Facilities and capabilities
Infrared characterization
FTIR spectroscopy, 700 nm to 15 µm
Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer with an integrating sphere for hemispherical reflectance measurement across the full mid- and long-wave infrared. The range spans both atmospheric transmission windows — 3–5 µm and 8–13 µm — as well as the near-infrared bands relevant to thermophotovoltaic conversion.
For opaque samples, Kirchhoff's law gives spectral emissivity directly from measured reflectance: ε(λ) = 1 − R(λ). The integrating sphere captures diffusely scattered light as well as the specular component, so this holds for rough and textured surfaces, not only polished ones.
Variable-angle reflectance, 5° to 75°
Harrick Seagull variable-angle accessory covering the same 700 nm to 15 µm range, with incident angle continuously variable from 5° to 75°. A matched pair of infrared polarizers on the input and output arms allows independent selection of incident and analyzed polarization.
Polarization conversion
Because the input and output polarizers are set independently, we can measure the full set of co- and cross-polarized reflectances — Rss, Rpp, Rsp, and Rps.
Cross-polarized signal is the direct experimental signature of broken symmetry. A structure that converts s to p is one whose unit cell lacks the mirror symmetry that would forbid it, so Rsp measures the asymmetry.
Visible and near-infrared, 300 nm to 1100 nm
Ocean Optics USB-2000 FL spectrophotometer for reflection and transmission measurements, covering the solar band. Used together with the infrared instruments when a surface has to satisfy competing requirements — high solar reflectance and high infrared emittance, for instance, as passive cooling coatings must.
Thin-film optical constants
Angstrom Sun TFProbe 2.4 spectroscopic reflectometer for film-thickness measurement and extraction of effective n and k.
Measurement specifications
| Infrared range | 700 nm – 15 µm (FTIR, integrating sphere and variable-angle accessory) |
|---|---|
| Visible / near-IR range | 300 – 1100 nm (reflection and transmission) |
| Incident angle | 5° – 75° variable; near-normal hemispherical via integrating sphere |
| Quantities measured | Reflectance, transmittance, absorptance; spectral emissivity for opaque samples via Kirchhoff's law; film thickness and effective n, k |
| Polarization | Independent input and output polarizers: co-polarized (Rss, Rpp) and cross-polarized (Rsp, Rps) reflectance |
| Sample size | Variable-angle stage: 1.5 × 1.5 cm to 3 × 3 cm. Integrating sphere: 1.5 × 1.5 cm minimum |
| Typical turnaround | 1–2 business days once the sample is in hand |
Surface and structural characterization
Through the UMBC Keith R. Porter Imaging Facility we have access to an FEI Nova NanoSEM 450 scanning electron microscope with EDS for compositional analysis, a Bruker Dimension Edge atomic force microscope for surface topography, and a Hitachi HT7800 transmission electron microscope.
Design and simulation
Multiphysics modeling
COMSOL Multiphysics licenses covering electromagnetics, heat transfer, and CFD. Optical response and the resulting temperature field can be solved together.
Heat transfer and CFD
The COMSOL Heat Transfer and CFD modules support conjugate heat transfer, natural and forced convection, and coupled fluid–solid–radiation problems: electronics and power-module cooling, battery pack thermal behavior, heat exchanger and cold plate performance, enclosure and duct flow, and airflow in occupied spaces.
Local compute
Five 20-core workstations plus a 128-core Intel Xeon Platinum workstation with 256 GB of memory, dedicated to the group.
UMBC High Performance Computing Facility
Access to UMBC's HPC clusters, including the GPU cluster: 13 nodes with dual 24-core Cascade Lake CPUs and 384 GB of memory each, totalling 104 GPUs.
Nanofabrication access
Singh Center for Nanotechnology, University of Pennsylvania
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus is located 1.5 hours by train or car from the University of Pennsylvania Singh Center for Nanotechnology. The Singh Center contains a Quattrone Nanofabrication Facility with a Heidelberg DWL 66+ laser writer, Raith EBPG5200+ e-beam lithography system, MicroWriter ML3 Pro, SUSS MicroTec MA-6 mask aligner, resist spinners, ovens, and hotplate towers. Additionally, the Singh Center contains nanoscale characterization tools including a JEOL 7500F scanning electron microscope, a Quanta 600 FEG scanning electron microscope, and a Zeiss Axio Imager M2m microscope.
See Collaborate with us for the routes available, or email alokghanekar@umbc.edu.