Corrosion

• Testing in H₂S environments
  • dedicated test laboratory
• Materials selection for resistance to environment assisted cracking
  • proof rings, 4 pt bend, C-rings; slow strain rate and corrosion fatigue, HIC
  • drop-evaporation SCC kit
  • hydrogen permeation test systems to measure hydrogen uptake and diffusion rate
• 8 autoclaves for high pressure/high temperature testing
• Corrosion inhibition measurement
  • small-scale flow loop
  • multi-electrode underdeposit corrosion facility
• Pitting, crevice and intergranular corrosion evaluation
  • crevice assemblies
  • galvanic corrosion testing
  • electro-potential reactivation test for intergranular corrosion in sensitized alloys and for depleted zones associated with particles (e.g. s-phase in DSS)
  • critical pitting temperature
  • pitting and repassivation potentials
  • potentiodynamic test stations
  • scanning electrochemical microscopy
• Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

• Failure analysis
• Corrosion consultancy

Photovoltaics and Organic Electronics

• Opto-electrical measurements
  • Display metrology
  • Electro-absorption: built-in electric field
  • Dark injection transient spectroscopy: charge mobility
  • Probe station with inert atmosphere and variable temperature linked to semiconductor parameter analyzer
  • Class AAA solar simulator: solar cell efficiency
  • Current vs. voltage measurements (in dark or under simulated sun light)
  • IPCE/EQE - Incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (external quantum efficiency): spectral photoresponse for solar cell characterization
  • Micro to millimeter scale photocurrent mapping (up to 225 cm2 samples) (LBIC, broadband illumination)
  • Electrical characterisation of interconnects

Electrochemical Testing and Imaging

• Potentiostatic/potentiodynamic polarisation
• Rotating disc/cylinder electrode systems
• Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM)
• Scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM)
• Scanning vibrating electrode system (SVET)
• Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)

Fuel cells

• Single cell and short stack testing up to 500 W (PEMFC)
• Instrumented single cell testing - in situ measurement of potential, humidity, temperature, localised current density
• Corrosion testing of metallic bipolar plates
• Electrochemical characterisation of fuel cell electrocatalysts

Material Characterisation

• Scanning probe microscopies
  • AFM - Atomic force microscopy: topography
  • SKPM - Scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (atmospheric and ultra-high vacuum): workfunction
  • C-AFM - Conductive AFM: nanoscale current response

• Surface analysis
  • XPS - X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy: surface chemical composition
  • UPS - Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy: material workfunction
  • TOF-SIMS – Time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry: chemical depth profiling
  • Contact angle measurement: surface energy mapping for print deposition characterisation
  • Spectroscopic ellipsometry: film thickness and optical properties

• Morphological characterisation
  • Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with EDX and WDX analysis
  • Field emission SEM: high-resolution images of nanoscale topographic features
  • Electron back-scattering diffraction (EBSD)
  • Confocal and optical microscopy: surface topography
  • White-light interferometry: surface roughness, topography

• Mechanical characterisation
  • Nano-indentation: modulus, creep, hardness and impact properties

• Rheology