Development of a System for Time-resolved Studies of Film Growth and Processing and Student Training

该奖项支持佛蒙特大学的仪器开发和学生培训。教师和学生正在开发一种系统，可以研究表面在一系列统称为“高能束沉积”的过程中被高能粒子轰击时的弛豫。使用来自同步加速器源的非常强烈的x射线束，表面的原子结构将被研究，因为这些技术上重要的过程正在发生。正在开发的新系统将首次实现在晶体生长和蚀刻过程中对材料表面结构进行原位研究的微秒时间分辨率。该系统将利用脉冲激光沉积和表面刻蚀的方法，脉冲持续时间为1微秒，以研究在这个时间尺度上的表面松弛效应。该系统将允许广泛的同步加速器x射线进入样品，并结合标准表征工具（例如RHEED），以更好地将同步加速器结果与内部研究相关联。最初的研究将集中在对未来电子和信息存储技术至关重要的基本过程上。第一种是脉冲激光沉积，它可以通过一次一个原子层来高度控制薄膜的生长。第二种是高能离子对表面的侵蚀，这个过程可以用来产生纳米级的表面图案。从这些实验中获得的基本理解可能最终导致开发用于光电子学的新型高质量材料的方法，以及用于信息存储技术（如磁性和光盘驱动器以及量子自旋器件）的材料。这台新仪器将为佛蒙特大学的本科生和研究生在晶体生长、表面处理和表面分析领域提供研究和教育机会。学生还将获得同步加速器材料研究项目的机会。

This award supports instrument development and student training at the University of Vermont. Faculty and students are developing a system that will enable study of the relaxation of surfaces as they are being bombarded by energetic particles in a set of processes known collectively as "energetic beam deposition." Using a very intense beam of x-rays from a synchrotron source, the atomic structure of surfaces will be investigated as these technologically important processes are occurring. The new system under development will enable, for the first time, microsecond time resolution during the in-situ study of materials' surface structures while undergoing crystal growth and etching. The system will make use of pulsed laser deposition and surface etching methods with pulse durations of 1 microsecond in order to study surface relaxation effects on this time scale. The system will permit extensive synchrotron x-ray access to the sample and incorporate standard characterization tools (e.g. RHEED) to better correlate the synchrotron results with in-house studies. Initial studies will concentrate on the fundamentals of processes that are vital for future electronics and information storage technologies. The first is pulsed laser deposition, which allows highly controlled growth of thin films by a single atomic layer at a time. The second is the erosion of surfaces with energetic ions, a process that can be used to produce nanoscale surface patterns. The basic understanding gained from these experiments could eventually lead to methods for growing new high quality materials for optoelectronics and to materials for information storage technologies such as magnetic and optical disk drives and quantum spin devices. This new instrument will provide research and educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Vermont in the areas of crystal growth, surface processing and surface analysis. Students will also gain access to a synchrotron-based materials research program.