MRI: Acquisition of Instrumentation for the Production and Characterization of Epitaxial Graphite on Silicon Carbide

该奖项是为了奖励为生产和表征外延石墨(EG，外延石墨烯)超薄膜而购买的仪器。这种材料对由佐治亚理工学院(GIT)研究人员领导的纳米外延石墨烯(NPeg)项目至关重要。NPeg项目是一项多学科研究计划，旨在探索生长在单晶碳化硅芯片上的EG和nPeg的性质。与纳米管不同，无缝互连的功能性nPeg器件可以通过对平面EG基板进行合理的图案化来制造，从而消除了对晶片上金属互连的需要。因此，nPeg方法可以消除碳纳米管面临的许多障碍，同时保留高载流子迁移率和准一维传输的好处。npeg项目中涉及的积极推广计划--并由仪器推动--包括佐治亚州实习生-教师奖学金计划(K-12教师)和GIT科学院教师发展计划(来自非研究机构的教师，通常代表不足的群体比例很高)。该项目还将通过NSF-REU项目让本科生参与，包括西乔治亚州立大学由教职员工指导的本科生研究项目。此外，通过参与GIT纳米科学与技术(NAST)证书计划，私人投资机构和参与计划的教职员工将直接将最新的研究成果注入专业研究生和本科课程。

This award is for the acquisition of instrumentation for the production and characterization of ultrathin films of epitaxial graphite (EG, "epitaxial graphene"). This material is essential for the nanopatterned epitaxial graphene (NPEG) project, led by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT). The NPEG project is a multidisciplinary research program to explore the properties of EG and NPEG grown on chips of single crystal SiC. Unlike nanotubes, seamlessly-interconnected, functional NPEG devices could be fabricated via rational patterning of a planar EG substrate, obviating the need for metal interconnects on the wafer. Thus, the NPEG approach to graphitic nanoelectronics could remove many of the obstacles faced by carbon nanotubes, while retaining the benefits of high carrier mobility and quasi-1D transport.Active outreach programs involved in the NPEG project - and facilitated by the instrumentation - include the Georgia Intern-Fellowships for Teachers program (K-12 teachers) and the GIT College of Sciences Faculty Development Program (faculty from non-research institutions, with typically high proportions of underrepresented groups). The program also will involve undergraduate students through the NSF-REU program, including a faculty-directed undergraduate research program at the State University of West Georgia. Also, through participation in the GIT NanoScience and Technology (NaST) certificate program, PIs and participating faculty will inject recent research results directly into specialized graduate and undergraduate courses.