Ion beam analysis of advanced coating products and air particulate matter

(1) GNS Science
(2) University Bochum

GNS Science is a leading research organisation in New Zealand that is undertaking and developing ion beam science and technology for end-user needs. We present in this overview presentation ion beam science and research using technology development at GNS Science. We have developed ion beam based devices for industry trials, designed and built low energy ion implanters as well as ion beam analysis beam lines for materials research and air pollution science. Our science focusses on the need of New Zealand’s research community, regulatory authorities and small scale industries. We will present science in environment and materials research. In the first part of the presentation, we will present ion beam analysis results of our materials research. We will present ion beam analysis research using RBS, NRA, resonant NRA in diamond-like carbon coatings (DLC) produced with direct ion deposition, a technique that has proven to produce coatings with custom-designed thickness, adjustable sp2/sp3 ratio, hardness and high elasticity. We have built three different systems for creating DLC coatings with high purity, fast growth rate and even the ability to coat inner walls of pipes. The latter uses a novel ion source design which uses non rotating parts to coat the inside of pipes in 360 degree geometry simultaneously. We will discuss the role of hydrogen in DLC coatings deposited at various ion energy as measured with the 15N-method. In the last part of the ion beam analysis results section, we will reveal the stoichiometric changes on nanostructured multifunctional multiferroic thin films and present IBA results that have helped to determine the depth of heavy metal impurity in the polymer material used for microfluidic device. The presentation will be concluded by an outlook into the future: what are future niches for ion beam science and technology?