HYSTERESIS CURVE:

It means retardation. [or] Lagging of an effect

behind the cause of the effect [or] The phenomenon of B
lagging H. [or] It is also defined as a phenomenon of flux
density (B) with the change in magnetic field strength (H)
in a ferromagnetic material.
Explanation: When the magnetic field H is applied on an
un magnetized ferromagnetic material the magnetic
induction increases first rapidly and then slowly from o
to a. The increase is non linear, after that the rate of
induction slows down and attaining a saturation value Bsat with further
increase in H , there is no increase in B.If applied magnetic field H on the
material is decreased at this stage, naturally B decreases and B will not travel
in that initial
path, creates a new path.
When H is reduced to zero, B does not vanish , the value of B that remains in
the
material is called as retentivity Br or reduce magnetisation. To remove
retentivity in the
material sufficient negative magnetic field –Hc or Hc is applied in opposite
direction then the
retentivity Br becomes zero .This is (field) known as coherceive field. On
increasing H
further B reaches saturation in the opposite direction denoted by ’c’. Then reducing H to zero
B reaches ‘d’ and then increasing H in the positive direction B reaches again to Bsat and a
curve is obtained. This completes a closed loop called hysteresis loop. It
includes some area.
This area indicates the amount of energy wasted in one cycle of operation.
SOFT AND HARD MAGNETIC MATERIALS:

Ferromagnetic materials are classified into two types based on the

characteristic parameters

such as hystersis and magnetisation. They are

1. Hard magnetic materials

2. Soft magnetic materials

Magnetostriction
Magnetostriction is defined as the property of some magnetic materials that
causes them to change their shape or dimensions when they are magnetized
by an external magnetic field. The change in size or length of a material due
to magnetostriction depends on the strength and direction of the applied
magnetic field, as well as the magnetic anisotropy and crystal structure of the
material.
Magnetostriction can be used to convert electromagnetic energy into
mechanical energy, or vice versa, and is the basis for many applications such
as actuators, sensors, transducers, transformers, motors, and generators.
Magnetostriction was first discovered by James Joule in 1842 when he
observed that an iron rod elongated slightly when magnetized along its
length, and contracted slightly when magnetized across its width. This
phenomenon is known as Joule’s effect, and it occurs in most ferromagnetic
materials (materials that can be magnetized by an external field) and some
ferrimagnetic materials (materials that have two opposite magnetic
sublattices).

The physical mechanism behind magnetostriction is related to the internal

structure of magnetic materials, which consists of microscopic regions called
domains. Each domain has a uniform magnetization direction, which is
determined by the balance between the magnetic anisotropy energy (the
tendency of the material to align its magnetization along certain crystal
directions) and the magnetostatic energy (the tendency of the material to
minimize its magnetic poles).

The magnetostrictive strain depends on several factors, such as:

 The magnitude and direction of the applied magnetic field
 The saturation magnetization (the maximum possible
magnetization) of the material
 The magnetic anisotropy (the preference for certain
magnetization directions) of the material
 The magnetoelastic coupling (the interaction between
magnetization and elastic strain) of the material
 The temperature and stress state of the material

The magnetostrictive strain can be positive or negative, depending on

whether the material expands or contracts when magnetized. Some materials
exhibit a reversal in sign of their magnetostrictive strain when exposed to
high magnetic fields, which is known as Villari reversal.

λ=LΔL

where ΔL is the change in length of material when magnetized from zero to

saturation, and L is its initial length.

There are many materials that exhibit magnetostriction, but some of

them have higher values and better performance than others. Some
examples of magnetostrictive materials are iron,nickel, cobalt,iron-
aluminium alloy(Alfer),iron nickel alloy(permalloy),coblt nickel
alloy,iron cobalt alloy…etc
Magnetostriction has many applications in various fields, such as
actuators, sensors, transducers, transformers, motors, and
generators, where it can be used to convert energy between the
magnetic and elastic states, or vice versa.Magnetostriction also has
some effects that are related to its interaction with mechanical
stress or torque, such as the Villari effect, Matteucci effect, and
Wiedemann effect, where it can be used to measure or generate
stress, strain, torque, angular displacement, or rotational motion.
Magnetostriction is a fascinating phenomenon that demonstrates the
interplay between magnetism and mechanics in materials science. It
has many potential applications in various fields that require high
performance and efficiency in energy conversion and transmission.

