MRI: Acquisition of a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope for Imaging and Electron-Beam Nanolithography

纳米科学是在原子和分子尺度上研究和操纵结构，从一纳米到几百纳米。(One纳米可以想象，把一根头发的直径切成50份，然后把其中一份切成一千倍。纳米科学是乔治城大学几个联邦资助的跨学科研究项目的核心，包括纳米电子学、生物纳米级反应室、纳米晶体、用于注射活细胞的纳米针图案化和导电聚合物的生物应用。纳米级的成像和图案化可以使用电子束而不是光来完成，因为光的波长太大而不能分辨分子和原子结构。扫描电子显微镜和电子束光刻系统是纳米科学革命的关键工具。尽管乔治城大学目前没有用于这种类型的高分辨率显微镜和图案化的设施，但教职员工通过外部合作使用校外设施，资源丰富。不幸的是，校外设施严重限制了研究，需要旅行时间，限制了所有研究人员的机会，特别是学生与他们的课程安排紧张。从NSF-MRI计划的奖励将使乔治敦大学购买高分辨率扫描电子显微镜。该显微镜将位于乔治敦先进电子实验室（盖尔），并将由物理和化学系的教职员工共享。它也将提供给乔治敦大学的其他研究小组。显微镜的培训和使用将是物理研究生和本科生课程的重要组成部分，为他们提供未来纳米研究和技术的宝贵技能。 短期培训课程将提供给本科生和研究生，并在DC都会区的其他感兴趣的研究人员。该奖项将为乔治敦大学提供其第一台场发射扫描电子显微镜（FESEM），蔡司Supra 55 VP与Nabity光刻系统，用于高分辨率成像和电子束光刻。纳米科学是乔治城大学物理和化学系几个资助研究项目的核心，包括用于超导结和化学传感器的碳纳米管设备，细胞转染微针，纳米多孔模板，导电聚合物纤维，纳米核的真实的时间成像，以及生物反应室的纳米纤维。该仪器的主要特点是：在低加速电压下的高分辨率成像，允许绝缘样品（如二氧化硅上的碳纳米管）的快速成像。可变压力模式也可用于控制充气效果。具有超高分辨率的可变压力模式和用于湿样品的可变温度阶段，用于成像纳米晶体的成核和导电聚合物形态的湿度依赖性。电子束光刻，用于纳米管电子缠结的图案化，在亚微米范围内长度的结中的超导邻近效应，用于细胞转染的具有亚微米孔径的针，以及用于生物大分子的纳米通道。FESEM将位于乔治敦先进电子实验室（盖尔）的一个洁净室中，物理系和化学系的教职员工将共享FESEM。显微镜的培训和使用将是物理学研究生课程的一部分，参加高级表征课程，并将在实验室轮换课程期间与FESEM的主要用户教员一起使用。一个短期的培训课程将提供给本科生和研究生和其他感兴趣的研究人员在华盛顿都会区。

Nanoscience is the study and manipulation of structures at atomic and molecular scales, one to several hundreds of nanometers. (One nanometer can be imagined by cutting the diameter of a human hair into 50 parts, then cutting one of those parts a thousand times more.) Nanoscience is at the core of several federally-funded interdisciplinary research programs at Georgetown University, including nanoscale electronics, biological nanoscale reaction chambers, nanocrystals, patterning of nanoneedles for injecting living cells and biological applications of conducting polymers.Imaging and patterning at the nanoscale can be done using an electron beam, rather than light, because the wavelength of light is too large to resolve molecular and atomic structures. Scanning electron microscopes and electron-beam lithography systems are key tools in the nanoscience revolution. Although there are currently no facilities for this type of high-resolution microscopy and patterning at Georgetown, faculty members have been very resourceful by using facilities off campus, through external collaborations. Unfortunately, off-campus facilities severely limit the research, requiring travel time that limits the opportunities of all researchers, and especially students with their tight class schedules.An award from the NSF-MRI program will enable Georgetown University to purchase a high-resolution scanning electron microscope. The microscope will be located in the Georgetown Advanced Electronics Laboratory (GAEL) and will be shared by faculty members in both the Physics and Chemistry Departments. It will also be made available to other research groups at Georgetown University. Training and use of the microscope will be an important part of the curriculum for physics graduate and undergraduate students, providing them with invaluable skills for future nanoscale research and technology. A short training course will be made available to undergraduate and graduate students and to other interested researchers in the DC metro area. This award will provide Georgetown University with its first field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), a Zeiss Supra 55VP with Nabity lithography system, for high-resolution imaging and electron-beam lithography. Nanoscience is at the core of several funded research programs in the Departments of Physics and Chemistry at Georgetown University, including carbon-nanotube devices for superconducting junctions and chemical sensors, cell transfection micro-needles, nanoporous templates, conducting polymer fibers, real time imaging of nanocrystal nucleation, and nanofabrication of biological reaction chambers. Key features of the instrument are: High-resolution imaging at low accelerating voltages, allowing fast imaging of insulating samples such as carbon nanotubes on silicon dioxide. The variable pressure mode can also be used to control charging effects. Variable pressure mode with ultra-high resolution and variable temperature stage for wet samples, for imaging nucleation of nanocrystals and humidity dependence of the morphology of conducting polymers. E-beam lithography, for patterning of nanotube electron entangler, superconducting proximity effect in junctions with lengths in the submicron range, needles with submicron aperture for cell transfection, and nanochannels for biological macromolecules. Excellent resolution without any special sample preparation, needed for all the research projects.The FESEM will be located in a clean room in the Georgetown Advanced Electronics Laboratory (GAEL) and will be shared by faculty members in both the Physics and Chemistry Departments. Training and use of the microscope will be part of the curriculum for physics graduate students taking the Advanced Characterization course and it will be used during the Laboratory Rotation courses with faculty members who will be major users of the FESEM. A short training course will be made available to undergraduate and graduate students and other interested researchers in the DC metro area.