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Program Leader
Zin Tun
Phone: 613-584-8811x43994
Fax: 613-584-4040
Email: Zin.Tun@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Thin Films and Surfaces
Neutron Reflectometry (NR) is the main tool for our investigations in the area of structural and magnetic properties of thin films, multilayers, interfaces, and surfaces. NR measures the reflected intensity from a surface or interfaces at grazing angles and can typically probe film thicknesses ranging from 1 to 200 nm. Under favourable conditions, these limits could be extended further. It is a very powerful technique because of its depth-sensitivity, i.e. it is possible to determine the chemical composition and magnetization along the surface normal. For example, one could study in-situ the growth of an oxide layer on a metal film or the swelling and water-uptake of polymer films during their exposure to water vapor or bulk water. By using polarized neutrons it is possible to determine the absolute magnetic moment in single films or the magnetic structure in multilayer samples. The magnetization reversal process can be studied gaining information on domain formation and rotation processes. Furthermore, it is possible to get information on the in-plane structure of a film like domain sizes by measuring the off-specular reflectivity.
In order to study different aspects of thin film research we have developed or adapted various sample environments for the use by NR:
- electrochemistry sample cell
- variable temperature, variable relative humidity sample cell
- variable temperature liquid sample cell
- cryomagnet with 300 mK < T < 300 K and
-7.5 T < B < 7.5 T
Complementary techniques available in our group are neutron and x-ray diffraction (large scattering angles) and magnetoresistance measurements.
Recent projects:
- Swelling of polyelectrolyte multilayers
- Swelling of lipid multilayers
- Passive oxides on zirconium
- magnetization of thin AuFe spin glass films
- magnetization reversal in a DyFe2/ErFe2 multilayer
- magnetization reversal in a Co/CoO exchange bias system
