NER: Improving the Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in a Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Polymer Composite by Dry-Coating

该授权使用一种新的材料处理技术，以尽量减少薄膜处理过程中的成分变化，并评估沉淀物生长作为结晶过程的函数。新的材料加工技术是单独使用非平衡磁控溅射源或与本集团开发的使用加热靶的专利概念相结合。该项目有三个主要技术目标。第一个目标是设计和制作非平衡磁控溅射源，并使用该源制备均匀的化学计量比的NiTi薄膜。第二个目标是调查和了解的物理和机械性能的NiTi薄膜开发的新的处理技术，最后的第三个目标是使用这种材料用于制造三维NiTi薄膜的医疗应用。这项资助的智力价值是提供形状记忆合金领域非平衡磁控溅射的知识。该研究将解决磁控溅射领域中跨膜厚和大表面的成分控制的主要挑战。在此程序中产生的NiTi薄膜将具有均匀的成分和化学计量比的目标使用。不同的材料表征技术被用来确定NiTi薄膜的物理和机械性能。此外，该资助还将提供管状或固体表面均匀沉积NiTi以及3D NiTi薄膜结构的知识。这种沉积技术将适用于生产壁厚小于25微米的NiTi管。赠款的更广泛的影响来自于从这种新型材料加工技术制造的生物医学设备的开发。也就是说，在这个微创手术的时代，对微尺寸器件的需求正在增加，由薄膜3D结构制成的生物医学器件将满足医疗期望。

This grant uses a new material processing technique to minimize compositional variations during the thin film processing and evaluates precipitate growth as a function of crystallization procedures. The new material processing technique is to utilize unbalanced magnetron sputtering source either alone or in combination with the patented concept of using a heated target developed by our group. The proposed project has three primary technical objectives. The first objective is to design and fabricate the unbalanced magnetron sputtering source and use this source to produce a uniform and stoichiometric NiTi thin film. The second objective is to investigate and understand the physical and mechanical properties NiTi thin film developed by the new processing technique, and finally the third objective is to use this material for the manufacture of 3-D NiTi thin film for medical applications. The intellectual merit of this grant is to provide knowledge on unbalanced magnetron sputtering in the area of shape memory alloys. The research will solve the major challenge of composition control across the film thickness and over large surfaces in the field of magnetron sputtering. The NiTi thin film produced in this program will have uniform composition and stoichiometry that of the target used. Different material characterization techniques are being employed to determine the physical and mechanical properties of the NiTi thin film. In addition, this grant will provide the knowledge of uniform deposition of NiTi on tubular or solid surfaces and of 3-D NiTi thin film structure. This deposition technique will be suitable for producing NiTi tubes with wall thickness smaller than 25 microns. The broader impact of the grant arises from the development of a biomedical device manufactured from this novel material processing technique. Namely, in this era of minimal invasive surgeries, demand for micro-size devices is increasing and biomedical devices made out of thin film 3-D structure will meet the medical expectations.