ALTECH 2024 - Analytical techniques for accurate nanoscale characterization of advanced materials

The symposium will be able to provide financial support for a small number of PhD students to participate at ALTECH (supported by EXSA). Priority will be given to students that would not be able to participate without such support.

Metrology is a prerequisite for the development of novel materials on the nanoscale, supporting the correlation of material properties and functionalities, and accelerating innovation. The expected contributions should demonstrate how innovative analytical techniques enable a deep understanding of new materials.

Scope:

Advanced Materials can have unique properties associated with their small dimensionality. Functional nanomaterials find use in a wide range of technological products, including energy conversion, energy storage, quantum devices, sensors and power electronics. Accurate nanoscale characterization of advanced materials is essential to accelerate product innovation and to assess health and environmental risks. Additionally, advanced and engineered nanomaterials are critical to support the development and calibration of advanced measurement systems.

Nanoscale metrology of advanced materials relies on the ability to measure relevant properties, with nm or even atomic resolution, in three dimensions over large areas and traceable to e.g. SI units. This pushes analytical techniques to their limits requiring new innovative approaches to face state of the art problems.

This Symposium will cover recent and innovative developments in analytical techniques that can provide precise characterization of materials and devices with nanoscale and/or atomic resolution. The objective of this symposium is both to highlight the capabilities of precise techniques for the determination of the key structural and material parameters and for a better understanding of the functional properties of challenging new materials. One major focus will be on application of these techniques to new and complex materials systems with high potential of industrial application which includes nanoscale objects (nanowires, quantum dots, particles), nanostructured thin films and compound semiconductors, functionalized surfaces and nanomaterials in complex matrices. Demonstration of in situ capabilities for a deeper understanding of the structure formation is expected. A special focus will be on correlative metrology, where different analytical techniques support each other to solve analytical problems, as these are crucial for the analysis of complex materials, where often a single measurement method is not sufficient to ensure metrological precision, traceability, and a well-described uncertainty budget. Also, for optoelectronic devices, the ability of electrical characterization at the nanoscale is becoming crucial. In addition, novel advanced sampling methods (e.g. compressive sensing) and advanced data analysis and computational methods will be covered.

Hot topics to be covered by the symposium:

• Hybrid and correlative metrology for complex thin films and nanomaterials (e.g. new multiple parameter, multi-method approaches and correlative data analysis)
• Scanning probe techniques for high resolution characterization of organic, hybrid and inorganic semiconductors (SNOM, AFM, Kelvin Probe, tip-enhanced optical spectroscopy …)
• X-Ray diffraction, tomography, scattering and spectrometry-based applications on advanced materials and in nanoscience
• Advanced optical techniques, including spectroscopic, ultramicroscopy, interferometric and non-interferometric methods
• Metrology for energy materials, including energy conversion and storage
• Metrology for compound semiconductors materials and devices
• Recent developments of ion beam techniques for characterization of lateral and vertical thin films (e.g. MEIS, RBS, TOFSIMS, SIMS)
• Analytical techniques for characterization of surface chemistry (e.g. XPS, NEXAFS, EELS….) and of functionalized surfaces.
• Nanometrology: ex-situ, in-situ and operando measurement methods, reference materials and calibration samples
• Methods for measurement of nanomaterials in complex matrices, including health and environmental safety assessment

Confirmed list of invited speakers:

• Janusz Bogdanowicz, Imec, Belgium - Three-dimensional gate-all-around devices: a new realm for semiconductor nanometrology
• Sergio Brutti, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy - Nanocomposites electrodes for Li-sulfur batteries: materials properties, electrochemical reactions and performance
• Chen Chen, University of Cambridge - UK - Scanning capacitance microscopy of nitride high electron mobility transistors
• Enzo Di Fabrizio – Politecnico di Torino di Torino – Italy – Correlative methods for nanoscale characterization of stem cells and neurons
• Gabriel Gomila Lluch, University of Barcelona – Spain - Advanced nanoscale electrical characterisation in liquid environments
• Karin Kleiner – Meet – Germany – Speciation and coordination of NMC energy storage systems
• Bella Manshian – KU Leuven – Belgium – NP drug delivery systems and 3D ex vivo PCTS model utilizing multiparametric measurements for toxicity screening and efficacy testing of new drugs and nanomedical formulations
• Majumdar Sayani – Tampere University – Finland – Bio-inspired electronics and neuromorphic computing
• Claudia Schnohr – University of Leipzig – Germany - Atomic-scale structure of complex semiconductors used for thin film solar cells
• Valentina Spampinato – University of Catania – Innovative Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry approaches for the physico-chemical characterization of advanced materials
• Ilia Valov – FZ Jülich – Germany – Characterisation of nanoscaled memristive devices
• Nikolay Zheludev – University of Southampton – UK – The Birth of Picophotonics (Keynote)

Confirmed list of scientific committee members

• Claudia Fleischmann / Imec – Belgium
• Petr Klapetek / CMI – Czech Republic
• Natascia de Leo / INRIM – Italy
• Francois Piquemal / LNE – France
• Maria Alfredsson / University of Kent - United Kingdom
• Sebastian Risse / HZB – Germany
• Steffi Friedrichs / AcumenISTs - Belgium
• Sebastian Wood / NPL – United Kingdom
• Narciso Gambacorti / CEA-LETI – France
• Philipp Hoenicke / PTB – Germany
• François-Xavier Ouf / LNE - France

Publication:

Original Research and Review articles related to the symposium will be published in a Special Issue of physica status solidi (a) - applications and materials science (pss a) (Wiley-VCH). pss (a) is a hybrid subscription-based journal that offer authors the option to publish their articles Open Access (OA). The OA option is compliant with national or funder mandates, supported by an ever-increasing number of countries and institutions around the world. (https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/Journal-Authors/open-access/affiliation-policies-payments/index.html).

Best posters will receive 2 Best Poster Awards supported by Wiley-VCH.