Magnetoresistance
Magnetoresistance is the tendency of a material (often
ferromagnetic) to change the value of its electrical resistance in an
externally-applied magnetic field. There are a variety of effects that
can be called magnetoresistance. Some occur in bulk non-magnetic
metals and semiconductors, such as geometrical magnetoresistance

Bubble memory devices

Bubble memory is a type of non-volatile computer memory that uses a thin film of a
magnetic material to hold small magnetized areas, known as bubbles or domains, each
storing one bit of data. Andrew Bobeck invented the Bubble Memory in 1970. His
development of the magnetic core memory and the development of the twister memory
put him in a good position for the development of Bubble Memory .

Magnetic sensors
Magnetic sensors measure the magnetic flux density of the environment without
contact. By implementing an array of magnetic sensors with known positions, it is
possible to use the direction of an applied magnetic field to estimate the position of
the magnetic field source

Magnetometers can be categorized into four general types[1] depending on the

magnitude of the measured field. If the targeted B-field is larger than the
earth magnetic field (maximum value around 60 μT), the sensor does not need to
be very sensitive. To measure the earth field larger than the geomagnetic
noise(around 0.1 nT), better sensors are required. For the application of magnetic
anomaly detection, sensors at different locations have to be used to cancel the
spatial-correlated noise in order to achieve a better spatial resolution. To measure
the field below the geomagnetic noise, much more sensitive magnetic field
sensors have to be employed. These sensors are mainly used in medical and
biomedical applications, such as MRI and molecule tagging.
There are many approaches for magnetic sensing, including Hall effect sensor,
magneto-diode, magneto-
transistor, AMR magnetometer, GMR magnetometer, magnetic tunnel
junction magnetometer, magneto-optical sensor, Lorentz
force based MEMS sensor, Electron Tunneling based MEMS sensor,
MEMS compass, Nuclear precession magnetic field sensor, optically pumped
magnetic field sensor, fluxgate magnetometer, search coil magnetic field sensor
and SQUID magnetometer.
Multiferroics
Multiferroics are defined as materials that exhibit more than one of the
primary ferroic properties in the same phase:[1]

 ferromagnetism – a magnetisation that is switchable by an applied magnetic

field
 ferroelectricity – an electric polarisation that is switchable by an applied electric
field
 ferroelasticity – a deformation that is switchable by an applied stress
While ferroelectric ferroelastics and ferromagnetic ferroelastics are formally
multiferroics, these days the term is usually used to describe
the magnetoelectric multiferroics that are simultaneously ferromagnetic and
ferroelectric.[1] Sometimes the definition is expanded to include nonprimary order
parameters, such as antiferromagnetism or ferrimagnetism. In addition, other
types of primary order, such as ferroic arrangements of magnetoelectric
multipoles[2] of which ferrotoroidicity[3]
multiferroics have potential for applications as actuators, switches,
magnetic field sensors and new types of electronic memory devices.

Applications of muliferroics
1)Electric-field control of magnetism
2) Radio and high-frequency devices

3) Cross-over applications in other areas of physics

4) Multiferroic films with appropriate band gap structure into solar cells was developed which results
in high energy conversion efficiency due to efficient ferroelectric polarization driven carrier separation
and overband spacing generation photo-voltage
Energy material
Energetic materials are a class of material with high amount of stored chemical energy
that can be released. Typical classes of energetic materials are e.g. explosives,
pyrotechnic compositions, propellants (e.g. smokeless gunpowders and rocket fuels), and
fuels (e.g. diesel fuel and gasoline).

