Ceramics

Ceramic materials are widely used in high-performance applications, from electronics and energy devices to biomedical implants and aerospace components, thanks to their thermal stability, chemical resistance, and mechanical strength. To optimise these materials for demanding environments, surface characterisation is essential. Advanced analytical techniques like Near Ambient Pressure XPS (NAP-XPS) and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) are especially well suited to the unique challenges of ceramic surfaces.

NAP-XPS, offered by SPECS Surface Nano Analysis, is ideal for analysing ceramics due to its ability to operate under near-realistic pressure conditions and its built-in charge compensation capabilities. Ceramics are often porous, insulating, and chemically complex, making traditional ultra-high vacuum techniques difficult to apply without elevating the system pressure or altering the material’s native state. NAP-XPS overcomes these challenges by allowing direct chemical analysis of porous or hydrated surfaces without conductive coatings, while the system’s native charge neutralisation supports accurate measurements on insulating substrates. This makes it an excellent choice for characterising surface treatments, doping, sintering effects, or degradation mechanisms in technical ceramics.

LIBS, available from AtomTrace, complements XPS by enabling fast, multi-elemental analysis with minimal sample preparation. Particularly effective for hard, brittle materials like ceramics, LIBS uses a focused laser pulse to ablate a small amount of material, generating a plasma that reveals the sample’s elemental composition. It is especially valuable for quality control, mapping elemental distributions, and detecting trace impurities in ceramic coatings, oxides, and advanced composites. Its high throughput and field portability also make LIBS a strong candidate for on-site analysis in production or research environments.

NAP-XPS and LIBS are complimentary techniques for comprehensive ceramic surface analysis—combining depth-resolved chemical insights with rapid elemental profiling. These techniques support material development, failure analysis, and performance optimisation across the entire ceramic lifecycle.

Relevant products

IONTOF M6 TOF-SIMS

The M6 is the latest generation of high-end TOF-SIMS instruments developed by IONTOF. Its design guarantees superior performance in all fields of SIMS applications. Ground-breaking ion beam and mass analyser technologies make the M6 the benchmark in SIMS instrumentation and the ideal tool for industrial and academic research. The instrument includes:

M6 TOF Analyser: The revolutionary design of the extraction optics, the ion transfer and detection system provides an unmatched level of mass resolution, mass accuracy and transmission.

Nanoprobe 50: The Nanoprobe 50 is the latest generation bismuth cluster ion source for the M6. It provides highest beam currents and ultimate lateral resolutions down to 50 nm, guaranteed.

 

 

View Product

AFM Workshop HR High Resolution AFM

The HR Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) from AFM Workshop is an advanced yet affordable AFM for researchers that need the highest resolution scanning capabilities. Due to the 35 picometre noise floor, it is ideal for researchers that need to visualise and measure nanometre or sub-nanometre-sized surface features. The system includes two optical microscopes. From the top, the HR AFM has a research grade video optical microscope with a 7:1 mechanical zoom, a 5 MP camera, and a coaxial light. With a resolution of < 2 microns, this microscope is ideal for locating features on a surface for scanning. The side view video microscope has a 2 mp camera and an off axis LED light source. This camera is used for visualizing the distance between the probe and the sample. This microscope is especially helpful for assisting probe approach on clear samples as well as samples that don’t reflect light. The HR AFM utilizes a unique probe holder/exchange mechanism. Probes are held in place with a spring device that mates with a probe exchange tool. This combination makes changing probes fast and easy.

Electronics in the HR AFM are constructed around industry-standard USB data acquisition electronics. The critical functions, such as XY scanning, are optimised with a 24-bit digital to analogue converter. With the analogue Z feedback loop, the highest fidelity scanning is possible. Vibrating mode scanning is possible with both phase and amplitude feedback using the high sensitivity phase detection electronics. Software for acquiring images is designed with the industry standard LabVIEWâ„¢ programming visual interface instrument design environment. There are many standard functions, including setting scanning parameters, probe approach, frequency tuning, and displaying images in real time. LabVIEWâ„¢ facilitates rapid development for those users seeking to enhance the software with additional special features. LabVIEW also allows the HR AFM to be readily combined with any other instrument using LabVIEW.

View Product

AtomTrace Sci-Trace

The AtomTrace SciTrace is a modular instrument designed from the ground up for high quality Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) Measurements. The instrument can either be configured as a vacuum-based instrument, or as a simple open “cage” chamber where the sample is measured under ambient conditions. The vacuum body provides protection against laser reflections and potentially toxic ablated materials. All windows are covered with laser filters. The system can easily be configured to house multiple lasers all pointing at the sample target for multiple / double pulsed LIBS in order to enhance the detection limits.

