Development of a Variable Temperature Near-field Scanning Acoustic Microscope with Rapid Sample Access

该奖项来自材料研究仪器项目，将使弗吉尼亚大学能够开发一种变温近场扫描声学显微镜，用于在物理、化学、材料科学、生物学和工程学感兴趣的固体上绘制纳米尺度的弹性特性，并加强物理本科实验室的教学。该显微镜将使用定制设计的扫描头，其集成的悬臂传感器能够在低温下工作，并与现有的控制电子设备接口。将获得脉管式（无活动部件）的低振动制冷机，用于冷却扫描头。选择脉管制冷机（在任何物理方向上操作）可以将扫描头定位在顶部，方便快速获取样品。集成悬臂传感方案将简化未来显微镜与其他仪器（如电子显微镜）的结合。它还可以研究生物样品和固液界面，其中光学检测方案不起作用。集成的检测方案也应该吸引新兴的工业微电子，其中需要快速的纳米级缺陷检测。该奖项来自材料研究仪器项目，弗吉尼亚大学将开发一种新型显微镜，使用高频声波，在宽温度范围内工作，以绘制纳米长度尺度的固体材料的弹性特征，对物理学、材料科学、生物学和工程学感兴趣，并加强物理本科实验室的教学。显微镜将是扫描型的，图像将以数字方式获得。该显微镜的声传感器将采用集成微电子技术制造。这种集成传感器方案简化了未来提出的显微镜与其他仪器（如电子显微镜）的结合。它还将使生物样品和固液界面的成像具有比光学成像更好的分辨率。这种新型扫描声学显微镜的发展将有利于晶体和非晶体固体的研究，并将在新兴的微电子工艺领域产生广泛的影响，其中需要快速的纳米级缺陷检测。

This award from the Instrumentation for Materials Research program will enable the University of Virginia to develop a variable temperature near field scanning acoustic microscope to map elastic properties on a nanometer scale on solids of interest to physics, chemistry, materials science, biology and engineering and to enhance teaching in the physics undergraduate laboratory. The microscope will use custom designed scanning heads with integrated cantilever sensors capable of operation at low temperatures and interfaced to existing control electronics. A low vibration refrigerator of the pulse tube type (which has no moving parts) will be acquired and used to cool the scanning head. The choice of the pulse tube refrigerator (which operate in any physical orientation) enables the positioning of the scanning head on top facilitating rapid sample access. The integrated cantilever sensing scheme will simplify the future marriage of the microscope to other instruments such as electron microscopes. It will also enable study of biological samples and solid liquid interfaces where optical detection schemes do not work.. The integrated detection scheme should also be attractive to emerging industrial microelectronics where rapid nanometer scale flaw detection is desired.This award from the Instrumentation for Materials Research program, the University of Virginia will develop a new microscope using high frequency sound waves and operating over a wide temperature range to map elastic features on a nanometer length scale in solid state materials of interest to physics, materials science, biology and engineering as well as to enhance teaching in the physics undergraduate laboratory. The microscope will be of the scanning type and images will be obtained digitally. The acoustic sensor for the microscope will be fabricated using integrated microelectronic technologies. This integrated sensor scheme simplifies the future marriage of the proposed microscope to other instruments such as electron microscopes. It will also enable the imaging of biological samples and solid liquid interfaces with resolution better than that obtained optically. The development of this new scanning acoustic microscope will benefit the study of crystalline and non-crystalline solids and will have a wide ranging impact including in the area of emerging microelectronic processes where rapid nanometer scale flaw detection is desired.