1. Liquid electrolyte

The choice of electrolyte has a great influence on the performance of lithium batteries. It
must be chemically stable, especially not easy to decompose at higher potentials and
higher temperature environments, and has higher ionic conductivity, and it has a good
effect on cathode and anode materials. It must be inert and not corrupt them. Due to the
high charge and discharge potential of lithium batteries and the chemically active lithium
embedded in the anode material, the electrolyte must use organic compounds instead of
water. However, the ionic conductivity of organic matter is not good, so it is necessary to
add a soluble conductive salt in the organic solvent to improve the ionic conductivity. At
present, lithium-ion batteries mainly use liquid electrolytes.

At present, most of the electrolytes used in commercial lithium batteries use LiPF6
EC2DMC, which has higher ionic conductivity and better electrochemical stability.
Because of the characteristics of liquid electrolytes, a variety of auxiliary agents need to
be added to actual use to improve the characteristics of the electrolyte.

2. Solid electrolyte
The direct use of metallic lithium as an anode material has a high reversible capacity. Its
theoretical capacity is as high as 3862mAh·g-1, which is more than ten times that of
graphite materials. The price is also lower. It is regarded as the most attractive new
generation of lithium-ion batteries. The anode material, but will produce dendritic
lithium. Using solid electrolytes as ion conduction can inhibit the growth of dendritic
lithium, making it possible for metallic lithium to be used as an anode material.

In addition, the use of solid electrolytes can avoid the shortcomings of liquid electrolyte
leakage, and can also make lithium batteries thinner (only 0.1mm thick), have a higher
energy density, and smaller volume of high-energy batteries. Destructive experiments
show that solid-state lithium battery electrolyte has high safety performance. After
destructive experiments such as nail penetration, heating (200°C), short circuit, and
overcharge (600%), liquid electrolyte lithium-ion batteries will leak, explode, etc. Security
issues.

The so-called superionic conductors represent a class of solid materials showing an

unusually high ionic conductivity. Their structure is characterized by strong disorder in the
sublattice of conducting ions. We shall describe the dynamic properties of the partially
disordered state on the basis of two classes of theoretical models. For stochastic lattice
gases we discuss the behavior of various time-correlation functions relevant for inelastic
neutron- and light-scattering experiments and for tracer-diffusion measurements. In
addition we study a system of interacting Brownian particlés in the presence of a periodic
potential as a model for optimized (AgI-type) ionic conductors. A mean-field theory is
developed which implies a relationship between the conductivity and structural
properties.

Supercapacitors are electrochemical capacitors that consist of two electrodes separated

by an ion-permeable membrane and an electrolyte ionically connecting both electrodes.1
The electrochemical stability of the electrolytes plays a significant role in the overall
supercapacitor performance, including power density, cycling stability, operating
temperature, equivalent series resistance, life time, and self-discharge rate. The
electrolyte ion size should be equal or less than that of the pore size of the electrode
material to possess a high capacitance and power density.0 Salt-based aqueous
electrolytes such as Li2SO4, Na2SO4, K2SO4 can be a better choice for economically
viable and environmental-friendly supercapacitors. Ionic liquids are also an option, but
they tend to be viscous, thus the resistance of devices won't be as good as with aqueous
electrolytes
 NANOTECHNOLOGY
Nanoscale:

The nanoscopic scale (or nanoscale) usually refers to structures with a length
scaleapplicable to nanotechnology, usually cited as 1–100 nanometers (nm).[1] A
nanometer is a billionth of a meter. The nanoscopic scale is (roughly speaking) a
lower bound to the mesoscopic scale for most solids.

For technical purposes, the nanoscopic scale is the size at which fluctuations in
the averaged properties (due to the motion and behavior of individual particles)
begin to have a significant effect (often a few percent) on the behavior of a
system, and must be taken into account in its analysis.[citation needed]

The nanoscopic scale is sometimes marked as the point where the properties of a
material change; above this point, the properties of a material are caused by 'bulk'
or 'volume' effects, namely which atoms are present, how they are bonded, and in
what ratios. Below this point, the properties of a material change, and while the
type of atoms present and their relative orientations are still important, 'surface
area effects' (also referred to as quantum effects) become more apparent – these
effects are due to the geometry of the material (how thick it is, how wide it is, etc.),
which, at these low dimensions, can have a drastic effect on quantized states, and
thus the properties of a material

