MRI-R2: Acquisition of a Versatile Electron Beam Nanolithography Instrument for Patterning on Planar and Curved Surfaces

技术摘要：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。这项MRI-R2拨款将资助购买最先进的Vistec epg5200es电子束纳米光刻仪器，该仪器将成为宾夕法尼亚州立大学纳米制造实验室将各种材料（包括半导体、复杂氧化物、铁磁体、超导体、聚合物和分子）转化为先进纳米器件和系统的核心任务。这种灵活而通用的纳米光刻系统将能够在直径达200毫米、厚度达10毫米的基板上直接绘制复杂特征，具有低于10纳米的图案分辨率和低于15纳米的拼接和覆盖精度。此外，该仪器将从根本上开辟纳米光刻的新途径，因为它将配备一个z-lift平台，允许软件控制的动态平台高度调整，以在具有极端地形和曲率的基板上进行图案。这种独特的能力将在纳米电子学、纳米生物技术和纳米光学等不同领域创造研究和发展机会。通过国家纳米技术基础设施网络，该仪器的新功能、灵活的界面和远程互联网可操作性将为来自学术界、工业界和政府的广泛和多样化的用户群体提供一种新的教育、培训和推广方法。概要：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。纳米科学和纳米技术的进步正在电子、光学、能源、生命科学和医学等不同领域创造全新的研究和开发机会。纳米光刻技术在这些进步中起着核心作用，因为它是用于制造小至10纳米结构的主要技术之一。这项MRI-R2拨款将资助购买最先进的Vistec epg5200es电子束光刻仪器，该仪器将成为宾夕法尼亚州立大学纳米制造实验室的核心设备。通过国家纳米技术基础设施网络，该系统将用于将各种功能材料，包括半导体、铁电体、铁磁体、超导体、聚合物和分子，转化为复杂的集成纳米器件和系统。此外，它将从根本上开辟光刻技术的新途径，因为它将配备硬件和软件，可以在具有极端地形和曲率的基板上直接进行纳米图案。这种独特的能力将使纳米纹理表面的开创性研究成为可能，以防止人工动脉移植物中的凝血，以及用于完美光学反射镜、透镜和隐形装置的光学超材料。该仪器的新特性、易用性、灵活的界面和远程互联网可操作性将为来自学术界、工业界和政府的广泛和多样化的用户群体提供一种新的教育、培训和推广方法。宾夕法尼亚州立大学纳米制造实验室，作为NSF国家纳米技术基础设施节点（NNIN）站点，是一个开放访问的国家用户设施，帮助来自学术界和工业界的科学家和工程师推进纳米科学和工程的前沿。该实验室的使命是建立在宾夕法尼亚州立大学的核心研究优势之上，建立将各种材料（半导体、复杂氧化物、超导体、铁磁体、聚合物和分子系统）集成到微纳米级设备中的战略。该项目建议采购一台Vistec epg5200es先进电子束纳米光刻仪器，该仪器将在该实验室的任务中发挥核心作用。该设备具有最先进的性能，将对20多个正在进行和未来的基础科学和工程项目至关重要，这些项目主要由NSF资助。该仪器能够在具有各种尺寸和厚度的基板上直接绘制特征图案，具有低于10 nm的图案分辨率和低于15 nm的拼接和覆盖精度。此外，该仪器还将为纳米图图化开辟定性的新途径，因为它将配备一个z-lift平台，允许软件控制的动态平台高度调整，以在具有极端地形和曲率的基材上进行图图化。这种独特的仪器方面——目前在任何其他国家用户设施中都没有——将使诸如圆柱形血液导管的纳米纹理表面工程等项目成为可能，以防止血液接触医疗设备中的凝固，以及通过在弯曲的精密光学元件上进行纳米级图案设计的光学超材料。Vistec仪器在形式和功能上是模块化的，随着技术的改进或在系统约15年的使用寿命内需求的增加，可以很容易地升级。智力优势：该仪器将被来自不同学科（电气、化学和机械工程、材料科学、物理、化学、生物和医学）的研究人员用于解决各自领域迫在眉睫的问题。这些主题包括介观物理（例如，新型超导体中的介观输运，石墨烯和纳米线，单纳米磁体和相互作用纳米磁体中的磁化控制），纳米电子学（例如，深亚微米薄膜晶体管，半导体纳米线电子学），纳米光子学（例如，光子分子激光器中的相干自旋动力学，纳米光子激光器的光子晶体设计）和纳米生物学（例如，微型植入式肾辅助装置）。所有将使用该仪器的高级人员都有开展高影响研究的记录。更广泛的影响：该仪器的易用性、灵活的界面和远程（互联网）可操作性将有助于在研究生、学士、副学士和学位后的专业水平上为先进纳米制造技术的教育、培训和推广开辟新的方向。这些努力将包括模块化光刻教程、远程演示、技术操作和用户认证培训课程。宾夕法尼亚州立大学材料研究科学与工程中心和几个少数族裔服务机构，包括纽约城市学院、波多黎各大学、德克萨斯农工大学，已经建立了机制，通过NSF本科生研究经验项目，为女性和代表性不足的少数族裔增加研究和培训机会。这些程序将受益于接触仪器？S功能，介绍教程和演示纳米制造和导师监督的使用。该仪器还将提供给宾夕法尼亚州立大学先进技术教育项目和合作机构，其中包括许多少数族裔社区和技术学院。最后，在NNIN外部联络员和Vistec的协助下，仪器？基于internet的接口将用于开发一种新的“远程集线器”模型，该模型将帮助集线器的外部用户设计和实施远程项目。该计划将从学术界（例如CCNY）和工业界的现有合作伙伴开始，然后将扩展到其他场所，以产生深远的全国影响。

0959764MayerPennsylvania State U. University ParkTechnical Summary: This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This MRI-R2 grant will fund the acquisition of a state-of-the-art Vistec EBPG5200ES electron-beam nanolithography instrument that will be a centerpiece of the Penn State Nanofabrication Laboratory's mission to transform diverse materials, including semiconductors, complex oxides, ferromagnets, superconductors, polymers and molecules, into advanced nano-devices and systems. This flexible and versatile nanolithography system will enable direct patterning of complex features on substrates up to 200 mm in diameter and up to 10 mm thick, with a demonstrated sub-10 nm pattern resolution and sub-15 nm stitching and overlay accuracy. In addition, the instrument will open fundamentally new avenues in nanolithography because it will be equipped with a z-lift stage that allows software-controlled dynamic stage height adjustments for patterning on substrates with extreme topography and curvature. This unique capability will create research and development opportunities in diverse fields such as nano-electronics, nano-biotechnology, and nano-optics. By way of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network, the instrument's new features, flexible interface and remote internet operability will offer a fresh approach to education, training and outreach that is readily accessible to a broad and diverse population of users from academia, industry, and government.Layman Summary: This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology are creating entirely new research and development opportunities in diverse fields such as electronics, optics, energy, life sciences, and medicine. Nanolithography plays a central role in these advances because it is one of the primary techniques used to create structures with features that are as small as 10 nm. This MRI-R2 grant will fund the acquisition of a state-of-the-art Vistec EBPG5200ES electron-beam lithography instrument that will be a centerpiece of the Penn State Nanofabrication Laboratory. By way of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network, this system will be used to transform diverse functional materials, including semiconductors, ferroelectrics, ferromagnets, superconductors, polymers and molecules, into complex integrated nanodevices and systems. In addition, it will open fundamentally new avenues in lithography because it will be equipped with hardware and software for direct nanopatterning on substrates with extreme topography and