Facilities Available

Users interested in booking the slots please submit the dully filled central facility usage form (below) in person to respective facility in-charge (or) book by online using the links provided under respective facility sections below:

Central facility usage form

Characterization Facilities

Optical Microscopy and Metallography laboratory

In-charge: Prof. S. Dasgupta, Prof. R. Ranjan, Prof. S. Bose

Optical Microscopes

Carl Zeiss (Inverted)
Model MAT 200 Motorised Axio Vision (Version 4.7.2)
Mode of Operation BF/DF/TIC/Transmission/DIC slides
Filters Blue/Green/Yellow
CCD TWAINE CAMERA IMAGE ACQUISITION
Halogen Bulb HAL100: 12V, 100W and Bio-imaging using Fluorescence (HBO) attachments with 63x oil immersion objective
Charges Department ( per hour) 200
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 1000
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)
Leica DMi8
Model DMi8
Mode of Operation BF/DF/Phase contrast/DIC/Fluorescence contrast
Charges Department ( per hour) 200
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 1000
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)
Metallography
Struers dual disc polisher
Metco single and dual disc polisher
Diamond wheel cutter, Hot compaction and Abrasive Grinder
Automatic Polisher and Abrasive wheel cutting machine
Ultrasonic cleaning, etchants and Fume hood
Charges (one-time usage) Department ( per hour) 200
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 1000
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)

Electron Microscopy laboratory

In-charge: Dr. R. Ravi, Professor Subodh Kumar, Professor S. Dasgupta, Professor Satyam Suwas

Scanning electron microscope (SEM)
Model ESEM Quanta 200, FEI
Source W-Filament
Detectors E-T SE, Solid state BSE
Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer (EDAX)
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 500
Academic ( per hour) 1000
Industry ( per 3 hours) 5000 + GST
Contact person Dr. Ravi R (emlab.mte@iisc.ac.in) Click this link for online booking
Electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA)
Model JEOL JXA-8530F
Source Thermal Field Emission
Detectors 6 WDS detector (3 for heavy elements and 3 for light elements), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer, Back-scattered electron (BSE) detector
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 500
Academic ( per hour) 2500
Industry ( per hour) 5000 + GST
Contact person Dr. Ravi R (emlab.mte@iisc.ac.in) Click this link for online booking.
Atomic force microscope (AFM)
Model JPK Nanowizard R3
Imaging Modes Phase contrast, Force Modulation, Spreading Resistance
Scan Range 70 μm
Drive Resolution Z: 0.21 nm and XY: 1 nm
Auto Approach 5 mm with maximum speed 0.1mm/s
Cantilevers CONTR/NCLR (FREQUENCY: 15-300 kHz)
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 200
Academic ( per hour) 400
Industry ( per 3 hours) 2000
Contact person Prof. Sachin R. Rondiya (rondiya@iisc.ac.in)
Scanning tunneling microscope (STM)
Model
Scan Range 1 μm
Maximum Z range 200 nm
Drive Resolution Z: 0.21 nm and XY: 1 nm
Tip-Sample approach Stick-slip piezo motor
Sample Size Maximum 10 mm diameter
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour)
Academic ( per hour)
Industry ( per 3 hours)
Contact person Prof. Praveen C. Ramamurthy (praveen@iisc.ac.in)

X-ray Diffraction Laboratory

In-charge: Professor R. Ranjan, Professor Satyam Suwas, Dr. G. S. Avadhani

Click this link for online booking.

X-pert PRO
Model X-Pert PRO, PANalytical
Target Cu
Other specifications Secondary graphite monochromator
flat plate horizontal sample holder, X-Celerator* for faster data acquisition, X-Pert Hi-Score plus software pattern analysis and phase identification (ICDD data base)
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 250
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 2500
Contact person Dr. G.S. Avadhani (gsa@@iisc.ac.in)
Rigaku
Model Rigaku Smart Lab
Target Cu
Other specifications
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 250
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 2500
Contact person Dr. G.S. Avadhani (gsa@@iisc.ac.in)
X-ray radiography
Model Stenoscope 9000
Description Mobile medical X-ray unit equipped with a C-arm,
on which an image intensifier and X-ray source are mounted.
The X-ray system enables operation in one of several modes:
standard radiography, high-resolution fluoroscopy, pulsed fluoroscopy,
and standard fluoroscopy. Up to 50 min of continuous X-ray emission in
the fluoroscopy mode allowed collection of the high-quality, distortion-free images
Operating Modes Standard radiography, high-resolution fluoroscopy, pulsed fluoroscopy, and standard fluoroscopy
Voltage and Current range 40 to 110 kV
0.1 to 6 mA
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 200
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 3000
Contact person Prof. Govind S. Gupta (govindg@iisc.ac.in)