View Product

AtomTrace M-Trace

The M-Trace is a truly portable solution for Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). Easily transportable by car for in-the-field analysis, the system is an all in one solution for fast, non-destructive chemical analysis. The system can be powered by batteries and weighs less than 30Kg. It uses a class 1 laser so requires no additional laser safety.

View Product

EnviroESCA

This novel and smart analysis tool overcomes the barriers of standard XPS systems by enabling analyses at pressures far above UHV. EnviroESCA is designed from the ground up for high-throughput analysis and opens up new applications in the fields of medical technology, biotechnology and the life sciences.

It offers the shortest loading-to-measurement time on samples of all types including liquids, tissue, plastics and foils, powders, soil, zeolites, rocks, minerals and ceramics

View Product

ProvenX NAP

The SPECS ProvenX NAP is available with backfilling configuration or with In-Situ Cell (DeviSIM, like a small compact reactor). It is a performance optimised system for state of the art NAP-XPS as well as NAP-UPS measurements from UHV up to 30 mbar pressure range. It contains a PHOIBOS 150 NAP analyser with unsurpassed transmission and angular acceptance, a high performance small spot monochromatic X-ray source µ-FOCUS 600 NAP, a 4-axes manipulator or DeviSIM with NAP different heating capabilities as well as an optional non-monochromatic UV source UVS 300 NAP.

View Product

AEOLOS 150 Analyser

Highest transmission wide angle hemispherical energy analyser with 60° acceptance angle, and AD-CMOS detector for photo electron spectroscopy measurements (XPS and UPS) and angular resolved studies (ARXPS) in the pressure regime from UHV to near ambient pressure (NAP upgradable). With this analyser NAP-HAXPES measurements up to 10 keV can be performed.

View Product

µFOCUS 450

This small spot source is equipped with Al anode in the standard configuration and two upgradable higher energies anodes (Ag, and Cr) for HAXPES capabilities. The µFOCUS 450 monochromator together with the XR-MC micro-focus X-ray source is perfectly suited for small spot, high resolution, and high intensity XPS measurements. The X-ray monochromator operates according to Bragg’s Law of X-ray diffraction. Each wavelength of X-rays (Al Kα, Ag Lα, Cr Kα) is reflected from individually optimized crystals at a specific angle of reflection. For the Al and Ag anodes, quartz crystal are used, which have a 450 mm and 416 mm Rowland circle diameter respectively , whereas for Cr germanium crystals are used with a 676 mm Rowland circle. Due to its overall compactness, the µFOCUS 450 is suitable for mounting on almost any analysis chambers as a bolt-on component. Furthermore, being already equipped with a Si3N4 window, by using the differentially pumped NAP extension, the µFOCUS 450 allows to carry out XPS measurements under gas atmospheres of up to 50 mbar.

View Product

IONTOF M6 Plus: Combining TOF-SIMS and SPM in situ

The tool for nano characterisation
Information regarding the chemical composition, physical properties, and three-dimensional structure of materials and devices at the nanometre scale is crucial for new developments in nanoscience and nanotechnology. In a 3D SIMS measurement, the initial topography of the sample surface, as well as topographic changes during the experiment, cannot be easily identified. Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) provides complementary information about the surface topography and can also be used to measure the physical properties of the analysed sample.
Through the combination of these two techniques true in situ three-dimensional chemical imaging becomes possible. The M6 Plus platform combines the high-end performance of the M6 with the possibility to perform in situ SPM measurements. The large area SPM unit has a scan range of up to 80 x 80 x 10 µm3 and is ideally suited to provide topographic information for true 3D SIMS measurements.
Micrometre position accuracy
The piezo sample stage of the M6 Plus with sub-micron position accuracy ensures fast and precise movement between the TOF-SIMS and the SPM measurement position.
The stage has a 10 nm encoder resolution and travel speeds of up to 10 mm/s which guarantees a high level of precision and stability.
True 3D chemical imaging
Some samples have a strong initial surface topography which cannot be identified correctly with TOF-SIMS. By combining the chemical information of TOF-SIMS with the dimensional information of SPM a true three-dimensional chemical image can be generated.
Surface profiler mode
The SPM module of the M6 Plus also allows for detailed analysis of large sputter craters. In the so-called surface profiler mode multiple SPM scans are stitched together to measure long SPM line scans. This unique SPM mode is extremely valuable to precisely determine the depth of sputter craters or to measure crater roughness on the nanometre scale.
View Product

For more information

Contact Us