MRI: Acquisition of a High-Resolution Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope and Focused Ion-Beam Milling System

0923461 TeetersUniversity of Tulsa技术摘要：现代科学工作在很大程度上依赖于尖端研究仪器的可用性。 我们正在请求环境扫描电子显微镜/聚焦离子束系统（ESEM/FIB），以满足塔尔萨大学和俄克拉荷马州其他学院和大学的仪器需求。所请求的仪器将影响塔尔萨大学工程和自然科学学院的所有部门。 具体而言，该仪器将通过微电子学，自修复材料，替代能源，半导体物理学和催化等拟议项目实现研究进展。最后，该仪器将被用于各种各样的教学实验室，跨越工程和自然科学学院在TU的所有部门。 这一工具还将通过一个积极的外联方案，向各种独特和得不到充分服务的群体提供尖端科学技术。 该计划将包括基于网络的显微镜操作和教师培训，以便与从农村小学到小型区域学院的地点整合，包括少数民族在科学方面代表性不足的地点。除了拟议的研究项目和外展，TU最近获得了Gilcrease博物馆的董事职位，该博物馆收藏了大量美洲原住民艺术和文物。 利用这种仪器进行科学研究和保护文化遗产的能力令人兴奋，只有少数几个地方可以复制。外行人总结：环境扫描电子显微镜（ESEM）允许直接检查几乎任何物体上的微米和纳米尺寸的特征;特征尺寸小到人类头发的1/50，000。 这些精密的显微镜是现代材料科学和生物学研究的主力。 聚焦离子束系统（FIB）基本上是一种分子级加工工具，可以在几纳米的尺度上去除或添加材料;例如，可以为塔尔萨大学开发的纳米电池创建微观集电器。 将这两种仪器集成到一个系统中，可以同时进行成像和离子束操作，并可以采用各种先进的表征技术，如连续切片。在这个过程中，用FIB去除材料的薄片，并用SEM对新表面进行成像。 重复这个过程多次，就会产生一系列图像，这些图像可用于对先进材料的内部结构进行3 D重建，比如独特的自修复塑料或用于生物燃料生产的特殊藻类菌株，这些都是塔尔萨大学的研究课题。 除了支持大学的研究议程，该仪器将是许多课程的重要工具，也是积极推广计划的重点。 显微镜的远程操作能力将允许与整个俄克拉荷马州从农村小学到小型地区大学的网站集成。 该仪器也将成为与Gilcrease博物馆相关的研究和教学项目发展的核心，该博物馆收藏了世界着名的美洲原住民艺术和文物。

0923461TeetersUniversity of TulsaTechnical Summary: Modern scientific endeavors rely heavily on the availability of cutting edge research instrumentation. We are requesting an environmental scanning electron microscope/focused ion beam system (ESEM/FIB) to address instrumentation needs for The University of Tulsa and other colleges and universities across the state of Oklahoma The requested instrument will impact all Departments in the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the University of Tulsa. Specifically, the instrument will enable research advances through the proposed projects in microelectronics, self-healing materials, alternative energy sources, semiconductor physics, and catalysis. Finally, the instrument will be utilized in wide variety of teaching labs spanning all departments in the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences at TU. This instrument will also make cutting edge scientific techniques available to a variety of unique and underserved groups through an aggresive outreach program. The program will include web-based operation of the microscope and teacher training to allow integration with sites ranging from rural elementary schools to small regional colleges, including locations with minorities under-represented in science. In addition to the proposed research projects and outreach, TU recently acquired the directorship of the Gilcrease museum, which houses a large collection of Native American art and artifacts. The ability to utilize this instrument for the scientific study and preservation of cultural heritage is exciting and replicated in only a handful of locations.Layman Summary: Environmental scanning electron microscopes (ESEM) allow the direct inspection of micron and nanometer-sized features on virtually any object; features ranging down to 1/50,000 of a human hair in size. These sophisticated microscopes are the workhorses of modern materials science and biology research. A focused ion beam system (FIB) is basically a molecular-level machining tool that allows material to be either removed or added on the scale of a few nanometers; enabling, for example, the creation of microscopic current collectors for nanobatteries developed at The University of Tulsa. The integration of these two instruments into a single system allows for simultaneous imaging and ion beam operation and makes possible a variety of advanced characterization techniques such as serial sectioning. In this process, thin slices of material are removed with the FIB and the new surface is imaged with the SEM. Repeating the procedure many times yields a series of images that can be used to make a 3-D reconstruction of the internal structure of advanced materials like the unique self- healing plastics or the specialized strains of algae for biofuel production that are subjects of investigation at the University of Tulsa. In addition to supporting the research agenda of the university, the instrument will be an essential tool in many classes and the focus of an aggressive outreach program. Remote operation capabilities for the microscope will allow integration with sites ranging from rural elementary schools to small regional colleges across the state of Oklahoma. The instrument will also become a centerpiece in the development of research and teaching programs associated with the Gilcrease museum, which houses a world renowned collection of Native American art and artifacts.