2024 Introduction to SEM and FIB microanalysis

26 November – 29 November, 2024, Empa Thun

REGISTRATION DEADLINE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15

Modern Scanning Electron Microscopes, when combined with focused ion beams (Dual beam FIBs), provide a larger number of multi-modal imaging and different analytical methods. The course format consists of introductory lectures, lectures on advanced techniques and practical work. This course may be validated for 2 ECTS credits in the doctoral programs of EPFL and ETH Zurich, after acceptance by the corresponding institution. In this case, students will need to attend every lecture and pass a final written examination.

Program

Tuesday, 26 November: SEM and FIB: Instrumentation and Principles

9.00 SEM+FIB: mode of operation; Dr. Lorenz Herrmann, Empa

11.00 SEM+FIB: Image formation and interpretation; Dr. Lorenz Herrmann, Empa

13.00 Lunch break

14.00 FIB: Milling and Fabrication; Prof. Johann Michler, Empa

15:30 Elemental analyses with FIB-TOFSIMS; Prof. Johann Michler, Empa

17.00 End of Day 1


Wednesday, 27 November: SEM Analytics I: Elemental analyses

9.00 Elemental analyses with EDS; Dr. Xavier Maeder, Empa

10:30 Elemental analyses with WDS and µ-XRF; Dr. Xavier Maeder, Empa

12.00 Lunch break

13:00 Introduction to Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES); Dr. Xavier Maeder, Empa

15.00 Introduction to Atom Probe Tomography (APT); Prof. Johann Michler, Empa

17:00 Demonstration and teaching in front of the SEM; Dr. Xavier Maeder, Dr. Johann Michler, Empa

18.00 End of Day 2

 

Thursday, 28 November: SEM Analytics II: Electron diffraction

9:00 Introduction to ECCI; Dr. Xavier Maeder, Empa

10:30 Introduction to EBS; Dr. Xavier Maeder, Empa

12.00 Lunch break

13.00 EBSD techniques: Texture, advanced EBSD indexing, 3D-EBSD, TKD; Dr. Xavier Maeder, Empa

15.00 Advanced EBSD techniques: HR-EBSD; Dr. Xavier Maeder, Empa

17.00 End of Day 3


Friday, 29 November: Advanced analytics and complementary techniques.

9:00 Advanced diffraction technique in SEM: LEND; Dr. Xavier Maeder, Empa

10:30 Introduction to TEM: TEM vs SEM for imaging and diffraction; Dr. Xavier Maeder, Empa

12.00 Lunch break

13:00 Advanced SEM in-situ techniques; Dr. Xavier Maeder, Empa

16.00 Written Exam

17:00 End of Day 4


Registration and participation fees

This course is open to participants with a basic background in materials science, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, micro-technology or physics. It is taught in English and is limited to a maximum of 16 participants.

The fee is CHF250 for doctoral students from EPFL and Empa, CHF450 for doctoral students from other academic institutions and CHF700 for other academic researchers. The registration fee for all other participants is CHF1500.  Please note that payment is required upon registration via the PayOnline system through this link.  Please do not register until you are ready to make the payment via credit card, Paypal or Twint. EPFL students may request to have the invoice sent directly to their lab.

Location

The course will be held at Empa Thun.

Lecturers

Dr. Lorenz Herrmann

Since 2022, Lorenz Herrmann has been head of the Department “Advanced Materials and Surfaces” at Empa and a member of Empa’s directorate. He studied Physics at the University of Regensburg and the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. He followed a binational PhD program in solid state physics and received his degree in 2010 from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris and the University of Regensburg. Afterwards he joined ABB Corporate Research in Baden-Dättwil where he worked as a scientist, group leader and department head on technology development projects in the context of the company’s product portfolio. His main research interest is material development and characterization in the context of electrical engineering applications.

Dr. Xavier Maeder

Xavier Maeder is the group leader for research in microstructure at the Laboratory of Mechanics of Materials and Nanostructures at Empa. He studied geoscience at the University of Lausanne and earned his PhD in 2007 at the University of Mainz in Germany, where he worked on the physics of de-formation of rocks and minerals. In 2007-2008 he did one year post-doc at the department of Earth Sciences at the University of Utrecht, where he studied the microstructure and deformation mechanism of highly deformed limestone. He joined Empa in 2008, where he did three years post-doc working mainly on the microstructure and mechanical properties of thin films and coatings. In 2011, he took a first assistant position at the University of Lausanne, working on the deformation mechanism and mi-crostructure in shear zones. He moved back to materials science in 2012 as a post-doc at CSEM in Neuchâtel, where he conducted several applied project on microsystems and coatings using advanced X-ray diffraction techniques. Maeder is an expert in electron backscattered and X-ray diffraction techniques.

Prof. Johann Michler

Johann Michler is head of the Laboratory of Mechanics of Materials and Nanostructures at Empa. He received his diploma in Materials Science at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany in 1995 and a PhD degree in Materials Science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Switzerland in 2000. He has been a lecturer at EPFL since 2005. At Empa, he started his activities as staff scientist in mechanical properties of thin films in 2000. His current research interest focuses on scale dependent mechanical properties of materials. His research efforts include the development of in-situ SEM, Raman, AFM mechanical testing methods and novel synthesis methods for metals and semiconductors like electrochemical or physical vapor deposition. He is the author or co-author of more than 300 publications, organized several international conferences, and is co-founder of two start-ups.

Accommodation
Travel and accommodation should be reserved and paid for directly by the participants.