Quantum confinement

The properties of materials can be studied based on the energy levels. When
atoms are isolated, their energy levels are discrete. When very large no of atoms
are closely packed to form a solid, the energy levels split & form bands, Nano
materials represent intermediate stage. As a result, the energy levels change.
When we apply the problems of particles in a potential well as well as in a
potential box. The
dimensions of such wells or boxes are of the order of deBroglie wavelength of
electrons. energy levels of electrons change. This effect is called Quantum
confinement. This affects the optical, electrical, magnetic properties of
nanomaterials. When the electrons are confined, the particles will have more
oscillations and this will result in colour change of the materials. For examples,
nano gold colloids are dispersed in ruby glass, the ruby glass exhibits red hue.

➢ When the length of a semiconductor is reduced to the same order as the

exciton radius, i.e., to a few nanometers, quantum confinement effect occurs and
the exciton properties are modified. Depending on the dimension of the
confinement, three kinds of confined structures are defined: quantum well (QW),
quantum wire (QR) and quantum dot (QD) ✓ The reduction in dimensionality
produced by confining electrons (or holes ) to a thin semiconductor layer leads to
a dramatic change in their behavior. ✓ This principle can be developed by further
reducing the dimensionality of the electron’s environment from a two-dimensional
quantum well to a one -dimensional quantum wire and eventually to a zero-
dimensional quantum dot. ✓ The dimensionality refers to the number of degrees
of freedom in the electron momentum ; in fact, within a quantum wire , the electron
is confined across two directions, rather than just the one in a quantum well and
so therefore reducing the degrees of freedom to one. ✓ In a quantum dot, the
electron is confined in all three dimensions, thus reducing the degrees of freedom
to zero. ✓ If the number of degrees of freedom are labeled as Df and the number
of directions of confinement are labeled as Dc then clearly: Df + Dc = 3

Surface area to volume ratio in nanoparticle .

Surface area to volume ratio in nanoparticles have a significant effect on the

nanoparticles properties. Firstly, nanoparticles have a relative larger surface area when
compared to the same volume of the material. For example, let us consider a sphere of
radius r:

The surface area of the sphere will be 4πr2

The volume of the sphere = 4/3(πr3)

Therefore the surface area to the volume ratio will be 4πr2/{4/3(πr3)} = 3/r

t means that the surface area to volume ration increases with the decrease in radius of
the sphere and vice versa. It can also be conclude here that when given volume is
divided into smaller piece, the surface area increases. Therefore as particle size
decreases, a greater portion of the atoms are found at the surface compared to those
inside. For example, a particle of size 3 nm has 50% of its atoms on its surface, at 10 nm
20% of its atoms and at 30 nm has 5% of its atoms on its surface. Therefore
nanoparticles have a much greater surface area per unit volume compared with the
larger particles. It leads to nanoparticles more chemically reactive. As growth and
catalytic chemical reaction occurs at surfaces, therefore a given mass of nanomaterial
will be much more reactive than the same mass of material made up of large particles. It
is also found that materials which are inert in their bulk form are reactive when produced
in their nanoscale form. It can improve their properties

Fabrication Techniques
Nanostructures, nanomaterials, and nanocomposites can be fabricated using two
different techniques, top-down and bottom-up (Bellah et al. 2012). The top-down
approach involves lateral patterning of bulk materials by either subtractive or additive
methods to realize nano-sized structures. Several methods are used to fabricate
nanostructures using the top-down approach such as photolithography, scanning
lithography, laser machining, soft lithography, nanocontact printing, nanosphere
lithography, colloidal lithography, scanning probe lithography, ion implantation, diffusion,
deposition. (Chi 2010; Kumar et al. 2013a). Although the top-down approach has been
playing a vital role in the fabrication of nanostructures, it has several limitations such as
development of imperfections in processed materials, high cost (lithographic processes),
requirement of high surface finished materials, longer etching times. (Mijatovic et al.
2005; Biswas et al. 2012). In the bottom-up approach, nanostructures are fabricated by
building upon single atoms or molecules. In this method, controlled segregation of atoms
or molecules occurs as they are assembled into desired nanostructures (2–10 nm size
range). In general, there are two basic methods utilizing the bottom-up approach, i.e.,
gas-phase synthesis and liquid-phase formation. Some of the methods used in bottom-up
approach include plasma arcing, chemical vapor deposition process, metal organic
decomposition, laser pyrolysis, molecular beam epitaxy, solgel method, wet synthesis,
and self-assembly processes.

