Adhesion

• Determine location and cause of adhesive bond failure
• Identify cause of coating or thin film delamination
• Adhesive and primer curing or composition characterization
• Evaluate surface preparation cleaning or anodization processes
• Determine presence and thickness of silane bonding agent film
• Check surface for plasticizer, excessive fire retardant, surfactant, fingerprints, hand lotions, tape residues, or mold release agents capable of degrading a bond
• Identify hydrated or laminated surface layer species on inorganic filler particles
• Determine whether glass surfaces are too alkaline (basic) for bonding
• Determine interfacial degradation changes to bondline chemistry
• Determine differences in chemistry on either side of peeled interfaces and compare to bulk chemistry
• Measure thermal expansion as a function of temperature to identify cause of thermal stresses
• Determine if metal oxide surface is too hydrated
• Check thermoplastic polymers for crystalline transition spike in thermal expansion
• Check surface for Ca, Mg, Zn, and other divalent metal contaminants or surface species that make hydrated surfaces too basic
• Detect migration of filler particles to interfaces of primers, paints, and adhesives

Chemical Identity

• Determine quantitative elemental compositions
• Quantitative composition chemical analysis
• Quantitative multiple chemical phase identification
• Identify outgassing species & rates
• Multilayer coating structure and chemistry identification
• Composite & ceramic materials fracture surface compositions
• Identify surface adsorbed species and surface chemical reactions
• Etched/leached surface composition
• Stoichiometry of sputter-deposited, chemical vapor deposited, or reaction deposited films
• Differentiate surface composition from bulk composition
• Determine surface chemistry of high-surface area or absorbing particles
• Determine elemental composition as a function of depth from a surface
• Identify organic materials
• Measure and identify grain boundary chemistry of brittle fractured materials
• Identify the chemistry of fill particles in plastics and composite materials
• Check chemical purity by measuring the heat of melting as a function of temperature
• Measure chemical composition by measuring weight change or decomposition with heating
• Measure oxygen-deficiency in metal oxides
• Measure amount of graphitic carbon versus carbides as a function of depth

Chemical Reactivity and Stability

• Determine powder surface chemistry
• Measure surface water content or total water content in a material
• Determine weight & identity of thermal decomposition species in inert or reactive gas environments
• Find chemical cause of film stresses
• Measure surface changes upon exposure to reactive environments of chemicals, UV or heat radiation, or plasma (RF or microwave)
• Detect and measure exothermal reactions and phase change endotherms
• Measure weight increase as a function of temperature due to reactions with flow gas
• Determine the glass transition temperature of polymers to find stable use temperature range
• Measure degree of reaction between layers of multilayer films or coatings as a function of temperature
• Measure energy and temperature of precipitation in metal alloys
• Determine degree of sensitization of metal alloys to corrosion
• Measure energy and temperature of intermetallic phase formation
• Measure filler particle migration to interfaces due to aging

Coatings & Films

• Determine stoichiometry of films (sputter deposited SiO₂ is often SiO_x where 1.5 < x < 2.0 for example)
• Depth profile to find out what underlies the surface film
• Examine surface or film crack morphologies
• Determine the corrosion resistance of a protective coating on a metal
• Measure the thickness of a coating or of multiple fine layers
• Measure the surface roughness of a coating
• Examine the oxidation or reaction of a coating heated in air or a particular gas atmosphere
• Determine the cause of delamination
• Measure the degree of hydration of a coating
• Measure the mineral or filler content of a dry or wet coating material
• Identify organic coatings
• Determine the composition of the filler materials in a coating, such as calcium carbonate, lead oxide, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, silica, alumina, aluminum trihydrate, fiberglass, Kevlar, mica, Kaolin clay, talc, etc.
• Determine heat output upon combustion or decomposition in air, inert gases, or other reactive gases
• Measure the coating weight change upon heating in a gas
• Determine the surface composition of a cured polymer coating
• Examine multilayered film structures such as antireflective coatings for uniformity of composition with depth
• Measure the viscosity of liquid coating materials
• Measure the coating curing energy with temperature
• Examine interlayer composition changes and reactions upon heating multilayered films or coatings
• Determine the VOC of a paint or polymer coating material
• Examine coating for agglomeration of fill particles
• Check coating surface for plasticizer or surfactant concentrations that prevent adhesive bonding to the surface
• Measure coating thickness variations
• Measure composition changes with depth from surface

