Ceramic & Glass Analysis

Materials to beat the heat, time, and weather

Ceramics and industrial glass are inorganic, non-metallic materials that present unique analytical challenges due to their varied structures: they can have ordered crystalline or random non-crystalline (glassy) structures. The simplest glass, fused silica (SiO2), is costly and hard to process, so most glasses use SiO2 with soda as a flux, lime as a stabilizer, and other oxides to impart specific properties like color and hardness. Materials scientists manipulate these components to create glasses that are stronger, resistant to atmospheric conditions, effective at controlling radiative heat flow, or suitable for further specific applications. Analytical techniques like X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are very useful in ceramic analysis to help ensure quality and meet customer requirements.
 

Thermo Fisher Scientific offers solutions that help enable materials scientists and engineers to innovate at a faster pace, produce more reliable and better performing materials and processes,  reduce costs, and shorten the time to discoveries.
 

Featured products for ceramic analysis and glass analysis

K-Alpha X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) System

The Thermo Scientific K-Alpha X-Ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS) System introduces a fresh approach to surface analysis. It offers powerful performance with a streamlined workflow and unparalleled ease of use while maintaining high-quality results and advanced capabilities. Designed to meet the highest standards in the industry,  it provides advanced capabilities such as selectable area spectroscopy, sputter depth profiling, a micro-focused monochromator, and snapshot acquisition. With the K-Alpha XPS System, you can benefit from high-resolution chemical state spectroscopy, insulator analysis, an ion source for depth profiling, and quantitative chemical imaging for precise and reliable results.

ARL X'TRA Companion X-Ray Diffractometer

The Thermo Scientific ARL X'TRA Companion X-ray Diffractometer is ideal for analyzing ceramics and glass. It provides detailed phase analysis and characterization, helping to ensure accurate and reproducible results with minimal sample preparation. The instrument's advanced capabilities, such as one-click Rietveld quantification and fast data collection, make it a powerful tool for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of polycrystalline materials, enhancing the efficiency and precision of ceramic and glass analysis.

ARL X'TRA Companion: ARL QUANT'X EDXRF Spectrometer

The Thermo Scientific ARL QUANT'X Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) Spectrometer is ideal for precise analysis of ceramics and glass. It features a silicon drift detector (SDD) and a 50 W Rh or Ag X-ray tube, measuring elements from sodium (Na) to uranium (U) accurately. This versatile spectrometer supports non-destructive analysis of solids, powders, and liquids, making it suitable for industrial environments. The ARL QUANT'X spectrometer offers small spot analysis, vacuum and helium options for enhanced light element detection, and the Thermo Scientific UniQuant Standard-less Quantification Software for comprehensive elemental analysis. Its compact design, minimal maintenance, and low operational costs make it essential for quality control and research in ceramics and glass industries.

ARL PERFORM'X Sequential X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer

The Thermo Scientific ARL PERFORM'X Sequential X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer for advanced materials characterization integrates bulk elemental analysis with mapping and small spot analysis, enabling the evaluation of up to 90 elements in various sample types. The ARL PERFORM'X spectrometer supports the analysis of materials of varied sizes, including ceramics and glass, coatings, layers, and inclusions, providing precise and reliable results. Its advanced capabilities help ensure accurate detection across wide elemental coverage and concentration ranges, making it an essential tool for detailed materials analysis in these industries.

DXR3xi Raman Imaging Microscope

The Thermo Scientific DXR3xi Raman Imaging Microscope reveals research grade imaging faster than ever. With enhanced software features and higher spatial resolution, the user can gain visual information instantly. Advanced imaging capabilities coupled with minimal sample prep and intuitive software give users the power of Raman at speeds researchers need.

ChemiSEM Technology

Thermo Scientific ChemiSEM Technology offers a leap forward in convenience and speed of analysis. It integrates advanced elemental analysis with the electron image in real time. Within one software interface, the operator can visualize or manipulate images of the sample in several ways:

 

View the sample image from any electron detector.

  • See areas of different chemical composition on the sample surface
  • Viewpoint and area compositional analyses with a single click
  • Chart compositional changes across the sample
  • Create maps of elemental or phase distribution across the sample

 

ChemiSEM Technology simplifies EDS analysis by fully integrating SEM and EDS functions into a single, cohesive user interface. Based on live quantification and building on decades of expertise in EDS analysis, the technology provides elemental information quickly and easily, helping to ensure reliable results. And because ChemiSEM Technology is always on, it can dramatically shorten time to results, highlight features that would have previously gone unnoticed, and provide more complete information.

Thermo Scientific compounding & extrusion and rheology instruments

Thermo Scientific extrusion and rheology solutions offer a full range of instruments to help scientists develop products and make confident decisions. Our comprehensive portfolio of viscometers and rheometers supports reliable measurement of rheological properties, aiding in tasks from predicting shelf-life to improving textures to determining viscoelasticity.

Avizo Software

Thermo Scientific Avizo Software is an all-in-one image analysis platform that allows for the visualization, processing, and quantification of porous materials. Avizo software enables the detection and classification of various types of porosity.

Advanced ceramic analysis and glass analysis technologies

Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy is an analytical technique that observes vibrational, rotational, and other low-frequency modes in a system through inelastic scattering of monochromatic light, usually from a laser. This interaction shifts the energy of the laser photons, revealing information about molecular vibrations. It is valuable for characterizing molecular structures, identifying substances, and studying molecular interactions without extensive sample preparation.

FTIR spectroscopy

FTIR is the standard for chemical identification work with low-cost, efficient workflow solutions or high-resolution research applications, all with speed and simplicity of operation. Thermo Scientific FTIR spectrometers are designed to optimize the light throughput and to achieve higher signal-to-noise ratios, without requiring external calibration standards—providing you with reliable, accurate, and precise results.

X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis

X-ray diffraction is a versatile, nondestructive analytical technique that’s sensitive to the atomic structure of matter. XRD enables phase identification, quantification, and many more applications used for a diverse array of industrial and research applications.

X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) elemental analysis

X-ray fluorescence technology is well known to provide accurate, nondestructive elemental analysis. Using XRF, researchers can achieve rapid material characterization and analysis to help ensure product chemistry specifications are met—and our XRF instruments provide the fast and reliable results they need.

X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, also known as electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), is a highly surface-sensitive, quantitative, chemical analysis technique that can be used to solve a wide range of materials problems. XPS is the measurement of photoelectrons ejected from the surface of a material that has been irradiated with X-rays. The kinetic energy of the emitted photoelectrons is measured. This energy is directly related to the photoelectrons’ binding energy within the parent atom and is characteristic of the element and its chemical state.

Compounding & extrusion and rheology

Compounding & extrusion, along with rheology, are essential in industrial ceramics and glass manufacturing. Compounding involves mixing raw materials to create a homogeneous mixture, while extrusion shapes this mixture into desired forms. Rheology studies the flow behavior of these materials, helping optimize processes like mixing and molding, and ensuring quality control. Together, these techniques are used to produce and analyze materials and help ensure efficient production and high-quality, consistent products.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.