Structural and chemical characterization: X rays and electrons

This course provides students with the necessary background to understand the tools used to determine the morphology and/or structure of a material at submicron scales. Without aiming to be exhaustive, different techniques (electron microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray scattering) are presented, associating the technologies and theories adapted to the understanding of physical phenomena and the analysis of images or spectra.

After introducing the physical basis of elastic interactions of radiation with matter, a theoretical approach of scattering (X-rays or neutrons) will be presented. It will be accompanied by experimental, technological and analytical aspects that will be highlighted by examples. The formalism adapted to electronic imaging will be developed, in particular introducing essential notions of crystallography. The principles of high resolution techniques as well as the experimental aspects of other techniques (FIB, AFM...) will complete the part of the course focused on structural morphology. The physical basis of inelastic interactions will introduce the spectroscopic part of the course, which will focus on the development of X-ray and electronic spectroscopy techniques.