Laboratory of New Detectors and the Development of Systems for Intelligent Process Control
The Laboratory of New Detectors and the Development of Systems for Intelligent Process Control conducts research on semiconductor nanostructures and materials for optoelectronics, photovoltaics and laser technologies. It is equipped with an atomic force microscope for nanoscale measurements and spectral instrumentation for the analysis of photoelectric properties.
Description of Activities
Research on bulk semiconductor materials and nanostructures (quantum wells, superlattices, quantum wires, quantum dots) for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications, namely:
Description of Services
Scanning with an atomic force microscope
Detailed description of the service: The analysis is carried out with a modern atomic force microscope, MFP-3D-OriginAFM, Oxford Instruments Asylum research, which enables conductivity scanning (ORCA), surface potential scanning (KPFM) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) in contact, repulsive ac/tapping and attractive ac mode. Nanolithography is also possible.
| Services offered | Price in EUR * |
| Atomic force microscope scanning in contact mode | 54 |
| Atomic force microscope scanning in semi-contact mode (repulsive ac mode = tapping mode) | 54 |
| Atomic force microscope scanning in non-contact mode (attractive ac mode) | 54 |
| Magnetic force scanning | 77 |
| Surface potential scanning (KPFM) | 77 |
Spectral measurements of photoelectric quantities.
Spectral measurements of surface photovoltage and photoconductivity in the range from 200 to 2000 nm (using an Hg lamp and a halogen lamp as light sources), as well as their time dependences. The diffusion length of minority charge carriers in the semiconductor sample can also be measured.
| |||||||||
| * The prices quoted are indicative and depend on the scope of the research. They include VAT at the rate of 20%. |
Equipment
The MFP-3D-OriginAFM atomic force microscope, Oxford Instruments Asylum research, is the flagship member of the MFP-3D AFM family. It offers the widest range of high-resolution imaging modes and characterisation accessories, combining flexibility, powerful capabilities and a system architecture that allows for future expansion. It is used to study a wide range of advanced materials – thin films and coatings for sensors, detectors, photovoltaics, data storage media, etc. The dimensions of these films and of the structures built from them (thickness, relief, grain and domain sizes, etc.) make it essential to characterise them at resolutions ranging from the sub-nanometre to the micrometre scale.
The use of the atomic force microscope provides information that is critical in the development and optimisation of thin films and in monitoring their growth processes, as well as in streamlining design routes towards the desired functional properties of mechatronic devices.
Fields of application:
- opto- and nanoelectronics;
- topography;
- conductivity;
- contact potential difference;
- magnetic properties;
- electrostatic forces;
- piezoelectric properties.
Contacts
Heads:
Prof. Veselin Donchev, vtd@phys.uni-sofia.bg
Prof. Evgenia Valcheva, epv@phys.uni-sofia.bg
Access to the Laboratory and Service Requests
The laboratory is part of the research infrastructure of the National Centre of Excellence “Mechatronics and Clean Technologies” and is located on the Lozenets campus. Requests for access and for joint research are therefore handled centrally — see Contacts. In addition, a full overview of the Centre’s other laboratories is available on the Infrastructure and Laboratories page.
The laboratory’s equipment was established under project BG16RFPR002-1.014-0006, funded under the Research, Innovation and Digitalisation for Smart Transformation Programme 2021–2027, co-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.