Open Centre for the Characterization of Advanced Materials (OCCAM)

Facility Overview

The atomic-level properties of a material (both surface and bulk) greatly influence its overall performance. Understanding these properties is of primary importance, requiring:

• Acquisition of the richest possible chemical information.
• Structural imaging down to the nanometer and sub-nanometer scale.
• Ability to study materials under difficult conditions relevant to their operating conditions.

Open Centre for the Characterization of Advanced Materials (OCCAM) allows researchers ready access to state-of-the-art surface analytical equipment and electron microscopic techniques as well as the related expertise, thereby providing enabling information for the many disciplines involved in advanced materials research.

By expanding the leading-edge capabilities of Surface Interface Ontario (SI-Ontario) through partnering with the Electron Microscopy Unit of the Materials Science and Engineering Department, OCCAM ensures “one-stop shopping” at the frontiers of materials characterization while continuing the tradition of serving both academia and industry as a core-resource facility, truly.