MRI: Acquisition of a Dual Beam Focused Ion Beam System as a Regional Resource for Collaborative Research and Education in Missouri

技术摘要双光束聚焦离子束/扫描电子显微镜(FIB/SEM)仪器的获得将补充和扩展密苏里-罗拉大学(UMR)先进材料表征实验室(AMCL)的材料分析能力。该仪器能够进行截面成像、原位切片和透射电子显微镜(TEM)样品制备，以及纳米级选择性蚀刻和沉积。FIB/SEM将用于开发非挥发性存储器件和基于微流体的生化传感器、环保型飞机涂层、创新的激光连接和沉积技术、通过摩擦搅拌过程开发纳米相铝合金、电沉积自旋电子材料、手性结构以及分析流体夹杂物和研究两相和多相纳米流体的新技术。这些项目只代表了UMR教员为新仪器提出的任务的一小部分。一件设备的购置从来没有在我们的校园里激起过如此高的兴趣。收购FIB/FESEM不仅将增强UMR校区研究人员的能力和合作，还将使密苏里州各地正在进行的研究受益。其他将从购买这种设备中受益的机构包括密苏里州研究联盟和密苏里州纳米联盟，这两个组织致力于促进密苏里州的合作纳米科学研究和设施开发。FIB/FESEM将允许研究生在校园内从事许多不同材料和制造研究领域的工作，以更全面和有效地表征薄膜、界面、涂层和许多其他应用。这种最先进的设备还将通过本科生研究经历机会(OURE)等计划，加强UMR本科生和研究生水平的招聘工作。此外，该工具将被用来在参加UMR许多大学预科项目的K-12学生中产生兴奋。非技术摘要要想了解比人类头发小一万倍的纳米技术的不可思议的世界，需要先进的设备来成像许多肉眼看不到的奥秘。更好的是，能够看到纳米结构和纳米材料的表面之下，揭示了否则会丢失的细节。聚焦离子束/扫描电子显微镜(FIB/SEM)结合了对纳米系统进行切割和成像的能力，使工程师和科学家能够研究从合成骨替代到半导体芯片、从更坚固的金属到保护飞机免受腐蚀的环保涂层等广泛课题。就像在侏罗纪公园看到的想法一样，从古老的化石中提取DNA，FIB/SEM可以切下数百年前生物样本的外层，并探索它们的特征，以了解它们是如何发挥作用的。密苏里大学罗拉分校的FIB/SEM激发了大学生和研究人员的想象力，将是密苏里州第一个此类仪器，将用于材料科学家、化学家、工程师、生物学家和物理学家之间的众多跨学科项目。它还将接触每年在实地考察和夏令营期间参观和参观校园的1000多名K-12学生，希望激发下一代科学家和工程师对物理科学的兴趣。

Technical AbstractThe acquisition of a dual beam focused ion beam / scanning electron microscope (FIB/SEM) instrument capable of cross-sectional imaging, in-situ sectioning and transmission electron microscope (TEM) sample preparation, and nano-scale selective etching and deposition will complement and expand the materials analysis capabilities of the Advanced Materials Characterization Lab (AMCL) at the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR). The FIB/SEM will be utilized in projects that will develop nonvolatile memory devices and microfluidics-based biochemical sensors, environmentally sound aircraft coatings, innovative laser joining and deposition techniques, nanophase aluminum alloys via the friction-stir process, electrodeposited spintronic materials, chiral structures, and new techniques to analyze fluid inclusions and investigate two-phase and multi-phase nanofluidics. These projects represent only a fraction of the tasks that UMR faculty have proposed for the new instrumentation. Never before has the acquisition of a piece of equipment spurred such a high level of interest on our campus. Acquisition of this FIB/FESEM will not only enhance the capabilities and collaborations of research faculty on the UMR campus, but will benefit research being done throughout the State of Missouri. Other institutions that will benefit from the acquisition of this equipment include the Research Alliance of Missouri and the Missouri Nanoalliance, organizations dedicated to facilitating collaborative nanoscience research and facility development in the State of Missouri. The FIB/FESEM will allow graduate students working in many different materials and manufacturing research areas on campus to more fully and efficiently characterize thin films, interfaces, coatings, and many other applications. This state-of-the-art equipment will also enhance recruitment efforts at the undergraduate and graduate levels at UMR through programs such as the Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experience (OURE). In addition, the instrument will be utilized to generate excitement among the K-12 students who participate in UMR's many pre-college programs. Non-technical AbstractLooking into the incredible world of nano-technology, 10,000 times smaller than the human hair, requires sophisticated equipment that can image many of the mysteries that escape the naked eye. Even better, being able to look beneath the surface of nano-structures and nano-materials reveals details otherwise lost. Combining the ability to both cut and image nanosystems, a focused ion beam / scanning electron microscope (FIB/SEM) enables engineers and scientists to investigate topics as wide ranging as synthetic bone replacements to semiconductor chips to stronger metals to environmentally friendly coatings that protect aircraft from corroding. Like ideas seen in Jurassic Park, where DNA is extracted from old fossils, the FIB/SEM can cut away the outer layers of centuries old biological samples and probe their characteristics to understand how they functioned. Unlocking the imagination of college students and researchers, the FIB/SEM at the University of Missouri-Rolla will be the first one of its kind in the state of Missouri, and will be utilized on numerous interdisciplinary projects between materials scientists, chemists, engineers, biologists and physicists. It will also reach out to the over 1,000 K-12 students that visit and tour the campus each year during field trips and summer camps in the hope to spark interest in the physical sciences for the next generation of scientists and engineers.