Acquisition of an Atomic Force Microscope for Materials Research and Education

这项主要研究仪器RUI赠款支持购买扫描探针显微镜（SPM）用于材料研究和教育。所选SPM允许使用热级和冷级进行温度变化。出于研究目的，该仪器具有所需的测量模式、灵敏度、分辨率和采集软件，以检查弹性体和聚合物的成分-结构-性质关系，研究磁性形状记忆合金中的磁畴和孪晶边界，评估薄膜中的表面粗糙度，表征各向异性超导体中的缺陷结构，并提供关于纳米压印特征的尺寸和质量的定量反馈。这些都是影响电信，微机械加工，工业加工，聚合物科学和纳米技术行业的主题。多门课程将受益于SPM广泛的扫描测量能力，包括表面形貌、硬度、弹性模量、接触摩擦、磁畴和隧穿电流的测绘。聚合物科学、纳米技术和磁学已被广泛用于新技术的开发，材料科学的这些不同领域对基础研究的需求也在不断增长。毫无疑问，扫描探针显微镜（SPM）已经率先在这些领域的许多最新进展。SPM的收购将允许教师扩大目前的研究工作，并继续促进跨学科合作已经在进行中。此外，此次收购将使研究人员能够与行业合作开展新项目，并帮助学生为这些领域的创造性贡献做好准备。

This Major Research Instrumentation RUI grant supports the acquisition of a scanning probe microscope (SPM)) for use in materials research and education. The selected SPM allows for temperature variation using hot and cold stages. For research purposes, the instrument has the needed measurement modes, sensitivity, resolution, and acquisition software to examine composition-structure-property relationships of elastomers and polymers, investigate magnetic domains and twin boundaries in magnetic shape memory alloys, assess surface roughness in thin films, characterize the defect structure in anisotropic superconductors, and provide quantitative feedback regarding dimension and quality of nanoimprinted features. These are topics that impact telecommunications, micromachining, industrial processing, polymer science, and nanotechnology industries. Several courses will benefit from SPM's broad array of scanning measurement capabilities, which include mapping of surface topography, hardness, elastic moduli, contact friction, magnetic domains, and tunneling current.Polymer science, nanotechnology, and magnetism have been extensively used in the development of new technologies and there is continued demand for fundamental research within these various fields of materials science. Without a doubt, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) has spearheaded many recent advances in these fields. Acquisition of an SPM will permit the faculty to expand current research efforts and continue to foster interdisciplinary collaborations already underway. In addition, the acquisition will allow researchers to initiate new projects with industry and will help prepare students for creative contributions in these areas.