You have a special project in mind with a new experimental concept and need a customized experimental set-up?
You want to measure several samples in parallel?
You have problems with degradation of your samples?
Tell us what kind of customized equipment you need. We have years of expertise in building specialized experimental equipment for fundamental research in the fields of electrochemistry and Solid State Ionics. This knowledge we want to use to build sustainable, functional and easy usable test stations for you.
In the following sections, you find some examples for customized equipment built by Huber Scientific.
IN SITU NEAR-AMBIENT PRESSURE XPS
A in situ sample stage to investigate thin film Solid State Devices at elevated temperatures (RT to +1000 °C) in gas atmosphere. The sample holder is equipped with a transfer mechanism for a thermocouple type S and a 3-electrode terminal for reference electrode measurements using the novel “Wing Geometry”.
More information is available soon.
SYNCHROTRON EXPERIMENTS
This Setup allows to perform electrical measurements on microstructured devices, microelectrodes and point electrodes with in situ synchrotron experiments.
More information is available soon.
MICROELECTRODE TEST STATION CF VERSION
A test station for microelectrode measurements down to the µm range at elevated temperatures and changeable gas atmospheres.
Specifications:
- Measurement methods: Impedance spectroscopy, current-voltage measurments, Van der Pauw measurements
- Minimal Step size: 50 nm
- Vacuum flanges: CF
- Temperature range: room temperature to 1000 °C / 1200 °C depending on the
- requested heater
- Up to three piezo controlled + additional four manual adjustable arms
- Sample size: Diameter 20 mm (larger samples possible on request)
- Set-up size: 500×500×500 mm
- Pressure range: 1 bar to 10e-10 mbar
Additional Equipment:
- Mass flow controllers for gas mixtures
- High pressure gas washing bottle for humidity control
- Oxygen gas sensor to monitor the oxygen partial pressure
Advantages:
- Excellent electric shielding guaranteed in the frequency range of 106 – 10-3 Hz
- High mechanical stability against vibrations or mechanical shocks
- High precision. Micro contacts with a dimension of 2 µm can be contacted without destruction
- Small gas volume. Smaller amount of expensive gases e.g. isotope tracer gases
- Micro contacts can be changed at elevated temperature and in gas atmosphere
- High precision micro-patterned structures of a few microns can be gently contacted within seconds
IN SITU NEUTRON REFLECTVITY MEASUREMENTS
This set-up has five individual spring mounted needles to contact five micro devices on one sample. It is possible to polarize an electrochemical cell and measure the sheet resistance with Van-der Pauw while performing beam line experiments. This versatile sample holder is designed for various applications in the fields of electrochemistry and Solid State Ionics. It can be used in cryogenic measurements up to 120 °C but and can be adapted to high temperature measurements.
IN SITU PLD HEATER
A PLD heater with in situ measurement capabilities. Individual micro contacts allow to monitor the thin film electrically during the deposition process.
More information is available soon.
MICROELECTRODE TEST STATION
A test station for microelectrode measurements down to the µm range at elevated temperatures and changeable gas atmospheres.
Specifications:
- Measurement methods: Impedance spectroscopy, current-voltage measurments, Van der Pauw measurements
- Minimal Step size: 50 nm
- Vacuum flanges: ISO-KF
- Temperature range: room temperature to 1000 °C / 1200 °C depending on the
- requested heater
- Up to three piezo controlled + additional four manual adjustable arms
- Sample size: Max 14×14 mm (larger samples possible on request)
- Set-up size: 500×500×500 mm
- Pressure range: 1 bar to 10e-3 mbar
Additional Equipment:
- Mass flow controllers for gas mixtures
- High pressure gas washing bottle for humidity control
- Oxygen gas sensor to monitor the oxygen partial pressure
Advantages:
- Excellent electric shielding guaranteed in the frequency range of 106 – 10-3 Hz
- High mechanical stability against vibrations or mechanical shocks
- High precision. Micro contacts with a dimension of 2 µm can be contacted without destruction
- Small gas volume. Smaller amount of expensive gases e.g. isotope tracer gases
- Micro contacts can be changed at elevated temperature and in gas atmosphere
- High precision micro-patterned structures of a few microns can be gently contacted within seconds
OXYGEN PUMP
Measure your samples in oxygen partial pressures from 1 bar to 10-30 bar.
MICRO CONTACT TEST STATION
A micro contact test station for electrical measurements on microstructured devices, microelectrodes and point electrodes.
IN SITU OPTICAL TEST STATION
Combine in situ optical measurements with electrical and gas exchange measurements at elevated temperatures. This setup can work in reflective and transmission mode and can measure samples with a maximal diameter of 20 mm.
THREE- AND FOUR-POINT REFERENCE ELECTRODE TEST STATION
There are two common methods to measure the impedance response of only one electrode of a solid-state electrochemical cell; microelectrodes or a three-terminal configuration. In aqueous electrochemistry, three-terminal configurations are widely used, however, implementing this method in solid-state electrochemistry is highly non-trivial. Three important error sources are present in non aquarius systems:
- Asymmetric sample cells
- Short circuit currents across the reference electrode (RE)
- Especially for highly resistive electrodes, coupling capacitances between the three electrodes.
These error sources can result in different measurement errors such as additional high frequency semicircles, additional low frequency semicircles, inductive loops and even more critical, erroneous electrode properties without indicating of additional features in the impedance spectrum.
This test station in combination with the novel sample geometry, called wing geometry, minimizes measurement errors and provides a tool for reference electrode measurements for a wide range of applications.
MULTI SAMPLE TEST STATION
Measure up to four samples in four wire mode in parallel in the same atmosphere and at the same temperature.
SPUTTER & IMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY
A magnetron sputter chamber with in situ measurement capabilities. Individual micro contacts allow to monitor the thin film electrically during the deposition process.
More information is available soon.
TRACER EXCHANGE SET-UP
Tracer exchange experiments can be a powerful tool to study diffusion properties [7][8], surface exchange reactions [9], visualize reaction sites [10], identify grain boundaries and other defects [11][12], identify different reaction pathways [13] or use it to post analyses diffusion properties of other operando experiment [14].
Tracer exchange experiments are not limited to gaseous oxygen tracer exchanges. There are several other methods available as well: E.G. Tracer marked water [5], hydrogen [16] or solid tracers for cation diffusion [17].
We already developed vacuum chambers for:
- Thermal exchanges
- Voltage driven exchanges
- Short time exchanges including fast heating and quenching inside the chamber
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