AMaChaS · Advanced Material Characterisation System

Advanced Material Characterisation System is a multidisciplinary project combining cutting-edge nano fabrication, materials growth and advanced x-ray synchrotron techniques for the investigation of materials with fundamental and technological relevance. Its aim is to provide advances both at the level of nanoscale materials preparation as well as the characterisation techniques, enabling experiments on high quality materials in a form that is not available today, pushing the nanoscale spatial resolution. First goal: To develop the know-how in nanofabrication of sample-integrated holography-masks for x-ray holography. It also provides novel ideas to perfect and refine the processes to push the technique ultimate resolution. Lens-less coherent x-ray imaging is considered as one enclosing the biggest potential suitable to investigate specimens from solid state materials for solar, batteries or spintronic technologies to applied materials such as polymers or biological matter. Second goal: The project proposes to develop a novel bottom-up path for obtaining epitaxial single crystalline membranes of ferromagnetic, ferroelectric and superconducting materials. Such process will combines ultimate clean-room processing, focused-ion beam nano-fabrication, and most advanced growth of materials by molecular beam epitaxy & pulsed laser deposition. This will enable to advance the state-of-the-art of materials for high-resolution transmission x-ray and electron microscopies, allowing studies of a broad class of relevant materials in an unprecedented high-quality form and unperturbed state. This project provides a unique opportunity to broad the knowledge and career skills of the MSCA candidate, which will coordinate and lead the efforts of the different researchers and centers involved in this synergic collaboration in the Scientific Cluster (BNC-b) and the UAB Campus of Excellence surrounding ALBA synchrotron facility.