Advanced yet accessible X-ray metrology for academia and industry

The University of Twente’s XUV Optics Research Group and Malvern Panalytical have extended their strategic collaboration. This collaboration is shaped around a joint research program supporting the use of Malvern Panalytical’s roadmap solutions for hybrid elemental and structural characterization of thin films in application segments including semiconductors and other advanced materials. 

Nanostructures such as thin films are key elements in many of the electronic devices we use on a daily basis. These structures measure just fractions of a nanometer to several micrometers thick, and need X-ray analysis for reliable characterization. “X-ray-based techniques, being non-destructive, pose enormous hidden potential for fast and accessible geometric characterization of buried atomic profiles for thin films and planar nano-structures”, says Igor Makhotkin, Associate Professor at the University of Twente (UT).

Experimental and theoretical work

Research and development of new X-ray instruments, methods, and X-ray data analysis is vital for the continuous improvement of semiconductors and other advanced materials. 

The current collaboration will involve both experimental and theoretical work on the fundamentals of new X-ray metrology and X-ray data analyses. The data analysis research will be co-supervised by mathematics Associate Professor Dr. Matthias Schlottbom from UT’s Mathematics of Computational Science (MACS) group, making this a truly interdisciplinary and cross-faculty research project: “Our combination of hardware, physics modeling and data analysis algorithms with elegant software developments is essential for enabling advances in X-ray metrology for a broad audience of non-expert users from academia and industry.”   

Central to the collaboration is a research program focused on extending the frontiers for thin film X-ray characterization through a fundamental study of the X-ray scattering process. The project focuses on both computational and experimental aspects of hybrid (structural and elemental) characterization of thin films and their interfaces. 

“The University of Twente and Malvern Panalytical continue to team up as partners in discovery of new X-ray characterization technologies. The collaboration will deliver highly advanced techniques to shape the future of advanced material science and help create a cleaner, healthier and more productive world”, added Eugène Reuvekamp, Corporate Scientist at Malvern Panalytical.

The program is funded by the University of Twente, the Dutch government (via the TKI program High Tech Systems and Materials) and by Malvern Panalytical.

More information

Dr Igor Makhotkin is an Associate Professor in the research subgroup X-ray Science & Technology (XST), embedded in the industrial focus group XUV Optics, chaired by Professor Dr Marcelo Ackermann. Makhotkin’s work is focused on solving fundamental challenges in nanostructure characterization with X-ray-matter interaction. Dr. Matthias Schlottbom is an Associate Professor in the Mathematics of Computational Science (MACS) group in the Department of Applied Mathematics. The Research Program at Malvern Panalytical is supervised by Dr Eugène Reuvekamp.