Composite Materials

• Check surfaces for residues from peel-ply
• Composition at fracture surface
• Composition at interfaces between components
• Check surfaces for mold release agents
• Particle or fiber surface properties affecting strength, pull-out, or degradation
• Development of surface preparation processes for adhesive bonding or degradation control
• Control and preparation of particle or fiber properties for improved adhesive bonding
• Examine surface for mold-release agents or contaminants
• Determine weight percent composition of polymer matrix versus fiberglass or other reinforcement or filler materials
• Identify filler material composition
• Identify surface contamination from lay-up tape
• Identify resin material
• Examine silane coverage of fiberglass
• Determine the degree of hydration of any exposed filler particles since hydrated surface layers may be weak
• Cross section analysis to check for voids
• Cross section analysis to check for fiber alignment
• Check for fiber pull-out

Contamination and Cleaning

• Identify and measure surface contamination
• Test efficiency of aqueous, solvent, or CO₂ SnowJet cleaning processes
• Determine suitability of plasma (RF or microwave), UV cleaning, & ultrasonic processes
• Identify residues from solvents to determine the source of residue or to qualify solvents
• Measure surface-segregated impurities & phases due to bulk-lattice instability, heating, or surface reaction-induced diffusion
• Qualify surfaces of high value-added components for further non-reversible processing
• Identify and measure surface or interfacial contaminants, oxide type, corrosion products
• Identify nature of metal oxide stains
• Test ovens for contamination using exposed coupons
• Microscopy examination to determine if a contaminant appears to be a residue of an evaporating liquid
• Examine ceramic fracture surfaces for contaminant residues due to organic binders
• Check plastics or paints for surface concentrations of plasticizers, surfactants, or migrated fill particles
• Check surfaces for peel-ply residues or mold release agents
• Measure amount of siloxane or silicones on surfaces

Corrosion and Degradation

• Corrosion product identification
• Improve protective coatings & surface treatments
• Determine chemical degradations due to radiation, (UV, x-ray, microwave), plasma, or kinetic particle exposures
• Accelerated testing for corrosion susceptibility
• Identification of corrosive agent or mode of corrosion, even prior to visible corrosion
• Measure water penetration depth in polymer and other coatings - detect presence at interfaces
• Determine compatibility of materials
• Identify selective leaching and cause
• Measure corrosion rates
• Identify stress corrosion cracking as intergranular or transgranular
• Determine susceptibility to pitting or crevice corrosion
• Examine intergranular and transgranular alloy failures for evidence of corrosive attack
• Identify protective organic coating
• Measure protective coating resistance and capacitance
• Determine surface chemistry of galvanneal-treated steel for surface corrosion susceptibility affecting adhesion or coating durability
• Determine the chemistry of passive and non-passive metal oxides
• Examine surfaces for local chemical attack brought on by surface defects such as inclusions
• Determine whether a stainless steel alloy is sensitized to corrosion
• Examine cast irons for graphitic attack
• Determine cause of pin-hole leaks in copper pipe and tubing
• Qualify biomedical devices for corrosion resistance

Electronics

• Determine cause of soldering, bond pad, and adhesive bond difficulties
• Find cause of electrical breakdown
• Evaluate PCB laminate interfaces & surface conformal coatings
• Identify and measure photoresist or wax residues
• Depth profile TiN, WN₂, or other barrier films on Si or SiO₂ to determine barrier properties judged by chemistry and local thickness uniformity
• Measure surface segregated impurities on electroplated metals such as gold and copper (these are surprisingly high)
• Depth profile multifilm contact structures to determine elemental composition with depth
• Measure thickness of deposited layers using profilometry or sputter depth profiling
• Evaluate cure of adhesives, potting compounds, thermal transfer agents, and sealants
• Measure outgassed species from component materials and contaminants & outgassing rates for applications in hermetically-sealed packages
• Characterize new low dielectric materials
• Determine cause of metallization delamination
• Evaluate the cleanliness of ceramic and plastic packaging materials and of gloves and tools
• Find cause of leakage currents in electrical connectors or between bond pads
• Identify contaminants on contacts
• Determine polysilicon grain sizes
• Measure the thickness of oxides, nitrides, and other film layers
• Develop new processes for implementation of new low dielectric materials
• Determine composition of thermal compounds or adhesives
• Cross section analysis of problems in ceramic capacitors or breakdown in diodes
• Measure thermal expansion properties of PCB, of packaging materials, or of ICs
• Correlate the surface chemistry of polyimide coatings with outgassing rates
• Identify composition of flaws in gold braze of feedthrough leads of biomedical devices
• Determine cause of sealing problems of hermetic packages
• Cross section analysis to check for voids at soldered joints
• Determine cause of delamination of metallization on ceramic or plastic
• Qualify new cleaning processes by measuring residues on dies and bond pads
• Examine surface or bulk migration of underlayer metallization to outer layers or into solder or braze
• Identify and measure contaminants on ceramic surfaces

