Kocijan Martina
Croatia
University of Rijeka
The Faculty of Physics and the Centre for Micro- and Nanosciences and Technologies are part of the University of Rijeka. The Faculty of Physics is dedicated to teaching at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. In addition to its educational focus, the faculty engages in various research activities in both theoretical and experimental physics. These activities cover a wide range of fields, including condensed matter physics, astrophysics, nuclear and molecular physics, elementary particle physics, environmental physics, and educational physics.
Centre for Micro- and Nanosciences and Technologies conducts several activities in the field of micro- and nano sciences and technologies:
• pursues and develops scientific research,
• proposes scientific and development projects,
• encourages and conducts international scientific collaboration,
• conducts projects, studies and expertises in collaboration with business,
• provides scientific equipment and service to other scientific and business entities,
• provides educational activities for the departments and faculties of the University,
• conducts mentorships for Ph.D. students,
• organizes scientific and specialized congresses.
Research is conducted through projects financed by national funds, including the Croatian Science Foundation, the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia, and industrial collaborations; regional funding such as bilateral projects; European funding agencies; or international collaborations.
Main topics/techniques developped in the Institute/University/Company :
• understanding of the reduction mechanism of metal oxide thin films, induced by bombardment with low-energy ions under vacuum conditions (ivna.kavre@uniri.hr; rpeter@phy.uniri.hr; iva.saric@uniri.hr)
• chemical, structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of thin semiconductor films (titanium dioxide, zinc oxide) grown by the ALD method (ivna.kavre@uniri.hr; rpeter@phy.uniri.hr; iva.saric@uniri.hr)
• investigation of the surface morphology of the materials by Scanning Electron Microscopy (ivna.kavre@uniri.hr)
• synthesis of thin films (organic – azide-alkyne click reactions and inorganic - SiOx, TiO2, ZnO, CuO/Cu2O, Al2O3) by ALD method and plasma enhanced ALD (iva.saric@uniri.hr)
• tribological and mechanical properties of thin films grown with various deposition techniques (mpercic@riteh.hr)
Main equipments available in the Institute/University/Company :
A Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is used to observe and characterise heterogeneous organic and inorganic materials on a nanometre (nm) to micrometre (μm) scale. The SEM is capable of obtaining 3D-like images of the surfaces of a wide range of materials. It is possible to examine many characteristics of the sample (surface topography, crystallography, chemical composition, etc.).
The SEM equipment is a JEOL Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (JSM-7800F) with a maximal resolution of 0.8 nm, an acceleration voltage of 0.01 – 30 kV, and a magnification range of x25 – x1000000.
It is equipped with the following detectors:
• Lower secondary electron detector (LED)
• Upper secondary electron detector (UED)
• Backscattered electron detector (BED)
• Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) detector
• Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer X-MaxN 80, Oxford Instruments (EDS).
Sample Preparation Equipment
• Precision Etching and Coating System (Gatan PECS II Model 685) – with two ion guns for etching solid samples with low-energy Ar+ ions (energy range 0.1 – 8 keV). It can also be used for coating samples with C, Au, Pt/Pd, Cr, and Pt.
• Precision Ion Polishing System (Gatan PIPS II Model 695) – with two ion guns for polishing solid samples with low-energy Ar+ ions (energy range 0.1 – 8 keV). Primarily used for sample preparation for scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM).
• Critical Point Dryer (Quorum K 850) – used for dehydration of biological samples (replaces water with liquid CO2).
• Precision Diamond Wire Saw (Well 3242) – stainless steel wire with diamond particles used for cutting various types of samples. It provides smooth and sharp edges.
• Precision Diamond Blade Saw (Buehler Iomet 1000) – used for cutting different materials (metals, glass, ceramics, plastics, biomaterials) causing minimal deformation.
• Disc Grinder – used for thinning samples.
• Dimple Grinder – used for thinning samples to electron transparency suitable for STEM/TEM analysis.
Contact information: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivna Kavre Piltaver (ivna.kavre@uniri.hr)
X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) is an analysis technique that offers information about chemical elements and can also yield insights into chemical bonding.
The XPS for conducting measurements is a SPECS system that comes with the following additional devices:
• FOCUS 500 – X-ray source,
• PHOIBOS 100 MCD-5 – 100 mm hemispherical analyzer,
• IQE 11/35 – ion gun for low-energy ions of inert and reactive gases (0.3-5 keV),
• LN2 - 800oC – precise XYZ manipulator samples holder with controlled heating and cooling,
• turbo pump (Pfeiffer) and titanium sublimation pump (Hositrad) for the main chamber,
• turbo pump (Pfeiffer) for prechamber,
• sealed water-cooling system for the X-ray source and vacuum turbo pumps,
• FG 500 – electron gun.
Secondary Mass Ion Spectrometry (SIMS) is a microanalytical technique used to determine the composition (isotopic, elemental, and/or molecular) of a specific microvolume of solid material. The SIMS instrument employed for measurements is equipped with a Hidden system.SIMS measurements can be performed in three operating modes:
• Static SIMS: measurement of mass spectra of the specimen surface
• Dynamic SIMS: depth profiling of selected elements or molecules in the sample
• Surface imaging: elemental imaging of the sample surface
Contact information: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Robert Peter (rpeter@phy.uniri.hr)
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a technique for depositing thin inorganic films, characterised by exceptional precision in film thickness (in the Å-nm range). ALD can be utilised to coat wafers, planar objects, porous bulk materials, as well as particles and complex 3D structures. The system used for preparing thin films is a Beneq TFS 200.
Contact information: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Iva Šarić (iva.saric@uniri.hr)
UV-vis spectroscopy is a technique for measuring the amount of light absorbed or transmitted by a sample at various wavelengths of ultraviolet (UV) and visible (Vis) light. The EVOLUTION 201 UV-vis spectrophotometer is used in the laboratory to monitor the photocatalytic removal of dyes from water.
Contact information: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aleš Omerzu (aomerzu@phy.uniri.hr)