MRI-R2: Acquisition of an Electron-Beam Evaporator for Undergraduate Research

本奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。高质量金属薄膜的沉积对于各种研究目的是必不可少的，包括超导器件物理，研究级专业光学的生产以及材料科学和纳米科学的许多方面。该项目将获得最先进的电子束蒸发系统，适用于各种研究项目，其中大多数涉及文理学院的本科生研究人员。该系统将只用于蒸发非磁性材料，以生产高质量的超导薄膜。此外，它将有几个重要的特点，这将使它能够满足不同的研究需求；这些设备包括一个带有多个源的卡带、一个组合负载锁定/沉积室和一个用于现场表面清洁的氩离子枪。蒸发器将实现的研究项目包括超导结构和器件的制造，以研究其宏观量子特性，磁涡流介导的超导层之间的磁相互作用，以及超导纳米结构中电子数宇称对持续电流的影响。该系统还将用于涂层光学和谐振腔，用于创建用于研究玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体的“相点”，以及用于研究Gd/ y -铁石榴石材料的电极沉积和相关表面清洁，用于实验中寻找电子电偶极矩。蒸发器将具有足够的自动化和灵活性，本科生可以轻松操作，他们将使用最先进的设备进行前沿研究。该系统将由阿默斯特学院和霍利奥克山学院的本科生、马萨诸塞大学的研究生以及这三所学院的博士后研究人员和教职员工使用。该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。高质量金属薄膜的沉积对于各种研究目的是必不可少的，包括生产超导器件和定制光学器件，以及材料科学和纳米科学中的许多应用。该项目将获得最先进的电子束蒸发系统，适用于各种研究项目，其中大多数涉及文理学院的本科生研究人员。该系统将只用于蒸发非磁性材料，因为即使少量的磁性杂质也会对超导器件产生不利影响。它也将有许多专门的功能，以满足不同的研究需要。新的蒸发器将用于制造超导结构和器件，制造专门的光学器件和电磁谐振器，以及用于研究磁性材料的电极。这些活动将支持许多基础和应用研究领域的工作，如量子计算、超低温物理、材料科学和纳米科学/纳米技术。蒸发器将具有足够的自动化和灵活性，本科生可以轻松操作，他们将使用最先进的设备进行前沿研究。该系统将由阿默斯特学院和霍利奥克山学院的本科生、马萨诸塞大学的研究生以及这三所学院的博士后研究人员和教职员工使用。

0958900FriedmanAmherst CollegeTechnical Abstract This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The deposition of high-quality metallic films is indispensable for a variety of research purposes, including superconducting-device physics, the production of research-grade specialized optics and in many aspects of materials science and nanoscience. This project will acquire a state-of-the-art electron-beam evaporation system suitable for a diverse set of research projects, most involving undergraduate researchers at a liberal-arts college. The system will be reserved for evaporating only non-magnetic materials in order to produce high-quality superconducting thin films. In addition, it will have several important features that will allow it to meet a diverse set of research needs; these include a cassette with multiple sources, a combination load lock/deposition chamber and an Ar-ion gun for in situ surface cleaning. Research projects that the evaporator will enable include the fabrication of superconducting structures and devices to study their macroscopic quantum properties, the magnetic interactions between superconducting layers mediated by magnetic vortices, and the influence of electron-number parity on persistent currents in superconducting nanorings. The system will also be used for coating optics and resonant cavities, for the creation of "phase dots" used in studies of Bose-Einstein Condensates as well as for electrode deposition and associated surface cleaning for studies of Gd/Y-iron-garnet materials used in experiments to search for the electron electric-dipole moment. The evaporator will have enough automation and flexibility to be operated easily by undergraduate students, who will use the state-of-the-art equipment to perform cutting-edge research. The system will be used by undergraduates from Amherst and Mt. Holyoke Colleges, graduate students from the University of Massachusetts, and postdoctoral researchers and faculty from all three institutions.Non-technical Abstract This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The deposition of high-quality metallic films is indispensable for a variety of research purposes, including producing superconducting devices and custom optics, as well as for many applications in materials science and nanoscience. This project will acquire a state-of-the-art electron-beam evaporation system suitable for a diverse set of research projects, most involving undergraduate researchers at a liberal-arts college. The system will be reserved for evaporating only non-magnetic materials since even small amounts of magnetic impurities can adversely affect superconducting devices. It will also have many specialized features to meet a diverse set of research needs. The new evaporator will be used to fabricate superconducting structures and devices, make specialized optical devices and electromagnetic resonators, and create electrodes for studying magnetic materials. These activities will support work in numerous fundamental and applied research areas, such as quantum computing, ultra-low-temperature physics, materials science, and nanoscience/nanotechnology. The evaporator will have enough automation and flexibility to be operated easily by undergraduate students, who will use the state-of-the-art equipment to perform cutting-edge research. The system will be used by undergraduates from Amherst and Mt. Holyoke Colleges, graduate students from the University of Massachusetts, and postdoctoral researchers and faculty from all three institutions.