Invited
TOWARDS REAL TIME IMAGING OF SURFACE ELECTRODES

We present spectroscopic tools that enable examination of electrodes surfaces during electrochemical processes, based on second harmonic generation (SHG) techniques. The approach has the capability of analyzing surface species, surface films, passivation phenomena and can be highly useful for the understanding the behavior of new electrochemical systems.

Among other techniques, SHG offers a unique advantage, as a second order optical process, it is insensitive to media with inversion symmetry and therefore due to high symmetry of most metals the observed signal is due to processes occurring at electrode interface. The key impact of such a technique is the ability to probe electronic structure at the interface while completely avoiding contribution from the bulk.

We further show our results from Cathodo Luminesence microscopy technique which allows for defect inspection in thin film, nanostructures and devices down to the nano scale. This is a poweful tool for failure analysis in optoelectronic and power devices as will be shown.