Residual Stress (Laser)

Thin film residual stress measurement
Model KLA Tencor FLX 2320
Description Measures curvature of plates and beams using laser. Temperatures down to 0°C. Dual beam for stresses measurements for transparent coatings
Heating Stage Heating stage up to 500°C in ambient atmospheres or under inert gas
Statical Strain Maximum size is 8 inches wafer. Plates, disks, beams with longest measurable length less than 8 inches dia. can also be used
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour)
Academic ( per hour)
Industry ( per 3 hours)
Contact person Prof. Praveen Kumar (praveenk@iisc.ac.in)

Thermal Characterization Laboratory

In-charge: Professor S. Kumar, Professor S. Karthikeyan, Dr. P. Padaikathan

Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC)
Model Mettler-Toledo DSC 822e
Specifications  Sample mass/volume: minimum of 0.5 -20mg/up to 150ul
 Temperature range: Between -150°C and +70°C
 Cooling option: Liquid Nitrogen (pressurized to 20-30psi)
 Heating rate: 2—50 K/min
 Cooling rate: from 500°C to 100°C in 8min
Resolution 0.4 μW
Other Features Auto-Sampler Robot (for 32 No. of tests) and LN2 – Dewar capacity 240litre
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 250
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 2500
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)
Model NETZSCH STA 449 F-3 Jupiter
Specifications Sample mass/volume: up to 35 mg
Temperature range: Between RT and 1500°C
Atmosphere Vacuum/Argon
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 250
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 2500
Contact person Prof. Surendra Kumar Makineni (skmakineni@iisc.ac.in)
TG-DSC and TG-DTA
Model NETZSCH STA 409
Specifications Temperature range: 25°C to 1600°C (SiC: HEATING ELEMENT)
Heating and cooling rates: 5 K/min to 50 K/min
Weighing range: 200 mg
Resolution TGA: up to 0.002 mg and DSC < 1 μW
Atmosphere inert, oxidizing, reducing, static, dynamic
Other Features TG features:
Automatic evaluation of mass-change steps, Calculation of mass/temperature values and residual mass, Automatic baseline
DSC/DTA features:
Determination of onset, peak, inflection and end temperatures, Automatic peak search, Comprehensive analysis of glass transitions
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 250
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 2500
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)

Particle and Pore Characterization Laboratory

In-charge: Professor A. M. Raichur, Professor P. C. Ramamurthy, Dr. P. Padaikathan, Mr. R. J. Deshpande

Atomic absorption spectrometer
Model Series AA Spectrometer, Thermo Electron Corporation
Elements analysed Common elements including base metals and alkaline earth metals
Monochromator HR 640 monochromator incorporating a holographic grating with 2400 grooves/mm with a linear dispersion of 0.6nm/mm
Instrument Sensitivity ~0.05ppm
Range Up to 5ppm
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 250
Academic ( per hour) 1000
Industry ( per 3 hours) 3000 + GST
Contact person Mr. R.J. Deshpande (rjd@iisc.ac.in)
Particle size analyzer
Model Zetasizer Nanoseries-ZEN 3690 (Malvern Instruments)
Particle size range 1 nm to 3 µm
Size range for zeta potential 5 nm to 10 µm
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 250
Academic ( per hour) 1000
Industry ( per 3 hours) 3000 + GST
Contact person Mr. R.J. Deshpande (rjd@iisc.ac.in)
Automatic micropore physisorption analyzer
Model Micromeritics ASAP 2020
Analysis Gases N2, Ar, CO2, O2, Kr, CO, Butane or any non-corrosive gas
Analytical Techniques Single-point BET surface area, Multi-point BET surface area, Adsorption isotherm, Desorption isotherms, Langmuir surface area, BJH Mesopore volume, BJH Mesopore area, Total pore volume, deBoer t-Plot & others, MP-Method, Micropore Volume, Micropore Surface Area, Micropore Size Distribution, a s Plot, f-Ratio plot, Heat of adsorption, Freundlich & Temkin, Density Functional Theory, Reference isotherms, Horvath-Kawazoe, Dubinin-Radushkevich, Dubinin-Astakhov and Graph Overlays
Operating Specifications Surface Area Range 0.0005 m2/g and up
Pore Diameter Range : 3.5 – 5000 Angstroms
Micropore Volume: Detectable within 0.0001 cc/g
Pressure Measurement Resolution 0 to 1 mmHg
Transducer 0.000001 mmHg0 to 10 mmHg
Transducer: 0.00001 mmHg0 to 1000 mmHg
Transducer: 0.001 mmHg
Typical Relative Pressures N2 / Liquid N2 : 10-7 Ar / Liquid Ar: 10-7 CO2 at 25 o C: 10-9
Charges (Rupees per hour) Department ( per hour) 3000
Academic ( per hour) 5000
Industry ( per 3 hours) 8000 + GST
Contact person Mr. R.J. Deshpande (rjd@iisc.ac.in)

