Research assistant from ISSP UL’s Laboratory for Materials for Energy Harvesting and Storage, Līga Britāla attended the Advanced School on Impedance Spectroscopy (ASIS) and the 16th International Workshop on Impedance Spectroscopy (IWIS), which took place September 26 - September 29, 2023, in Chemnitz, Germany.
Impedance spectroscopy is crucial in various fields, including electrochemistry, material science, biology and medicine, the semiconductor industry, and sensors. The purpose of participation in these events was to broaden the knowledge of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for further utilization in battery characterization and to establish contact with specialists in the field. The school and workshop focused on data validation and processing, artefact determination, choosing the correct instrumentation, and the use of impedance spectroscopy in various fields, including energy storage.
Several experts on the topic (Dr. Werner Strunz, Dr. Bogdan Petrescu (BioLogic), Prof. Uwe Pliquett, and Prof. Olfa Kanoun) gave both tutorials and plenary talks on such topics as “Validation and Reconstruction of Impedance Data - Comparison Between the Measurement Model and the ZHIT Algorithm”, “EIS Quality Indicators”, “Impedance Measurements - Instruments, Sensors & Beyond: An introduction on how to choose, design and successfully use setups for electrical impedance spectroscopy”, “Nonlinearity and frequency dependence: material behavior or artefact?”, and others. In addition to the tutorials, Līga participated in two hands-on workshops – one on Arduino basics and use in signal processing by Amin Fischer, and the other on "Impedance measurements - instruments, sensors & beyond - shown on selected experiments" by representatives from Sciospec Scientific Instruments GmbH.
During her participation in the events, Līga also got acquainted with other female scientists in a “Women in Engineering” event and others during the social event, dinner, and exhibition where industry experts presented their EIS instrumentation and solutions.
ASIS was a two-day event that offered a comprehensive and in-depth introduction to the theory and practice of impedance spectroscopy. Participants learned about the principles and techniques of impedance modeling, consistency check, electronic circuits design, embedded system design, and instrumentation. They also discovered how impedance spectroscopy could be used for material characterization, electrochemistry, biology, and microscale impedance sensors. Attendees attended tutorials by selected experts, asked questions and discussed with them and their peers.
IWIS has been a valuable platform for experts to share their research findings and exchange knowledge with attendees from around the globe since 2008. During the workshop, specialists presented their research findings in different application areas of impedance spectroscopy, contributing to advancing the field.
