanning Probe microscopy SPM (AFM, EFM, MFM)
- Scanning electron microscopy (FESEM and SEM) equipped with EDS and WDS detectors
- Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with EDS and EELS detectors
- Field Emission Auger electron spectrometry (FE-AES)
- X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, ESCA)
- Fourier-transform InfraRed Spectrometry (FTIR)
- Secondary ion mass spectrometry in static & dynamic mode (ToF-SIMS, D-SIMS and NanoSIMS)
- X-ray diffractometry (texture, strain measurement, GID and XRR capabilities, hot stage up to 1100°C)
Surface treatment
- Plasma diagnostics (optical spectrometry; electrical measurements; etc.)
- Plasma reactors at atmospheric pressure (DBD plasma; DBD torch; microwave torch)
- Plasma assisted vacuum deposition technologies: magnetron sputtering, IBAD, HIPIMS, PIII&D
- Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE)
Nanomaterials
Up-to-date, industrial and up-scalable process technologies are used:
- Metal-Organic and Rapid Thermal Chemical Vapour Deposition processes (with Direct-Liquid precursors injection and plasma-assistance capabilities),
- Atomic Layer Deposition processes for 2D/3D materials and powders; including the use of a “fluidized-bed” reactor and plasma-assisted processes,
- Advanced nano-imprint technologies,
- Advanced reactive focused-ion-beam for nanodeposition, nanoetching and 3D analysis of large area samples,
- Advanced colloidal synthesis of nano-objects,
- Advanced wet-chemical processes for controlled materials preparation,
- Novel and proprietary technologies for vapour phase polymer deposition.
Instrumental development
- Cation mass spectromete
- “Storing Matter” instrument
- Ion source characterisation and electrostatic optical columns bench
Other equipment
- Measurement of contact angle and surface energy
- Measurement of adhesion: peeling test
- Surface profilometry
- Tribometry (up to 1000°C)
MAIN CUSTOMERS
ESA, CNES
MAJOR SPACE PROJECTS
Solar Sail Materials: aims at developing a solar sail for payload transportation. The SAM is in charge of the definition and production of an efficient coated polymer-based membrane with optimized properties regarding optical response and durability in space environment.
EASIMECA: aims at providing an innovative microtensile test that will enable to characterize the mechanical properties of freestanding nanostructured thin films that are used in micro- and nano-technologies (MEMS for exemple).
The whole set-up will form a mobile tool, transportable by hand with the possibility to be coupled with many in-situ experiments (SEM, FIB, AFM).