Newsletter - April 2007

Welcome to the April 2007 issue of the CSMA newsletter

Surface Analysis Workshop-A Success!

Over 40 people from industries including medical device, pharmaceutical, engineering, defence, semiconductor, electronics and optical devices, as well as packaging and lubricants attended the CSMA surface analysis workshop.

The workshop provided an opportunity to learn more about the theory of a range of surface analysis techniques and provided examples of the benefits of surface analysis in the form of industrial case studies.

Laboratory demonstrations and confidential one-to-one discussions were also held.

Robert Burnage, senior product scientist at Rexam Beverage Can Europe Ltd commented: “The content of the presentations was excellent and the laboratory demonstrations provided good information on sample sizes and general capabilities which would be useful in day-to-day work”.

To register your interest in attending the 2008 surface analysis workshop please contact Justine Bentley e-mail justine.bentley@ceram.com

ACTECO Washing Machine

As part of a 4-year European Project (ACTECO) involving 25 partners from 8 countries, CSMA is applying its surface analysis techniques (XPS, ToFSIMS) to study coatings on textiles. Over the last two years, CSMA has worked with partners to develop coatings on polyester and polypropylene fabrics to produce:

Repellent and self-decontaminating surfaces for the non-adhesion of bacteria e.g. for surgical and hygiene applications.

Active anti-bacterial coatings which will kill bacteria on contact with the fabric surface e.g. clothing (casual, medical, sportswear).

In addition to being functional, the coatings must be durable and able to survive multiple washes. CSMA has now purchased a temperature-controllable washing machine whereby treated fabrics (and other materials) can undergo washing cycles in a manner that allows the washed/rinsed/dried fabrics to be studied using surface analysis.

The addition of the washing machine will enable studies not only into fabrics but also hair samples and components such as medical implants which come into contact with numerous liquid species during use.

For further information about the ACTECO project please visit www.acteco.org

For further information about the powerful combination of controlled washing programmes and surface analysis please contact Justine Bentley, e-mail justine.bentley@ceram.com

Law London Review

CSMA, in conjunction with our parent company CERAM, recently exhibited at Law London 2007. Acknowledged as the largest exhibition aimed at the legal profession CSMA highlighted our Expert Witness services with a stand and seminar given by Prof. Geoff Edgell. A materials expert witness can make all the difference during litigation and CSMA has Bond Solon trained experts on staff to undertake analysis, compose reports and appear in court for both civil and criminal trials.

CSMA and CERAM are offering free one-hour knowledge sessions for people wanting to find out more about how Materials Experts can help win cases.

For further information please contact Justine Bentley, e-mail justine.bentley@ceram.com

XPS Depth Profiles

Further to the information in the last CSMA Newsletter the Kratos Axis Ultra is now fully commissioned.

One of the increased capabilities is the depth profiling function which allows quantified elemental information with depth to be gathered.

Figure 1 shows a depth profile of a novel coated substrate highlighting Al, N and Si. As can be seen measurements are taken as the ion beam etches through the material. Depths from the outer nm through to 500nm can be analysed and reported providing valuable information for development teams.

XPS depth profiling has been utilised to determine the layer thickness of coatings as well as characterising multi-layer coatings. Used as part of quality control or as a troubleshooting tool the Kratos Axis Ultra provides excellent depth resolution to compliment the quantification features.

Figure 1: XPS Depth Profile