We have used ellipsometry to study oligonucleotides bound on an array by observing changes in the optical thickness of the organic material attached to the surface. Interferometry has been used as a complementary technique to confirm our ellipsometry measurements. We have used these optical methods to characterize the chemical steps involved in synthesizing oligonucleotides on a solid support. Large area arrays have been mapped by ellipsometry with a spatial resolution of ∼1 mm 2 and a sub-nanometer optical thickness resolution. We have demonstrated that this method can differentiate between areas containing oligonucleotides of different lengths.

The increasing world population with their growing consumption of goods escalates the issue of sustainability concepts with increasing demands in recycling technologies. Recovery of post-consumer packaging waste is a major topic in this respect. However, contamination with odorous constituents currently curtails the production of recycling products that meet the high expectations of both consumers and industry.To guarantee odor-free recyclates, the main prerequisite is to characterize the molecular composition of the causative odorants in post-consumer plastic packaging waste. However, targeted characterization of odorous trace contaminants among an abundance of volatiles is a major challenge and requires specialized and high-resolution analytical approaches. For this aim, post-consumer packaging waste was characterized by sensory analysis and two-dimensional high resolution gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and olfactometry. The 33 identified odorants represent various structural classes as well as a great diversity of smell impressions with some of the compounds being identified in plastics for the first time. Substances unraveled within this study provide insights into sources of odorous contamination that will require specific attention in the future in terms of screening and prevention in recycling products.

The applicability of the EBIC technique for studying the gettering of impurities to dislocations and other extended defects is discussed, including how quantitative values for the energy level position and concentration of the resulting electronic states can be determined when the Wilshaw model of recombination is obeyed. New experimental results from “clean” dislocations deformed at 900°C are presented along with evidence of the existence of a band of states at dislocations. In addition, EBIC measurements of nickel decorated dislocations show recombination behaviour that may be described in terms of a mixture of Wilshaw's recombination model and another type of mechanism. Finally, a new effect termed “electron beam induced activity” has been discovered, whereby the electron beam increases the electrical activity observed.

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