curvature. This unique capability will enable groundbreaking research in nanotextured surfaces to prevent coagulation in artificial artery grafts as well as optical metamaterials for perfect optical mirrors, lenses, and cloaking devices. The instrument's new features, ease of use, flexible interface and remote internet operability will offer a fresh approach to education, training and outreach that is readily accessible to a broad and diverse population of users from academia, industry, and government. The Penn State Nanofabrication Laboratory, as an NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Node (NNIN) site, is an open access national user facility that helps scientists and engineers from academia and industry to advance the frontiers of nanoscale science and engineering. The laboratory's mission builds on core research strengths at Penn State University to establish strategies for integrating diverse materials - semiconductors, complex oxides, superconductors, ferromagnets, polymers and molecular systems - into micro and nanoscale devices. This project proposes the acquisition of a Vistec EBPG5200ES advanced electron beam nanolithography instrument that will play a central role in this laboratory's mission. The equipment has stateof-the-art performance that will be critical to more than 20 ongoing and future projects in basic science and engineering, primarily funded by NSF. The instrument is capable of direct patterning of features on substrates having a variety of sizes and thicknesses, with demonstrated sub-10 nm pattern resolution and sub-15 nm stitching and overlay accuracy. In addition, the instrument will open qualitatively new avenues in nanopatterning because it will be equipped with a z-lift stage that allows software-controlled dynamic stage height adjustments for patterning on substrates with extreme topography and curvature. This unique instrumental aspect - not currently present at any other national user facility - will enable projects such as nanotextured surface engineering of cylindrical blood conduits to prevent coagulation in blood-contacting medical devices and the design of optical metamaterials by nanoscale patterning on curved precision optical components. The Vistec instrument is modular in form and function and is designed to be readily upgradable as the technology improves or as the need arises over the estimated 15-year lifespan of the system.Intellectual merit: The proposed instrument will be used by investigators from diverse disciplines (electrical, chemical and mechanical engineering, materials science, physics, chemistry, biology and medicine) to tackle problems of imminent concern in their respective fields. These encompass topics in mesoscopic physics (e.g., mesoscopic transport in novel superconductors, graphene and nanowires, magnetization control in single and interacting nanomagnets), nanoelectronics (e.g., deep submicron thin film transistors, semiconductor nanowire electronics), nanophotonics (e.g., coherent spin dynamics in photonic molecule lasers, photonic crystal design of nanophotonic lasers) and nanobiology (e.g., miniaturized implantable renal assist devices). All the senior personnel who will use the instrument have established track records of carrying out high impact research.Broader impact: The instrument's ease of use, flexible interface, and remote (internet) operability will help forge new directions in education, training and outreach in advanced nanofabrication technology at the graduate, baccalaureate, associate, and post-degree professional levels. These efforts will include modular lithography tutorials, remote demonstrations, technical operations and user certification training courses. The Penn State Materials Research Science and Engineering Center and several minority-serving institutions, including the City College of New York, University of Puerto Rico, Texas A&M, have already established mechanisms for enhancing research and training opportunities for women and under-represented minorities through the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduatesprogram. These programs will benefit from exposure to the instrument?s capabilities with introductory tutorials and demonstrations on nanofabrication and mentor-supervised usage. The instrument will also be made available to the Penn State Advanced Technology Education program and partner institutions, which include many minority serving community and technical colleges. Finally, with the assistance of NNIN external liaisons and Vistec, the instrument?s internet-based interface will be used to develop a new "remote hub" model that will assist external users at hubs to design and implement remote projects. This scheme will start with existing partners in academia (e.g., CCNY) and industry, and will then be extended to other venues for far-reaching national impact.