Alloy Preparation Laboratory

In-charge: Professor S. Suwas, Professor A. Paul, Dr. P. Padaikathan

Vacuum Arc Melting/Casting
Model Custom Made
Vacuum 10-6
Electrode Non-Consumable W
Capacity 3 grams to 200 grams
Casting dimensions 3 mm to 12 mm diameter/thickness
Charges (Rupees per hour + GST) Department ( per hour) 250 (<20 grams) 300 (>20grams)
Academic ( per hour) 500 (<20 grams) 700 (>20grams)
Industry ( per 3 hours) 1000 (<20 grams) 1500 (>20grams)
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)
Vacuum Quartz Sealing Unit
Model Custom Made
Vacuum 10-6 mbar
Charges (Rupees per hour + GST) Department ( per hour) 250
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 1000
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)
Melt Spinning Unit
Model Custom Made
Vacuum 10-6 mbar
Charges (Rupees per hour + GST) Department ( per hour) 250
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 1000
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)
Induction Melting Unit
Model Custom Made
Vacuum 10-6 mbar
Charges (Rupees per hour + GST) Department ( per hour) 250
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 1000
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)
Planetary Ball Mill
Model FRISCH Pulverisette 7
Vacuum 10-6 mbar
Working principle Impact force
Max feed Size 5 mm
Maximum sample quantity 40 ml
Final fitness < 0.5 µm
Grinding process Dry/Wet
Speed of Main disc 100 rpm – 800 rpm
Transmission Ratio I (relative) = 1:2
Charges (Rupees per hour + GST) Department ( per hour) 250
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 1000
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)

Heat Treatment

In-charge: Dr. S. K. Makineni, Professor S. Suwas, Professor A. Paul

Hot air ovens

200 deg. C – 3 racks
250 deg. C – 3 racks

Tube furnaces

Two small tube furnaces- 80 mm dia – 1050 deg. C
One tube furnace – 50 mm dia-1300 deg C
One tube furnace – 100 mm dia 1700 deg. C

Box furnaces

One box furnace – chamber size 6″x1.5′- 1100 deg. C
One box furnace- chamber size 6″x1″- 1350 deg C
One box furnace – chamber size 6″x6″ – 1700 deg. C

Note:

For temperature precision to better than 5 deg. C, you need to take additional steps for calibration. If you want to heat below 300 deg.C, you can find first the difference between the actual and set temperatures by using a thermometer, which can go up to 250 deg. C. These thermometers are available in stores or local companies. Relatively high temperature furnaces should be calibrated with the help of melting point of gold (ask any PhD students in Prof. Aloke Paul’s lab for help). Note that this procedure is relatively more reliable than other methods.
For reliable results, perform your own calibration, especially after changing the tube or thermocouple. For one set of experiments use the same furnace to minimise errors. It is very difficult to calibrate 1700 deg. C furnace running in air. However, we have seen that above 1500 deg. C, furnaces are reliable even without any additional calibration.

