MRI: The Acquisition of an Electron Beam Lithography System

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Nanoscale science and engineering requires the fabrication of materials with dimensions of 1-100nm (~4 to 400 atoms). Electron beam lithography is the tool with the highest resolution, most able to cover the nano-scale range. This proposal establishes an electron beam lithography laboratory to propel a variety of nano-scale projects as diverse as DNA sequencing with ~2 nm channels to studies of solid-state phase transitions in extremely small solids. The proposed acquisition occurs within an increasingly rich nanoscale science and engineering environment created with substantial peer-reviewed Federal funds and internal funds from Vanderbilt University. This acquisition will open to Vanderbilt and other nearby universities (including a special arrangement with Fisk University), a first state of the art facility for nanolithography in Middle Tennessee. The participation of underrepresented groups will be enhanced by the close cooperation with faculty and students from Fisk University. Many of the Vanderbilt co-PIs have established research collaborations with Fisk. We expect to train numerous students able to advance the scientific and technological forefront of nano-scale science and engineering. Many of these students are part of the Vanderbilt-Fisk IGERT, focused on the theme of nanoscale materials science. The impact extends from educational opportunities in post-doctoral, graduates and undergraduates training afforded the graduate students to potential research breakthroughs in nanoscale materials science to technological applications that impact society. This proposal establishes a state of the art laboratory for precise fabrication of nanometer-scale structures that are 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. These include tiny fluidic channels and sensors, very small optical switches, and devices for observing and controlling single cells. The system will be housed in a state of the art clean room fabrication facility representing a multi-million dollar investment of Vanderbilt University funds, designed specifically to facilitate research in nanoscale materials science. This facility will accommodate senior researchers, postdoctoral scholars, graduate and undergraduate students in an interdisciplinary environment organized around five fully equipped fabrication laboratories. A unique opportunity is created by the fact that the system will be installed in the same suite occupied by earlier instrumentation partly funded in 2001, thus completing a unique capability in the fabrication and optical characterization of small material structures.