Thermal analysis

Abstract

Thermal analysis provides information about the thermal behavior of the investigated material. It comprises a group of analytical techniques performed in controlled conditions and under a controlled temperature program. The measured physical properties include mass, temperature difference, enthalpy, etc. Thermogravimetry alone or in combination with differential thermal analysis and/or differential scanning calorimetry have been used in chemical solution deposition of functional oxide thin films as the analytical methods of choice to study the thermal decomposition of the as-synthesized (liquid) and in most cases dried precursors of the thin-film materials, often in combination with other analytical techniques such as evolved gas analysis by means of infra-red spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, measurements of selected electrical, optical, or other, properties, to provide further insight into the processes taking place in the materials undergoing chemical and structural changes upon heating. There are only a limited number of thermal analysis studies of thin films, mainly due to the extremely low film/substrate mass ratio.