MRI Acquisition: High-Resolution and Ultra-High Speed X-Ray Diffractometer for Structure, Crystal Quality, and Preferred Orientation Determination

该奖项支持德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校获得最先进的X射线衍射工具，用于确定和了解低功率电子、能量存储、超导体、有机电子、纳米技术、柔性电子、光伏、光电子和环境催化剂等领域的新材料的晶体结构。晶体结构在这些重要的应用中扮演着重要的角色，因为它决定了新材料的机械、毒性、反应性和电子性质。过去半个世纪在计算、工程、医学和能源领域取得的显著进步，如果不是因为只有在材料的结构及其与材料性能的关系众所周知的情况下才可能产生的设计材料，就不会发生这种进步。除了先进的表征工具外，德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校还拥有通过广泛的技术相关工艺进行材料合成的最先进的设施。因此，这一新的仪器可以精确地确定PI生长的材料的结构，使他们能够研究工艺条件对材料结构的影响，并进而确定材料的性能。该仪器还将在广泛学科的研究生和本科生的教育中发挥重要作用；它将向大学以外的用户开放，在达拉斯-沃斯堡大都市和全国各地促进新的合作。该仪器是Rigaku SmartLab高分辨率、超高速X射线衍射仪，用于纳米电子和能源应用中的块状和薄膜有机和无机材料的结构分析和晶体质量测定。新仪器将安置在自然科学与工程研究实验室(NSERL)，并将在德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校的专用实验室和共享用户设施中补充现有的材料合成和设备制造能力。新型衍射仪将显著提高高质量单晶二维半导体的研究水平，用于高性能和低功耗的纳米电子应用、金属间化合物和氧化物层状材料，这些材料可以显示出从异常磁性到超导等一系列性质。在这些领域和其他领域，薄膜晶体质量的量化和降维多晶样品中的颗粒取向对于理解工艺-结构-性能关系至关重要。确定晶体质量和进行高速极图进行纹理分析的能力为广泛的研究人员和学生开辟了新的研究途径。收购高分辨率和超高速X射线衍射仪将极大地加强德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校和达拉斯-沃斯堡大都会的现有和潜在材料和设备研究人员的研究，并极大地改变重要的研究和教育努力。该工具将用于通过亲身接触新技术和补充课堂学习来改进学生的教育和培训。

This award supports the University of Texas at Dallas to acquire a state of the art X-ray diffraction tool for determination and understanding of the crystal structure of new materials in the fields of low power electronics, energy storage, superconductors, organic electronics, nanotechnology, flexible electronics, photovoltaics, optoelectronics, and environmental catalysts. Crystal structure plays a major role in each of these important applications as it determines the mechanical, toxicity, reactivity, and electronic properties of the new materials. The remarkable advances over the past half century in the fields of computing, engineering, medicine, and energy would not have taken place had it not been for the creation of "materials by design" that is only possible when the structure of materials and their correlation to material properties are well known. UT-Dallas has state of the art facilities for materials synthesis by a wide range of technologically relevant processes in addition to advanced characterization tools. Therefore, this new instrument, which allows a precise determination of the structure of materials grown by the PI, will allow them to study the effect of processing conditions on materials structure and, in turn, determine the materials properties. The instrument will also play a significant role in the education of graduate and undergraduate students in a wide range of disciplines; it will be open to users from outside of the university fostering new collaborations in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropole and around the country. The instrument is a Rigaku SmartLab high-resolution, ultra-high speed X-ray diffractometer for the structural analysis and crystal quality determination of bulk and thin-film organic and inorganic materials for nanoelectronic and energy applications. The new instrument will be housed in the Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory (NSERL) and will complement existing materials synthesis and device fabrication capabilities in dedicated labs and shared user facilities at UT-Dallas. The new diffractometer will significantly enhance in research high quality single crystal 2-dimensional semiconductors for high performance and low power nanoelectronic applications, in intermetallic and oxide layered materials that can exhibit a range of properties from unusual magnetism to superconductivity and more. In these fields and others the quantification of thin-film crystal quality and the orientation of grains in polycrystalline samples in reduced dimensions are crucial to understanding the process-structure-property relationships. The ability to determine crystal quality and carry out high-speed pole figures for texture analysis opens new research avenues for a wide number of investigators and students. The acquisition of a high-resolution and ultra-high speed X-ray diffractometer will greatly enhance the research of current and potential materials and device researchers within UT-Dallas and across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as well as dramatically transform important research and educational efforts. The instrument will be used to improve student education and training through hands-on access to new techniques and complement classroom learning.