MRI: Acquisition of a Transmission Electron Microscope for Materials Research and Education

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0922898ChaudhuriTexas Tech U.Technical Abstract: A transmission electron microscope (TEM), in high resolution and with a STEM (scanning transmission electron microscopy) and an EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy) system, is increasingly becoming an indispensable system to study structural characterization of materials. High resolution TEM imaging and spectroscopic analysis will support research programs in Mechanical, Industrial and Electrical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, GeoSciences, and Environmental and Human Health including the study of crystallinity and phases in wide band gap semiconductor nano-crystals, atomistic deformation mechanism of nano-crystalline laminates, dislocations in AlGaN quantum dots, crystallographic and morphologic information of metal oxides, size and composition of the nano-alloy catalysts, unique dimensions of nano-energetic materials controlling reaction propagation, nano-scale catalysts, interface of wide band gap semiconductors devices, analysis of carbon nano-tubes, analysis of biodegradable polymer nano-composites, structure and morphology of functionalized nano-particles, reaction mechanisms in rare earth and actinide element-bearing accessory minerals, deposition of metal oxide nano-particles on the surface of fibers, and crystalline defects in B12As2 epitaxial films on SiC substrates. It is expected to bring major scientific and technological breakthroughs through the use of the proposed TEM in all of these studies. The core faculty involved in this project will use this equipment to train graduate and undergraduate students and also to enhance outreach programs to assure the maximum opportunity for training and research by a diverse population of students.Layman Abstract: Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a microscopy technique whereby a beam of electrons is transmitted through an ultra thin specimen, interacting with the specimen as it passes through. An image is formed from the interaction of the electrons transmitted through the specimen; the image is magnified and focused onto an imaging device, such as a fluorescent screen, on a layer of a photographic film, or to be detected by a sensor such as a CCD camera. TEMs are capable of imaging at a significantly higher resolution than light microscopes, owing to the small de Broglie wavelength of electrons. This enables the instrument to be able to examine fine detail?even as small as a single column of atoms, which is tens of thousands times smaller than the smallest resolvable object in a light microscope. A transmission electron microscope (TEM) is increasingly becoming an indispensable system to study structural characterization of materials at the atomistic level. High resolution TEM imaging and compositional analysis will support research programs in Mechanical, Industrial and Electrical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, GeoSciences, and Environmental and Human Health including wide band gap semiconductor nano-crystals, nano-crystalline laminates, AlGaN quantum dots, metal oxides, nano-alloy catalysts, nano-energetic materials, nano-scale catalyst materials, wide band gap semiconductors devices, carbon nano-tubes, biodegradable polymer nano-composite plates, functionalized nano-particles, rare earth and actinide element-bearing accessory minerals, nano-fibers, and crystalline defects in B12As2 epitaxial films on SiC substrates. It is expected to bring major scientific and technological breakthroughs through the use of the proposed TEM in all of these studies. The core faculty involved in this project will use this equipment to train graduate and undergraduate students and also to enhance outreach programs to assure the maximum opportunity for training and research by a diverse population of students.