Department of Material Studies - Overview

Full text: The technology of modifying surfaces of practical-use materials by means of continuous and pulsed energy and particle beams has been intensely studied for more than 20 years. In some fields it is presently utilized on a wide scale in industry. Continuous or pulsed ion and plasma beams play a significant role among various approaches used in this area. The research carried by Department P-IX is centered around the use of two own ion implantation machines (ion implanters) of different kind and several world-wide unique sources of high-intensity intense plasma pulses, utilized jointly with Department P-V. The Department cooperates closely with Forschungszentrum Rossendorf (FZR, Dresden, Germany) in the field of ion-beam-based analytical techniques and the use of unique ion implantation facilities. The main objectives of the Department are: · search for new ways of modifying surface properties of solid materials by means of continuous or pulsed ion and plasma beams and · implementation of ion implantation technique in national industries as a method of improving the lifetime of machine parts and tools utilized in industry. In 2007 these objectives were being accomplished in many ways, particularly by research on: → ion implantation/plasma treatment of ceramics aimed at improving their wettability in ceramic-metal joints → formation of superconducting MgB2 phases → electrical conductivity in metallic nano-layers produced in oxide insulators (Al2O3) by ion implantation The research was conducted in cooperation with Department P-V of IPJ, Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology (Warsaw), Warsaw University of Technology, Institute of Technology of Materials for Electronics (Warsaw), Institute of Molecular Physics Polish Academy of Sciences (Poznan), Forschungszentrum Rossendorf FZR (Dresden, Germany), as well as with some industrial companies. (author)