sol-gel
In the solgel process, dispersed solid nanoparticles (sols with diameter of 1–100
nm) are mixed in a homogeneous liquid medium and agglomerated to form a
continuous three-dimensional network (gel) with pore diameter in the sub-
micrometer domain in the liquid phase (Hench and West 1990). A sol is a liquid in
which solid colloidal particles are dispersed, e.g., black inkjet ink (carbon black is
dispersed in water), while a gel is a wet solid-like rigid network of interconnected
nanostructures in a continuous liquid phase. Generally, there are three
approaches that have been employed to fabricate solgel film: (i) gelation of a
solution of solid colloidal particles, (ii) hydrolysis and polycondensation of
alkoxides followed by hypercritical drying of gels, and (iii) hydrolysis and
polycondensation of alkoxide followed by aging and drying under ambient
conditions. Several steps are involved in the process like mixing (formation of
suspended colloidal solution by mixing of nanoparticles in water), casting of sol,
gelation (formation of three-dimensional network), aging (for increasing the life of
cast objects immersed in liquid), drying (removal of liquid from the interconnected
continuous pore network), dehydration or chemical stabilization (to improve
stability), and densification (heating the solgel at higher temperatures to eliminate
temperature of 1000 ℃) (Hench and West 1990). The properties of solgels
pores and enhance the density, e.g., densification of alkoxide gels carried out at a

depend on important parameters such as pH, type of solvent, temperature, time,

catalysts and agitation mechanisms.

The sol-gel process is a manufacturing method in which bulk solid materials are
produced from a solution of small particles. The process begins with the preparation of a
solution of inorganic monomers, such as metal alkoxides and acetylacetonates; a
hydrolysis agent, e.g. water; a solvent, e.g. alcohol; and an acid or base catalyst. 1 The
dissolved monomers undergo hydrolysis and polycondensation reactions to form a sol: a
colloidal suspension of polymers or fine particles.

Further reactions form cross-links between the particles, solidifying them into a wet gel,
which still contains water and solvents. Removing the water and solvents leaves a dry
gel, one of the final possible products of the process. Further drying and heat treatment
removes residual liquid and induces further polycondensation reactions, which can
ultimately produce densified ceramics or glasses with novel properties.

precipitation
precipitation is a simple method for synthesising nanoparticles that can be made in a
variety of sizes. The production of more uniformly sized nanoparticles has been
accomplished using a number of additional techniques. An iron supply and sodium
hydroxide nanoemulsion are combined to form magnetite nanoparticles (NaOH). The
surfactant is cleaned with ethanol after the nanoparticles have been removed using
acetone lysis. Colloidal nanoparticles exhibit significant magnetism and super-
paramagnetic characteristics.

The dissolved compounds are present in the oil and water phases. In addition, the
system's physicochemical characteristics play a significant role in the choice of surfactant
material. This approach works with cationic, anionic, and non-ionic surfactants of any
sort. The process of scaling up and the negative impacts of residual surfactants could
pose some challenges for nanoparticles made using microemulsion techniques via using
a water/oil microemulsion, Chin and Yaacob (2007) demonstrated iron oxide NPs smaller
than 10 nm, which are smaller than those produced by coprecipitation. Lee demonstrated
in a different investigation that utilising an iron precursor at a high temperature led to the
formation of crystalline maghemite nanoparticles. Sun (2004) also found that very tiny
magnetite nanoparticles were created in the same way.

There are many ways to create nanoparticles, including physical, chemical, and biological
processes. In general, physical and chemical approaches are thought to be the most
effective for producing stable, uniform-sized nanoparticles. These methods, however,
cost a fortune and let dangerous or harmful substances into the environment. Chemical
processes that involve toxic chemicals for nanoparticle synthesis result in nanoparticles
that are less acceptable for usage in food, cosmetics, or medicine. Enhancing the
biocompatibility of nanoparticles is crucial because many of them have been widely used
in medical applications, illness detection, and cosmetics. For the past ten years,
biosynthetic methods have received a lot of attention in the quest to produce metal
nanoparticles including silver, gold, copper, and platinum.

