Optical characterisation facility

About the facility

The facility can be used to probe the chemical, topographical and morphological characteristics of any material or device. All the equipment in the facility is supported by expert-user level technical staff.

Spectrophotometer

It features a Cary 5000 UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer that is capable of measuring transmission or absorption spectra of solid or liquid samples from 175nm to 3300nm with a resolution of up to 0.2 Angstroms, as well as reflectance spectra of solid materials from 300nm to 1800nm.

Raman spectroscopy

It also includes a Renishaw Microraman capable of performing Raman spectroscopic measurements on sample areas one micron in size. The Microraman is equipped with two measurement laser wavelengths; 514nm and 782nm, making this configuration particularly ideal for the study of carbon nanomaterials, including nanotubes and graphene.

Spectrometers

Also available in the laboratory is a Varian 660 FTIR spectrometer. Equipped with a Caesium Iodide beam splitter and DLaTGS detector, it is capable of measuring transmission and absorption spectra of solid materials from 6000 cm-1 to 225 cm-1, as well as Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) spectra of solid or liquid samples from 6000 cm-1 to 525 cm-1.

We have a Cary Eclipse Fluorescence spectrometer. The Cary Eclipse is capable of measuring fluorescence of liquid samples between 190nm and 1100nm.

Microscope

Finally, we have a state-of-the-art Keyence VHX-500 Digital Microscope, giving us the ability to take high resolution HDR digital images, as well as providing 3D modelling and imaging functionality up to a magnification of x1000. With this microscope, we can 3D image microstructures, producing measurable 3D model, as well as probe sample topography and surface morphology.