IMR: Acquisition of a Scanning Probe Microscope for Research and Education in Novel Epitaxial Materials

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The IMR proposal will provide support to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the acquisition of a multi-functional variable temperature/magnet scanning probe microscope (SPM) for studying novel magnetic epitaxial films and heterostructures and for student training. The new instrument is capable of UHV in-situ microscopy and spectroscopy using several SPM techniques simultaneously, including tunneling microscopy, force microscopy, and evanescent microwave microscopy, as functions of temperature, field, and sample position. The powerful techniques, not available elsewhere, will be used for quantitative and systematic measurements of local electronic and magnetic states, spin-polarization, and their spatial extents. When integrated with our advanced synthesis capabilities, the instrument will significantly enhance our research in group IV-based magnetic films and heterostructures containing transition metal and group IV elements, viable materials key to the science and technology of spin-polarized nano-electronics and photonics. The work, currently funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, is a worldwide collaborative effort involving students and researchers, experimentalists and theorists, and engineers and scientists at universities, national labs, and industry. The instrument will also provide hands-on experiences for students at various levels in spin-polarized nano-materials and nano-electronics, areas that are critical for the advancement of science and technology and for national security.The IMR proposal will provide support to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the acquisition of a multi-functional scanning probe microscope (SPM) for studying novel magnetic thin films and heterostructures and for student training. An SPM operates by moving a small needle-like "tip" near the surface of a material; the tip interacts with the surface in various ways . The new instrument is capable of in-situ atomic-scale microscopy and spectroscopy using several SPM techniques simultaneously, including tunneling microscopy, force microscopy, and evanescent microwave microscopy, as functions of temperature, magnetic field, sample position, and under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. The powerful techniques, not available elsewhere, will be used for quantitative and systematic measurements of electronic and magnetic properties on nanometer scale. When integrated with our advanced materials synthesis capabilities, the instrument will significantly enhance our research in viable silicon-compatible spin-polarized materials and devices for the science and technology of spin-polarized nano-electronics and photonics, where both electronic and magnetic states are controlled and processed at the same time. The work, currently funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, is a worldwide collaborative effort involving students and researchers, experimentalists and theorists, and engineers and scientists at universities, national labs, and industry. The instrument will also provide hands-on experiences for students at various levels in spin-polarized nano-materials and nano-electronics, areas that are critical for the advancement of science and technology and for national security.