Because the stabilising and reducing agents utilised in biosynthetic nanoparticle

synthesis are bacteria, fungi, yeasts, or plants themselves or their active components,
these methods are thought to be environmentally beneficial.

For the green production of different nanoparticles, multiple plant species and materials
originating from plants have been discovered over the past ten years. Numerous plants
include a variety of biologically active substances that function as reducing agents for
metal salts, including alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, citric acid,
polyphenols, terpenes, and reductase. These phytosynthesis methods hold great promise
because the plant components can function as capping and reducing agents. Synthesis
of phytonanoparticles might occur via extracellular or intracellular processes.

The chosen plant species have the ability to produce metallic nanoparticles within their
cells when grown in organic media, soil, or hydroponic solutions that are rich in metals.
To culture, watch after, track, and harvest nanoparticles needs a lot of work. Additionally,
using such techniques results in the adulteration of biomolecules, other components,
plant pathogens, and tissues.

PVD(Physical vapour deposition technique):

Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) is a collective set of processes used to deposit thin
layers of material, typically in the range of few nanometers to several micrometers. PVD
processes are environmentally friendly vacuum deposition techniques consisting of three
fundamental steps

• Vaporization of the material from a

solid source assisted by high
Sputterin
temperature vacuum or gaseous g Target
plasma.
Shuttered
• Transportation of the vapor in vacuum Target
or partial vacuum to the substrate
surface.
Condensation onto the substrate to general thin film

Different PVD technologies utilize the same three fundamental steps but differ in the
methods used to generate and deposit material

The two most common PVD processes are thermal evaporation and sputtering.

Thermal evaporation is a deposition technique that relies on vaporization of source

material by heating the material using appropriate methods in vacuum.
Sputtering is a plasma-assisted technique that creates a vapor from the source target
through bombardment with accelerated gaseous ions (typically Argon).

In both evaporation and sputtering, the resulting vapor phase is subsequently deposited
onto the desired substrate through a condensation mechanism to give nanofilms(thin-
films).

Applications:

PVD is used in a variety of applications, & used in

(i) including fabrication of microelectronic devices,

(ii) interconnects, battery and fuel cell electrodes,

(iii) diffusion barriers,

(iv) optical and conductive coatings,

(v) surface modifications.

Advantages:

(i)This method consists good strength and durability (ii)It is environment friendly vapor
deposition technique.

Disadvantages:

(i) Cooling systems are required, to get nanomaterials.

(ii) Mostly high temperature and vaccum control needs skill and experience.

Characterization of Nano-particles:

Characterization refers to the study of material features such as its composition, structure
and its properties like physical, electrical, magnetic etc.

For characterization of nano particles both X-ray diffraction (XRD) & electron microscope are
the most widely used techniques. They are

1. XRD
2. Electron microscope.

2) Electron microscope: It is an instrument by using we can study & analysis of small

particles & crystal structures. It’s magnification is high i.e. 10 6 times greater than the size of
given particle (or) object. In electron microscopes, current carrying coils produce magnetic
fields that act as lenses to focus an electron beam on a specimen.
They are two types of electron microscope
(1)SEM (Scanning electron microscope) (2)TEM
(Transmission electron microscope)
 SEM (Scanning electron microscope):

Scanning electron microscope is an electron microscope that images the sample surface by it
with a high energy beam of electrons.

Principle: The surface of a sample is scanned using a high energy beam of electrons.

This gives rise to secondary electrons, back scattered electrons, and characteristic X-rays.
Conventional light microscopes use a series of glass lenses to bend light waves and create a
magnified image. while the SEM Creates magnified images by using electrons instead of Light
waves.

