The UK Medium Energy Ion Scattering facility, (MEIS) uses an ion beam probe to enable the analysis of the structure and properties of the top atomic layers of crystalline materials as well as the high-resolution depth profiling of non-crystalline layers of nano-meter thickness. The ion beam consists typically of hydrogen or helium ions which are accelerated to an energy between 100 keV and 200 keV and then scatter off the sample surface under investigation. After colliding with the surface atoms, the backscattered probe ions carry information about the surface layer in the energy and angular distributions of the backscattered ions which are analysed using an electrostatic energy analyser equipped with a 2D detector. Computer simulations and/or calculations are used for the extraction of the surface information. MEIS is a comparatively unique facility as there are fewer than ten MEIS machines world-wide.
The MEIS experimental station comprises four interconnected UHV systems between which samples can be transferred under UHV conditions:
We hope that the MEIS system will support a thriving user community. Potential users, for research and commercial applications are invited to contact either Professor Jaap Van Den Berg (J.VanDenBerg@hud.ac.uk) or Dr. Andrew Rossall (A.Rossall@hud.ac.uk) to discuss possibilities.
Ion beam
Ion Energy Analyser
Two-dimensional (energy and angle) ion detector
Sample
Preparation facilities