Acquisition of a UV Photon Sourse for Novel Electronic Materials Research and Education

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This grant provides support for the acquisition of a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photon source for novel electronic materials research and education at Boston College.Comparing to a conventional VUV source, this microwave driven VUV source has the capability of generating 200 times more flux and improving the resolution by 10 times. Several research projects require this new instrument: (1) Measuring the electronic structures of the single-layered cuprate thin films. The single-crystalline thin films can be easily controlled to a continuous doping level over a wide range. To overcome the difficulty of cleaving, we propose to anneal thin films in situ and transfer them to a measurement chamber. (2) Searching for evidence of spin-charge separation in well-aligned carbon nanotubes. With the capability of growing well-aligned carbon nanotubes, we plan to directly observe the phenomenon of spin-charge separation. (3) Probing electronic structures of quasi-1D organic superconductors. The unprecedented capability of this new VUV source will enable us to design and conduct many new experiments to study various novel electronic materials in an on-campus laboratory. These research projects will advance our understanding of Mott physics, novel superconductivity, Luttinger liquid, and Fermi liquid, all of which are the essential parts of modern condensed matter physics. In addition, modifications and improvements on this VUV source will be a major contribution to the instrumentation development in the photoemission community. The acquisition of this powerful VUV photon source will make a significant impact to the education and training of post-docs, graduate and undergraduate students by attracting them to a much-improved research facility. This is especially true for undergraduate students due to its on-campus location. We will encourage underrepresented minorities to participate the proposed projects. This will introduce them to exciting new materials, cutting-edge techniques, and fundamental condensed matter physics. The collaborative nature of this project will be beneficial to their long-term academic development. Finally, this project will greatly enhance the infrastructure at our university as well as in the regional photoemission community.