New Materials and Analysis

The Ion Beam Centre (IBC) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf HZDR offers many years of expertise in ion implantation, modification and analysis. The HZDR Innovation GmbH is making it much more accessible, e. g. for microelectronics. Read more!

The working group operates specialised equipment that can be used to modify and improve material surfaces in a targeted manner using ion beams – even on components with diameters of up to 200 millimetres. The process is used for both industrial projects and research and makes it possible to precisely adjust properties such as hardness, wear and corrosion resistance, and electrical conductivity – for example, in semiconductor manufacturing.

The research focuses on processes in which low-energy ions specifically alter material surfaces – for example, for cleaning, smoothing, roughening or producing extremely fine nanostructures. Depending on the process used, materials can be precisely ablated, modified or restructured, enabling a wide range of applications in technology and research.

When materials are irradiated, high-energy ions create ion tracks, which can be chemically etched into open channels in polymers. These ion track membranes can be specifically functionalised and used as templates for the production of nanowire structures.