MRI: Acquisition of EDS Microanalysis and Nanometer Pattern Generation Systems for Electron Microscopy Facilities at a Primarily Undergraduate Consortium

技术摘要波莫纳学院将获得新的EDS微量分析和纳米图形生成系统，以增强波莫纳学院的电子显微镜设施。这些子系统将被添加到学院的场发射扫描电子显微镜中。能谱系统由X射线探测器、脉冲处理器和分析器组成，用于鉴定元素组成和亚微米分辨率的特定元素图谱。纳米图案生成系统将允许设计和创建特征小于50 nm的聚合物中的任意图案，放置精度低于5 nm。我们将升级舞台控制器和In-Lens二次电子探测器。主要的研究项目将包括新型结构的制造和表征，材料研究和性能优化的组合方法，以及寒武纪大爆炸时期的特殊化石沉积。除此之外，来自克莱蒙特学院联盟的教职员工也表示有兴趣为生物、化学、工程、地质和物理等研究项目增加这些特殊能力。我们预计，化学、地质学和物理学实验室课程的修改将导致波莫纳学院大约一半的本科生接触到这种仪器。此外，每年都有几个项目将大量未被充分代表的少数族裔学生和教师带到波莫纳学院。我们将在外展项目中使用这一设施，以激励学生考虑在科学领域的未来。摘要我们的大量本科生已经体验到了电子显微镜的奇迹。该设施允许学生学习碳纳米管、薄膜纳米结构、化学传感器、化学反应以及在各种地质过程中形成的晶体和岩石结构。与传统显微镜相比，这项技术的优点是在图像的放大倍数和聚焦深度方面都有了实质性的改进。电子显微镜在现代电子学、生物学、材料科学的进步和纳米技术的发展中都发挥了关键作用。虽然我们目前的显微镜可以让我们观察样本，但EDS系统将允许我们识别这些样本中的化学元素。换句话说，我们不仅可以对样品进行成像，还可以知道它们是由什么制成的。纳米图案生成系统将电子显微镜从拍照的工具转变为可以绘制微小图案的电子显微镜，这些微小图案可以转化为电子、传感器、电机、隧道、光学开关和过滤器。在这种模式下，电子束被聚焦到一个细微的点上，并由计算机进行二维扫描，以写出图案。这些图案被写在一种特殊的聚合物抗蚀剂薄膜中，然后可以显影以显示最终的图案。这些图案可以通过蚀刻、电镀、冲压和许多其他技术从聚合物转移到其他材料上。

Technical AbstractPomona College will acquire new EDS microanalysis and nanometer pattern generationsystems to enhance the electron microscope facility at Pomona College. Thesesubsystems will be added to the college's field emission scanning electron microscope.The EDS system consists of an X-ray detector, a pulse processor, and an analyzer usedfor identification of elemental composition and mapping of specific elements withsubmicron resolution. The nanometer pattern generation system will allow the design andcreation of arbitrary patterns in polymers with features smaller than 50 nm withplacement accuracy less than 5 nm. We will upgrade the stage controller and In-Lenssecondary electron detector as well. The primary research projects will includenanostructure fabrication and characterization, combinatorial methods for materialsresearch and performance optimization, and the exceptional fossil deposits from theperiod of the 'Cambrian Explosion'. In addition to this, faculty colleagues from acrossthe Claremont Colleges Consortium have expressed interest in adding these specificcapabilities for research programs in Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Geology, andPhysics. We anticipate that curricular modifications of laboratory courses in Chemistry,Geology, and Physics will result in approximately half of all undergraduates enrolled atPomona College being exposed to this instrumentation. Additionally, each year severalprograms bring large numbers of under-represented minority K-12 students and teachersto Pomona College. We will use this facility in outreach programs to inspire thesestudents to consider a future in science.Lay AbstractLarge numbers of our undergraduate students are already experiencing the wonders ofelectron microscopy. This facility allows students to study carbon nanotubes,nanostructures of thin films, chemical sensors, chemical reactions, and crystal and rockstructures formed in a variety of geologic processes. The advantages of this techniqueover traditional microscopy are a substantial improvement in both magnification anddepth of focus in the images. Electron microscopes have played a key role in both theadvances in modern electronics, biology, materials science, and the development ofnanotechnology. While our current microscope allows us to look at samples, the EDSsystem will allow us to identify the chemical elements in these samples. In other words,not only will we be able to image the samples, but we will also know what they are madefrom. The nanometer pattern generation system converts the electron microscope from atool for taking pictures to one that can draw tiny patterns that can be turned intoelectronics, sensors, motors, tunnels, optical switches and filters. In this mode anelectron beam is focused to a fine point and scanned by a computer in two dimensions towrite the patterns. The patterns are written in a special polymer resist film that can thenbe developed to show the final patterns. These patterns can be transferred from thepolymers to other materials by etching, plating, stamping, and many other techniques.