Furnaces
Muffle Furnace (Delta Make), Max Temp: 1350oC
Three Zone Tubular Furnace (Delta Make), Max Temp: 1200oC
Tubular Furnace (Delta Make), Max Temp: 1100oC
Oven (Delta Make), Max Temp: 200oC
Tublar furnace (Delta Make), Max Temp: 1400oC
Tublar furnace (Delta Make), Max Temp: 1400oC
Tublar furnace (Delta Make), Max Temp: 1400oC
Model Delta Make
Charges (Rupees per hour + GST) Department ( per hour) 250(<600°C); 500(>1200 in air); 750(>1200 in vacuum)
Academic ( per hour) 500(<600°C); 750(>1200 in air); 1000(>1200 in vacuum)
Industry ( per 3 hours) 750(<600°C); 1250(>1200 in air); 1500(>1200 in vacuum)
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)

Directional Solidification

Modified Bridgman Furnaces for DS/Single-crystal studies
MoSi2 heating element: Max temperature: 1700 deg. C;
Velocities: up to 1-200 µm/sec; Vacuum/Argon atmospheres
Graphite furnace, temperatures up to 1800 deg. C,
Vacuum/Argon atmospheres; speeds 1-200 µm/sec
Low temperature furnace up to 1000 deg. C, Gradients up to 30 K/mm,
and speeds up to 0.5-200 µm/sec
Charges* (Rupees per hour + GST) Department ( per hour) -
Academic ( per hour) -
Industry ( per 3 hours) 200 (low temperature frunace); 1000 (MoSi2 and Graphite furnaces)
Contact person Prof. Abhik Choudhury (abhiknc@iisc.ac.in)

*material preparation and cost is the responsibility of user.

Computational Facilities

Computational facility with precision air conditioning with a redundant cooling capacity of 5 tones with variable scroll control for heat load variability.

Clusters
The department has several computing clusters available, with contributions from the groups of Prof. T. A. Abinandanan, Prof. S. Karthikeyan, Prof. Abhik Choudhury, and Prof. Sai Gautam Gopalakrishnan. All computing clusters are located in a facility in the E-wing of the department. Interested people can contact respective faculty for usage which is FREE and therefore not guaranteed.
Individual clusters are handled by respective faculties; the precision cooling is under the supervision of Prof. Abhik Choudhury

Mechanical Testing

In-charge: Professor Praveen Kumar, Professor Satyam Suwas, Dr. G. S. Avadhani

Click this link for online booking.

Tensile, Compression and Bending testing

Instron 5967
Model Instron 5967
Kind of Tests Tension, Compression, Bending
Strain rate (s-1) 0.00001 to 0.1
Load Cell 2 kN, 5 kN, and 30 kN
Temperature Room Temperature (RT) and High Temperature (HT; upto 650 °C)
Charges Department ( per hour) RT-100; HT-125
Academic ( per hour) RT-200; HT-250
Industry ( per 3 hours) RT-2500; HT-3000
Contact person Mr. Kantharaja (kantharaja@iisc.ac.in)
ZWICK/ROELL Z100
Model Zwick-Roell
Kind of Tests Tension, Compression, Bending
Strain rate (s-1) 0.00001 to 0.1
Load Cell 0.5 kN, 10 kN and 100 kN
Temperature Room Temperature (RT) and High Temperature (HT; upto 1000 °C)
Charges Department ( per hour) RT-100; HT-125
Academic ( per hour) RT-200; HT-250
Industry ( per 3 hours) RT-2500; HT-3000
Contact person Mr. Kantharaja (kantharaja@iisc.ac.in)
DARTEC
Model DARTEC
Kind of Tests Tension, Compression
Strain rate (s-1) 0.0003 to 10
Load Cell 100 kN
Temperature Room Temperature (RT) and High Temperature (HT; upto 1200 °C)
Charges Department ( per hour) RT-150; HT-175
Academic ( per hour) RT-300; HT-350
Industry ( per 3 hours) RT-3000; HT-3500
Contact person Mr. Kantharaja (kantharaja@iisc.ac.in)

Fatigue and dynamic testing

INSTRON 8502
Model INSTRON 8502
Kind of Tests Fatigue, 3-point Bending
Strain rate (s-1) 0.0001 to 0.1
Load Cell 100 kN
Temperature Room Temperature (RT)
Charges Department ( per hour) RT-100; HT-150
Academic ( per hour) RT-200; HT-300
Industry ( per 3 hours) RT-2500; HT-3500
Contact person Mr. Kantharaja (kantharaja@iisc.ac.in)

