MRI: A Focused Ion Beam System for Nanoscale Science and Engineering Research and Education

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With support from the Major Research Instrumentation program, the University of Pennsylvania (Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter), the Nanotechnology Institute and the Rohm and Haas Corporation, a FEI Strata DB235 Focused Ion Beam will be installed within the Penn Regional Materials Characterization Facility at the Penn MRSEC. This multi-functional instrument will enable research in nanoscale structure-property relationships via in-situ experiments on individual molecules and molecular assemblies, as well as carbon nanotubes. Using enhanced etching modules, the DB235 provides key capability for the production of minute specimens for the study of mechanical properties at the nanoscale in polymer and intermetallic materials. Research groups will also use the instrument to conduct device-editing operations to efficiently explore new circuit designs for particle detectors and detector arrays that mimic human function. The flexibility and automated operation of the DB235 allows integration into educational programs, where it will contribute to NSF education programs for undergraduates and high school teachers, and to the Penn-Drexel-Community College NSF Partnership for Innovation for nano-biotechnology education.With support from the Major Research Instrumentation program, the University of Pennsylvania (Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter), the Nanotechnology Institute (NTI) and the Rohm and Haas Corporation, a FEI Strata DB235 Focused Ion Beam will be installed at the Penn MRSEC. With capabilities for sectioning and etching materials at the nanoscale, and for the deposition of nanometer-scale conducting features, the DB235 will have a broad impact on nanoscience and nanotechnology research. The flexibility and automated operation of the DB235 will be used in NSF-funded education programs for undergraduates and high school teachers, and in the Penn-Drexel NSF Partnership for Innovation for nano-biotechnology education. Housed in the Penn Regional Materials Characterization Facility, the instrument will be available to a large regional community of users, including corporations and academic institutions. Through the NTI, the DB235 will be used by research teams comprised of researchers from Penn, Drexel, Penn State, Temple, Widener and Villanova Universities, Thomas Jefferson, Penn and Windber Medical Schools/Institutes, Children's Hospital and Haverford College.