Materials Science & Engineering Centre (MSE-Lab)

The materials science centre is a core research centre housing instrumentation for advanced materials science and engineering analysis and fabrication. The centre is a collaboration between the University of Iceland, the UI Science Institute, Reykjavik University and IceTec.

The centre coordinates the running and access to advanced research and development infrastructure in Iceland for both academic and industrial research. The centre enables fabrication of materials ranging from additive manufacturing down to microfabrication and detailed material analysis from large scale properties such as hardness and chemical composition down to atomic structure.

The research infrastructure of the centre is distributed between the three collaborating institutes, the University of Iceland, Reykjavik University and IceTec.

The centre was founded in 2020 to combine and strengthen the research capabilities of the three founding institutes on materials science, materials engineering and within high-tech
industries. A large part of the infrastructure of the centre was funded by the Icelandic Infrastructure Fund through the Roadmap for Research Infrastructure.

Further information on each infrastructure can be obtained by contacting the board or infrastructure contact person.

Videos about the roadmap in materials science and materials engineering:

Collaborating Institutes

University of Iceland / UI Science Institute
Core facilities for cleanroom processing, lithography, atomic structure, electrical and magnetic characterization, corrosion and tribology. Facilities are maintained by the Materials Engineering and Corrosion Centre at the University of Iceland and by the Solid State Physics Research group within the UI Nanotechnology and Materials Science Centre
IceTec
Core facilities for metallic additive manufacturing, scanning electron microscopy, Raman microscopy and materials characterization.
Reykjavik University
Core infrastructure for advanced additive manufacturing and high temperature electrochemistry. Facilities are maintained by the Icelandic Centre for Advanced Additive Manufacturing (ICAAM) and the High Temperature Electrochemistry Centre.

Focus areas

The Materials Science and Engineering Centre houses core infrastructure for research and development on materials science and materials engineering. Researchers from other institutions and technology companies in Iceland are welcome to inquire about access to the facilities of the centre.

The centre enables research and development in a multitude of fields ranging from materials manufacture and deposition to materials analysis. The capabilities of the centre span a multitude of research and applied fields enabling the development of new materials and their application in industry. The materials development capabilities of the centre span from atomic scale deposition up to large scale materials processing and 3D printing. The analysis equipment of the centre enables detailed information on materials properties to be obtained from the atomic scale up to industrial testing. An overview of the available instrumentation is given below.

The focus research areas within the centre include:

Magnetic materials
Magnetic materials are a growing field of research in energy materials, sensors, memory applications and even as a computing platform
Thin film physics
The physics of ultrathin films, ranging from single atomic layers up to hundreds of micrometers, is a core aspect of device physics in multiple fields and a cornerstone of the development of new materials.
Semiconductor physics
Semiconductors are the core material used for multiple devices including computational devices, power circuits in electric vehicles and LED lighting.
Metal additive manufacturing
Metal additive manufacturing based on selective laser melting allows the creation of complex parts while maintaining the mechanical properties of high-performance metal parts.
Advanced Additive Manufacturing
The Icelandic Center for Advanced Additive Manufacturing (ICAAM). Development of anatomical prototypes, rapid manufacture of multi-material and multicolor specialized tools and parts.
Materials Engineering and Corrosion
Demanding applications such as geothermal production in high temperature and harsh environments require materials which can withstand the harsh conditions.
High temperature electrochemistry
The High Temperature Electrochemistry Center at Reykjavik University works on developing new processes for large scale manufacturing.
Cleanroom processing and microfabrication
Micro- and nanolithography in cleanroom facilities is the cornerstone of advanced device fabrication in multiple fields.

Infrastructure

Additive manufacturing - Metallic and plastic 3D printing

Metallic 3D printing
IceTec
Additive manufacturing of 316L steel and aluminium parts with a printing size of 16x16x20 cm³
Infrastructure: iSLM160 from Anima.
Contact: Dagur Ingi Ólafsson, dagur@taeknisetur.is
Advanced additive manufacturing
Reykjavik University
3D printing of complex shapes and intricate details of a variety of colors and models even in a single model.
Infrastructure: J850 Digigal Anatomy 3D printer from Stratasys
Contact: ICAAM

