MRI: The Acquisition of an Electron Beam Lithography System

纳米科学和工程需要制造尺寸为1-100nm（约4到400个原子）的材料。电子束光刻是分辨率最高、最能覆盖纳米尺度范围的工具。该提案建立了一个电子束光刻实验室，以推进各种纳米级项目，从约2纳米通道的DNA测序到极小固体中的固态相变研究。这项拟议的收购发生在一个日益丰富的纳米尺度科学和工程环境中，该环境由大量同行评审的联邦基金和范德比尔特大学的内部资金创建。这次收购将向范德比尔特大学和附近的其他大学开放（包括与菲斯克大学的特殊安排），这是田纳西州中部第一个最先进的纳米光刻设施。通过与菲斯克大学教师和学生的密切合作，代表人数不足的群体的参与将得到加强。范德比尔特大学的许多合作项目负责人都与菲斯克建立了研究合作关系。我们期望培养大量能够推进纳米尺度科学和工程的科学和技术前沿的学生。这些学生中的许多人都是范德比尔特-菲斯克IGERT的一部分，专注于纳米材料科学的主题。其影响范围从博士后、研究生和本科生培训的教育机会，到纳米材料科学潜在的研究突破，再到影响社会的技术应用。该提案建立了一个最先进的实验室，用于精确制造比人类头发直径小1000倍的纳米级结构。这些包括微小的流体通道和传感器，非常小的光学开关，以及用于观察和控制单个细胞的设备。该系统将被安置在最先进的无尘室制造设施中，该设施代表了范德比尔特大学数百万美元的投资，专门用于促进纳米材料科学的研究。该设施将容纳高级研究人员、博士后学者、研究生和本科生，在一个跨学科的环境中组织五个设备齐全的制造实验室。该系统将安装在与2001年部分资助的早期仪器占用的相同套件中，从而完成了小型材料结构的制造和光学表征的独特能力，这一事实创造了一个独特的机会。

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.