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，用于测定和理解低功耗电子、储能、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领域新材料的晶体结构。晶体结构在这些重要的应用中都起着重要的作用，因为它决定了新材料的机械、毒性、反应性和电子性能。如果没有“设计材料”的创造，过去半个世纪在计算机、工程、医学和能源领域的显著进步是不会发生的。“设计材料”只有在材料的结构及其与材料特性的关系为人所熟知时才有可能实现。除了先进的表征工具外，德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校还拥有最先进的材料合成设施，包括广泛的技术相关工艺。因此，这种新仪器可以精确地确定PI生长的材料的结构，这将使他们能够研究加工条件对材料结构的影响，进而确定材料的性质。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-沃斯堡大都会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与工程研究实验室（NSERL），并将补充现有的材料合成和设备制造能力，在专用实验室和共享用户设施在德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校。新的衍射仪将显著提高研究高质量的单晶二维半导体的高性能和低功耗的纳米电子应用，在金属间和氧化物层状材料，可以表现出一系列的性质，从不寻常的磁性到超导性和更多。在这些领域和其他领域中，薄膜晶体质量的量化和多晶样品中晶粒的降维取向对于理解工艺-结构-性能关系至关重要。确定晶体质量和进行高速极点图进行纹理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。获得一台高分辨率和超高速x射线衍射仪将极大地加强德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校和整个达拉斯-沃斯堡大都会区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工作。该仪器将用于通过实际接触新技术来改善学生的教育和培训，并补充课堂学习。

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.