Materials analysis

X-ray diffraction
UI Science Institute
Thin film and powder X-ray diffraction of crystals and amorphous materials. Capabilities include non-ambient stage for temperature dependent XRD studies from 77 K up to 500°C.
Infrastructure: Malvern Panalytical Empyrean XRD system.
Contact: Friðrik Magnus, fridrikm@hi.is
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
IceTec
High resolution scanning electron microscopy with included EDX materials characterization.
Infrastructure: Zeiss Leo electron microscope.
Contact: Birgir Jóhannesson, birgir@taeknisetur.is
LECO materials analysis
Tæknisetur
Elemental analysis for hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen etc focussed on production materials such as aluminium, steel and silicon.
Infrastructure: LECO O836.
Contact: Rauan Meirbekova, rauan@taeknisetur.is
X-ray fluorescence materials analysis (XRF)
UI Science Institute
Elemental analysis of materials using x-ray fluorescence. Materials range from Na up to Am and possibilities of elemental material characterization down to C.
Infrastructure: Malvern Panalytical Epsilon 4 system.
Contact: Unnar Arnalds, uarnalds@hi.is
Vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM)
UI Science Institute
Magnetic characterization of materials from 77 K up to 1000°C with filed capabilities up to 2 Tesla.
Infrastructure: LakeShore Cryotronics 8600 Series VSM.
Contact: Friðrik Magnus, fridrikm@hi.is
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
UI Science Institute
Atomic force microscopy of surface morphology down to sub-nanometer resolutions. Capabilities for magnetic force microscopy.
Infrastructure: Park Systems XE-100.
Contact: Unnar Arnalds, uarnalds@hi.is
Hall effect and resistivity analysis
UI Science Institute
Capabilities for Hall measurements, four-point electrical characterization and MOSFET characterization. The system has a field capability of 1 Tesla.
Infrastructure: ezHEMS tæki frá NanoMagnetics Instruments Oxford.
Contact: Einar Örn Sveinbjörnsson, einars@hi.is

Microfabrication and nano-coating

Optical lithography
UI Science Institute
Optical lithography maskless aligner instrument wit linewidth resolution down to 600 nm and Write field of 100x100 mm²
Infrastructure: Heidelberg Instruments uMLA.
Contact: Unnar Arnalds, uarnalds@hi.is
Atomic layer deposition (ALD)
UI Science Institute
Thin film oxide coating for semiconductor development up to 4” wafer sizes.
Infrastructure: ANRICTechnologies AT-410.
Contact: Einar Örn Sveinbjörnsson, einars@hi.is
Thin film deposition
UI Science Institute
Thin film coating technologies based on evaporation and magnetron sputtering.
Contact: Unnar Arnalds, uarnalds@hi.is

Materials engineering and corrosion

Autoclave
University of Iceland
Corrosion testing of materials in high pressure and high temperature corrosive environments.
Contact: Sigrún Nanna Karlsdóttir, snk@hi.is
Nano-indendation and scratch testing
University of Iceland
Testing of mechanical properties of bulk materials and coatings at the nanoscale up to the macro level.
Infrastructure: iNano from Nanomechanics Inc.
Contact: Sigrún Nanna Karlsdóttir, snk@hi.is
Bio-mechanical tester
University of Iceland
Bio-mechanical tester with a temperature-controlled media bath to evaluate the mechanical behavior of materials in a simulated body fluid.
Contact: Sigrún Nanna Karlsdóttir, snk@hi.is

Molten salt electrochemistry

Molten salt electrochemistry
Reykjavik University
Potentiostat and sublimation device for molten slat electrochemistry investigations.
Infrastructure: Ivium XP4.EIS potentiostat, Entech vertical tube furnace and MBraun LABstar Basic glovebox.
Contact: Guðrún A. Sævarsdóttir, gudrunsa@ru.is
High temperature furnace
Reykjavik University
High temperature furnace capable of reaching up to 1700°C temperatures for molten salt electrochemistry applications.
Infrastructure: AET furnace.
Contact: Guðrún A. Sævarsdóttir, gudrunsa@ru.is
Vacuum tilt casting machine
Reykjavik University
Flexible tilting furnace designed to melt and cast stainless steel, beryl-copper, platinum or similar alloys in a ceramic crucible and cast into flasks, ingot moulds or shell moulds.
Infrastructure: VTC200V Vacuum tilt casting machine.
Contact: Guðrún A. Sævarsdóttir, gudrunsa@ru.is

Board

Dr. Unnar B. Arnalds, professor at the University of Iceland
Dr. Guðbjörg Hrönn Óskarsdóttir, IceTec director
Dr. Guðrún A. Sævarsdóttir, professor at Reykjavik Univesity
Dr. Friðrik Magnus, research professor at the University of Iceland
Dr. Sigrún Nanna Karlsdóttir, professor at the University of Iceland

Users and collaborators

In addition to academic researchers and employees of the University of Iceland, Reykjavik University and IceTec several additional users and collaborators utilize the infrastructure of the Materials Science and Materials Engineering Centre including:

Related material

Roadmap to Research Infrastructures

Icelandic Roadmap for Research Infrastructures

Research and Innovation Rannis