MINAMAS
MIcro-NAno-MAterials and Surfaces
Mini-site WEBSITE
Context
The MINAMAS team (MIcro-NAno-MAterials and Surfaces) was established in 2006 and currently comprises around fifteen permanent members (researchers and lecturer-researchers) distributed across several geographical sites (Besançon, Montbéliard, and Sevenans). The team also includes a variable number of PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and interns from different scientific backgrounds. MINAMAS is characterized by a multidisciplinary approach in the field of thin films and relies on its experimental facilities (material synthesis and characterization) as well as on modeling and numerical simulation tools.
Objectives and Scientific Topics
The objective of the MINAMAS group is to develop new fundamental and experimental knowledge on the synthesis and the determination of the physical, mechanical, and physicochemical properties of materials in the form of thin films and/or nanomaterials. These activities find applications in the fields of micro- and nanosystems, as well as in addressing current energy and environmental challenges (control of friction coefficients, wear and lubrication, pollutant detection, hydrogen and fuel cells, photovoltaics, electrochromic devices).
The research activities of the group focus on the following main topics:
› Structuring of metallic, semiconductor, and ceramic thin films at micro- and nanometric scales.
Synthesis and investigation of nanostructured thin-film materials (multilayers, nanocomposites, nano-architectured films) with a wide and specific range of compositions and physical properties (typically optical, electrical, and mechanical properties), in order to correlate them with the structural and microstructural characteristics of the films.
› Development and characterization of chemical micro-sensors.
The materials studied, mainly based on thin films in the form of nanowires, nanotrees, or porous structures (SnO₂, WO₃, ZnO, etc.), enable the development of microsystems for the detection of various gas-phase molecules. This research theme has numerous applications in air quality monitoring (indoor and outdoor), biomedical fields, the gas and oil industry, and heritage conservation.
› Energy-related materials.
In thin-film form, application areas include electrochromic and photovoltaic devices (oxides with various structures, notably perovskites), fuel cells and solid oxide electrolyzers: anionic or protonic ionic conductors, mixed conductors, as well as diffusion barrier or protective layers for bipolar plates.
In parallel, intermetallic compounds synthesized by mechanosynthesis are investigated for their hydrogen storage properties. This includes the understanding of hydrogen absorption and desorption mechanisms in nanocrystalline metals and alloys produced by mechanosynthesis, in comparison with their conventional polycrystalline counterparts.
› Tribological materials under extreme conditions.
Study of the surface and bulk properties of tribological materials under varying environmental conditions (from ultra-high vacuum to atmospheric pressure, over a wide temperature range). The approaches developed focus on both the synthesis of these materials and their tribological, tribochemical, and mechanical characterization across scales (from mechanical components down to the nanometric scale).
Applications include the space sector (combined mechanical and chemical environments), corrosion protection (metallic multilayers based on aluminum or other metals), control of friction coefficients (from superlubrication to high friction) and wear, hardness enhancement (transition metal nitrides and/or carbides, ternary compounds, etc.), and nuclear applications (high-entropy alloys).
Expertise
› Control of synthesis and structuring processes, particularly conventional physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques (magnetron sputtering, cathodic arc, and HiPIMS), as well as more specific techniques such as oblique angle deposition (OAD), reactive gas pulsing process (RGPP), and mechanosynthesis.
› Generation of controlled laboratory atmospheres for chemical micro-sensor characterization and tribological studies.
› Control of various contact kinematics (sliding, rolling, rolling/sliding, integration of complete mechanical components, etc.).
› Multiphysics analyses (mechanical and physicochemical) of materials and surfaces at small scales using surface analysis and local probe techniques (IR, XPS, AFM, nanoindentation, scratch testing), as well as the development of dedicated experimental techniques.
› Modeling, prediction, and understanding of synthesis processes and multiphysics behavior of functional materials using approaches ranging from ab initio simulations (DFT) to analytical continuum models, including numerical methods (Monte Carlo) that bridge atomistic-scale discreteness and continuum physics theories.
› Mastery of material characterization techniques for various applications. Experimental characterization facilities are available internally within MINAMAS and through the MIMENTO and SURFACE platforms.
