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，用于确定和理解低功率电子学，储能，超导体，有机电子学，纳米技术，柔性电子学，光电子学，光电子学和环境催化剂领域的新材料的晶体结构。晶体结构在这些重要应用中起着重要作用，因为它决定了新材料的机械，毒性，反应性和电子特性。如果没有“设计材料”的创造，过去半个世纪在计算、工程、医学和能源领域的显著进步就不会发生，而只有当材料的结构及其与材料性质的相关性众所周知时，才有可能创造出“设计材料”。UT-达拉斯拥有最先进的设施，通过广泛的技术相关工艺以及先进的表征工具进行材料合成。因此，这种新的仪器，它可以精确地确定由PI生长的材料的结构，将使他们能够研究加工条件对材料结构的影响，从而确定材料的性能。该仪器还将在研究生和本科生的教育中发挥重要作用，在广泛的学科;它将开放给来自大学以外的用户，促进在达拉斯-沃斯堡大都市和全国各地的新合作。该仪器是理学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。新仪器将被安置在自然科学和工程研究实验室（NSERL），并将补充UT达拉斯的专用实验室和共享用户设施中现有的材料合成和器件制造能力。新的衍射仪将大大提高高品质单晶二维半导体的研究，用于高性能和低功率纳米电子应用，在金属间化合物和氧化物层状材料中，可以表现出从不寻常的磁性到超导性等一系列特性。在这些领域和其他领域中，薄膜晶体质量的量化和尺寸减小的多晶样品中晶粒的取向对于理解工艺-结构-性能关系至关重要。确定晶体质量和进行高速极图织构分析的能力为大量的研究人员和学生开辟了新的研究途径。高分辨率和超高速X射线衍射仪的收购将极大地增强UT达拉斯和整个达拉斯-沃斯堡大都会区的当前和潜在材料和器件研究人员的研究，并极大地改变重要的研究和教育工作。该工具将用于通过实际操作获得新技术和补充课堂学习来改善学生教育和培训。

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.