INSTRON 8032

INSTRON 8032
Model INSTRON 8032
Kind of Tests Fatigue, 3-point Bending
Strain rate (s-1) 0.0001 to 0.1
Load Cell 100 kN
Temperature Room Temperature (RT)
Charges Department ( per hour) RT-100; HT-150
Academic ( per hour) RT-200; HT-300
Industry ( per 3 hours) RT-2500; HT-3500
Contact person Mr. Kantharaja (kantharaja@iisc.ac.in)
Rotating Bending Fatigue (RBF) Setup
Model Spranktronics, Bangalore
Kind of Tests Rotating Bending Fatigue
Speed 3000 RPM
Capacity 6 Nm
Temperature Room Temperature (RT)
Charges Department ( per hour) 100
Academic ( per hour) 200
Industry ( per 3 hours) 2500
Contact person Mr. Kantharaja (kantharaja@iisc.ac.in)
Dynamic Mechanical Analyser
Model GABO Qualimeter (Germany)
Kind of Tests Tension, Compression, 3-Point Bending
Load Cell 0.5 kN
Temperature -170 °C to 350 °C
Charges Department ( per hour) RT-200; HT-300
Academic ( per hour) RT-400; HT-800
Industry ( per 3 hours) RT-2500; HT-3000
Contact person Mr. Kantharaja (kantharaja@iisc.ac.in)

Indentation

Zwick/Roell Indenter
Model Zwick/Roell Indenter - ZHU 250CL
Kind of Tests Rockwell/Brinell/Vickers
Load Cell 0.5 - 250 kg
Charges Department ( per hour) 200
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 1000
Contact person Dr. P. Padaikathan (padai@iisc.ac.in)
CSM Instrumented Micro-indentation
Model CSM Instruments
Kind of Tests Micro Hardness, High Temperature stage (up to 450°C)
Maximum Load 30 N
Load resolution 100 micro N
Depth resolution 0.3 nm
Indenters Room temperature (RT): Diamond (Vickers, Spherical, Knoop)
High Temperature (HT; 450°C): Zircon (Vickers, Spherical)
Charges Department ( per hour) RT-; HT-
Academic ( per hour) RT-; HT-
Industry ( per 3 hours) RT-; HT-
Contact person Prof. Praveen Kumar (praveenk@iisc.ac.in)

Depth Sensing Indentation

Hysitron Tribo Indenter
Model TI 900-Tribo Indenter
Kind of Tests Quasistatic Nano Indentation, Nano Scratch, SPM In-situ Imaging, Nano DMA
Load capacity (Low) 5 μN to 10 mN, (High) 10mN to 1N
Temperature Room temperature (RT)
Load resolution 1 nN
Depth resolution 0.04 nm
Charges Department ( per hour) 200-
Academic ( per hour) 500-
Industry ( per 3 hours) 2000-
Contact person Prof. Ankur Chauhan (ankurchauhan@iisc.ac.in)
Hysitron Nano Indenter
Model Hysitron TI 950 Nano indenter
Kind of Tests Indentation, scratch and wear testing, In-situ SPM imaging
Load capacity (Low) up to 10 mN (5 µm displacement), (High) up to 2N (80 µm displacement)
Temperature Room Temperature (RT) and High Temperature (HT; up to 400°C)
Load resolution 1 nN
Depth resolution 0.04 nm
Charges Department ( per hour) RT-; HT-
Academic ( per hour) RT-; HT-
Industry ( per 3 hours) RT-; HT-
Contact person Prof. Praveen Kumar (praveenk@iisc.ac.in)

Material Processing

Hot Extrusion Press
Model VB Ceramic Consultants, Chennai
Capacity 100 ton
Temperature 350°C to 400°C
Charges Department ( per hour) 300
Academic ( per hour) 600
Industry ( per 3 hours) 3500
Contact person Dr. G.S. Avadhani (gsa@@iisc.ac.in)
Electrical Discharge Machine
Model AU-500iA, Accutex Make
Specifications
Sample details
Charges (Rupees per hour + GST) Department ( per hour) 300
Academic ( per hour) 500
Industry ( per 3 hours) 1000
Contact person Prof. Praveen Kumar (praveenk@iisc.ac.in)