Optical Image of Additive Manufacturing Material

Nanoscale Materials Characterization Facility

Instrumentation

Electron Microscopy for High Resolution Imaging

Macro through Atomic-Scale Imaging, Phase and Compositional Analysis

X-ray Instrumentation for Materials Characterization

Determination of bulk and surface elemental composition, chemistry and phase

Optical Spectroscopy & Microscopy

Surface topography, roughness, and porosity analysis; 2-D/3-D videography and imaging; sample preparation/testing equipment

State-of-the-art materials characterization.....

The Nanoscale Materials Characterization Facility (NMCF) staff provide analytical services and solutions to academia and industry by characterizing materials of all types. Analysis of structure, composition, and defects utilizing X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, optical imaging, atomic force microscopy, FT-IR & Raman spectroscopies, and electron microscopies (SEM & HR-S/TEM) which may be combined with elemental analysis.

More About Us

  • Students with Themis TEM

    Facility Instrumentation Tour

    Process solutions, defect analysis, and materials characterization solutions for academia and industry. Introduction to the Nanoscale Materials Characterization Facility instruments and capabilities.

  • SEM Heightmap

    Deciding on the right analytical technique

    Need assistance selecting the appropriate materials characterization method? 

  • NMCF Team

    Meet the Experts

    The NMCF team is available to analyze, assist, and train. 

NMCF Recent Publications


“Investigating the synergistic benefits of Al on Cr(III) in the passive films of FeCoNi-Cr-Al CCAs in sulfuric acid,” Debashish Sur, Nathan C. Smith, Peter F. Connors, William H. Blades, Mitra L. Taheri, Christopher M. Wolverton, Karl Sieradzki, and John R. Scully, Electrochimica Acta, Vol 513, 145523, (2025)

 

"Magnesium sulfide powder analyzed by XPS," Noah Jäggi & Catherine A. Dukes,  Surf. Sci. Spectra 32 (1): 014001 (2025)

 

"A universal strategy for decoupling stiffness and extensibility of polymer networks," Baiqiang Huang, Shifeng Nian & Li-Heng Cai, Science Advances 10, eadq3080 (2024)

NMCF Location.....

The NMCF is located within UVA's Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Department in Wilsdorf & Jesser Halls. Instrumentation for materials characterization is available for use by qualified faculty and students at UVA, as well as by researchers from industry and academic / government institutions.

Statistics

>130 Monthly NMCF Users

5 NMCF Staff Members

330+ Publications

17 Major Analytical Instruments

Questions? Comments?

Arthur W. Lichtenberger

Research Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dr. Lichtenberger is a Research Professor at UVA and the NRAO Director of the UVA Microfabrication Laboratories. He has built an internationally recognized research program in superconducting materials, devices, circuits and packaging for ultra-sensitive single pixel and and array THz detectors.