Academic cooperation
Institut Des Materiaux Jean Rouxel
Nantes, France
The cooperation with the Plasma et couches minces (Plasma and thin films) group under supervision of prof. Tessier has been going on since 2008. It is focussed mainly deposition and analyses of nanocomposite nc-TiC/a-C:H coatings. Several students spent some time via the Erasmus program at the IMN and the collaboration is proven by several joint papers. The main expertise at the IMN is X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and electron microscopy.
University of Liverpool
Liverpool, United Kingdom
The cooperation with Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics at the University of Liverpool under the supervision of prof. James W. Bradley was established in 2014. The joint investigation concerns the time-resolved measurements of high power impulse magnetron sputtering using the strip probes, which were developed by prof. Bradley's group.
Université Paris-Sud
Paris, France
The cooperation with the LPGP (Laboratoire De Physique Des Gaz Et Des Plasmas) at the Université Paris-Sud under the supervision of prof. Tiberiu Minea has been going on since 2005. Several students and researchers spent some time via the Erasmus at LPGP. The collaboration is proven by several joint papers dealing mainly with fundamental processes of magnetron sputtering. LPGP is interested in preparation and characterization of thin films and plasma modelling.
University of Groningen
Groningen, Netherlands
The collaboration with the Advanced Production Engineering group at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen under the supervision of prof. Yutao Pei is ongoing since 2017. Several students were on a research stay at RuG via the Erasmus program. Professor Pei is also a Visiting professor at MU and is giving regular lectures. Mutual collaboration is documented by several joint papers. The main expertise of APE is measurement of tribological properties, electron microscopy and measurements of mechanical properties including in-situ measurements in an electron microscope.
Université de Mons
Mons, Belgie
The collaboration with ChiPS (Chimie des Interactions plasma surface) at the University of Mons under the supervision of dr. Nikolay Britun has been developing since 2016. The cooperation deals with time-resolved diagnostics of high power impulse magnetron sputtering using laser-induced fluorescence, absorption and optical spectroscopy.
Centre for Energy Research
Budapest, Hungary
Collaboration with the Thin Film Physics Department at the MTA under the supervision of dr. Katalin Balázsi has been developing since 2014 and is focussed on structural analyses of thin films. The main expertise of the MTA is high resolution transmission electron microscopy.
Industry collaboration
SHM Šumperk s. r. o.
Šumperk, Czech Republic
We have established wide cooperation with Czech company SHM, s.r.o. ranging from deposition process diagnostics, through the development of new coatings and deposition processes to chemical and microstructural analysis of deposited coatings. The long-standing successful partnership can be illustrated by currently running projects funded by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic.
PLATIT AG
Selzach, Switzerland & Šumperk, Czech Republic
Cooperation with Swiss company PLATIT AG is focussed on the development and analysis of hard wear resistant coatings prepared by magnetron sputtering with applications in material machining. Our main task is the determination of the chemical composition and of the crystalline structure of the coatings that provide the necessary feedback for optimization of up-to-date coatings as well as for the development of new coatings.
Tescan
Brno, Czech Republic
We have established cooperation focussed on the determination of the fracture toughness of materials even in the form of coatings and thin films with the Czech producer of electron microscopes Tescan. The method is based on the preparation of precise micropillars and microcantilevers from the analysed material by ion beam and their gradual loading and observing their cracking behaviour. This enables us to determine the properties of the analysed materials without unwanted errors caused by the effect of the substrate.