SEM consists of
1. Electron gun.
2. Anode.
3. Magnetic lens (consists of two condensed lens)
4. Scanning coils.
5. TV scanner.
6. Detectors.
7. Specimen stage.
Construction and working:

1. The virtual source at the top represents the electron-gun which produces a
stream of high energy monochromatic electrons.

2. Electrons are attracted and travel through anode there by attains directionality.

3. Two magnetic lenses are used as condenser lenses to convert the diverging
electron beam into a fine pencil beam and condenser lens eliminated the high angled
electrons from the beam so electron —beam becomes thin and coherent.

4. A scanning coil is used to deflect the electron beam to scan the sample.

5. The objective lens is used to focus the scanning beam on a desired spot on the
sample.

6. When the high energy electron beam strikes the sample, some electrons
scattered due to elastic scattering (due to back scattering) called back scattered
electrons, some electrons are knocked off from the surface called secondary electrons
and some electrons penetrate deep into the inner shells of the sample atoms to
knockoff inner shell electrons due to which X-rays (wavelength matches)are produced.
7. The intensities of secondary electrons, back scattered electrons and X-rays
recorded using detectors and the signals are amplified and the images are then
displayed on a TV scanner (monitor).

8. This process is repeated several times.i.e.30 times/sec to get accurate results.

Applications:

1. Topography: To study the surface features of an object and its texture.

2. Morphology: To study the shape, size, arrangement of particles.

3. Composition: To study the elements and compound ratio in a sample.

4. Crystallography: Arrangement of atoms, and their order in the crystal.

5. SEM shows very detailed 3D images at much high magnifications as compared

to light microscopes.

6. The surface structure of polymer nano composites, fracture surfaces, nano

fibres, nano particles and nano coating can be imaged through SEM with great clarity.

TEM (Transmission electron microscope):

TEM is a powerful tool to investigate the lattice structure and defects on materials
directly. The first TEM invented by Ruska in April 1932 could hardly compete with
optical microscope with only 14.4 (3.6 x 4.8) magnification the basic components in
TEM are:

• Electron gun

• Condenser system

• Objective lens (most important lens in TEM which determines the final resolution)

• Diffraction lens

• Projective lens (all lens are inside the equipment column, between apertures)

• Image recording system (used to be negative films, now is CCD cameras)

• Vacuum system
Working:
1. The virtual source at the top represents the electron gun which produces of high
energy monochromatic electron beam.

2. The beam strikes the ultra thin specimen(usually thinner than 10 nm) and parts of
it are transmitted.

3. The image formed from the interaction of the electrons with the sample is
magnified and focused onto an imaging device, such as photographic film, a fluorescent
screen, or detected by CCD camera.

4. The darker areas of the image represents those areas of the sample that fewer
electrons were transmitted through (they are thicker or denser).

5. The lighter areas of the image represents those areas of the sample that more
electrons were transmitted through( they are thinner or less dense).

Applications: TEM gives the following useful information:

1. Morphology: The size, shape and arrangement of particles as well as their

relationship to one another on the scale of atomic diameters.

2. Crystallographic information: The arrangement of atoms in the specimen and

their degree of order, detection of atomic-scale defects a few nanometers in diameter.

3. Composition: To study the elements & compound ratio in a sample.

Applications of Nano materials or Nano technology:

Nano materials are ‘small materials with big future’ because of their extremely small
size, they have many applications and advantages.

1. Material technology:

• Nano materials used in cutting tools made up of nano crystalline materials which
are much harder, much more wear-resistant and last longer.

• Nano materials used as sensors.

• They are used as smoke detectors, ice-detectors on air craft wings.

2. Information-technology:
• Nanoparticles are used for information storage.

• Nan photonic crystals are used in chemical/1 computers.

• Nano thickness —controlled coating are used in optoelectronic devices.

• Nanoscale-fabricated magnetic materials are used in data storage.

• Used in opto electronic devices, mobiles and laptops etc.

3. Electronic industry:

Nano materials used in

• Glass fibres.

• Used to prepare laser diodes.

• Optical switches

• data memory

4. Medical field:

• Nano materials used in drug delivery systems.

• Used as agents in cancer therapy.

• Used as active agents.

• Used to reproduce or repair damaged tissues.