Metallurgical

• Measure thickness and chemistry of surface oxide or other reaction product films
• Identify cause of metallic intergranular failure
• Measure/distinguish surface & near-surface graphitic & carbidic inclusions affecting surface appearance, wear, hardness, corrosion properties, and intergranular failures
• Metal-matrix composite material analysis for alloy or reaction product composition at interfaces
• Improve surface hardening coatings
• Characterize specialized surface coatings such as forsterite insulating coatings for transformer steel
• Examine surface composition of heat-affected zones near welds or brazed joints which affect corrosion susceptibility
• Determine composition of corrosion sensitive material and probable process or exposure cause of sensitization
• Examine surface properties of metal powders for sintered powder metallurgical products
• Measure melting point of low temperature alloys
• Measure corrosion rate in various solutions or electrolytes
• Identify internal phases by metallographic etching and microscopy
• Measure grain sizes
• Measure temperature and exothermal energies of intermetallic phase formation
• Measure pitting potentials and determine quality of passivation layer
• Determine sensitization of stainless steels for corrosion
• Measure density of inclusions & voids and determine their type
• Measure dissolution and precipitation temperatures for metal alloys
• Examine galvanneal-treated steel surface for corrosion and adhesion properties
• Examine interdiffusion on metallization layers with each other and with solder or brazing alloys

Polymer

• Identify the polymer or plastic
• Measure softening temperatures
• Distinguish polymorphic forms
• Polymer sealing problems
• Thermoset & thermoplastic polymer characterization
• Determine degree of cure of polymers with exothermal curing reactions
• Fiber-reinforced or filled polymer composite characterizations, including fiber & particle interface properties
• Determine bulk composition of polymers
• Determine surface composition of copolymers and its differences compared to the bulk
• Identify surface-segregated plasticizer or surfactant component
• Determine outgassed species and rates
• Characterize surface degradation layers due to oxidation, hydration, or radiation exposure
• Examine surface/bulk concentrations of catalysts, cross-linking agents, colorants, & plasticizers
• Measure the glass transition temperature
• Measure thermal expansion properties
• Measure reaction exotherms and endotherms in inert or reactive atmospheres
• Surface treatment characterization for improved wetting and adhesion for printing & painting
• Characterization of primers and adhesion promoter layers for chemistry, composition (mixture or interphases at interfaces), & thickness
• Weight-loss or gain on heating in a particular atmosphere
• Inorganic filler weight upon complete combustion with subsequent elemental composition analysis
• Degree of crystalline vs amorphous character
• Measure thin film swelling in liquids
• Determine different compositions and properties of inside versus outside surfaces of extruded tubing
• Measure the amount of mold release agent on a surface
• Measure the amount of water absorption and transmission
• Identify environmental stress cracking
• Hydrolysis failure of polyesters, nylons, and ester cross-linked urethanes and anhydride-cured epoxies due to water exposure
• Measure the thermal expansion spike at the crystalline transition of thermoplastics
• Measure the corrosion resistance of polymer or paint coatings

Industries Supported

Adhesives, Aerospace, Architecture, Automotive, Battery, Building Materials, Ceramics, Chemical, Coatings, Communications, Composites, Construction, Cosmetics, Cooling, Electronics, Fasteners, Food, Food Storage, Glass, Heating, Machine Tool, Marine, Medical Devices, Metal, Mining, Nanotechnology, Oil, Optical Devices, Packaging, Paint, Paper, Pharmaceutical, Pipeline, Plastic, Power, Semiconductor Equipment, Sporting Goods, Surface Treatment, Textiles, Thin Film, and Welding & Joining