Community Facility Support: The Arizona State University SIMS Laboratories

这一奖项继续支持亚利桑那州立大学社区二次离子质谱仪(SIMS)设施，该设施将为地球科学领域的NSF研究人员提供两种复杂的分析仪器，使他们能够分析非常小的天然和合成材料区域。NanoSIMS可以检测和量化直径为50纳米的小光点的信号。这比人类头发的宽度要小1000倍。6f SIMS仪器分析更大的区域(几微米宽)，但可以达到亚微米的深度分辨率。这两种仪器都很昂贵，需要花费大量精力进行维护，而且使用起来很有挑战性。这些基金支持亚利桑那州立大学的专家，他们与参观者合作，帮助他们设计实验和选择仪器方案，以从他们的样本中获得尽可能好的分析。向参观者传授如何针对他们的特定问题操作仪器，教授SIMS的基本原理，并鼓励他们描述新的问题，以便设施专家可以使用这些仪器开发适当的、新颖的分析技术。SIMS技术在地球和空间科学、核不扩散和半导体/材料科学领域有多种应用。因此，访客和设施支持的学生过去获得的知识帮助他们在工业、学术界和国家实验室的SIMS实验室找到了工作。在上一个供资周期(2014年9月至2018年5月)，该设施帮助不同的访客群体获得了尽可能好的微量元素和同位素微量分析。在新的资助期内，该设施将继续在美国地球化学界发挥这一作用，并通过开发新的分析技术、改进量化和基础设施(标准)以及加强新游客的教育方法(培训)来增加功能。现有设施包括两台Cameca仪器(IMS 6f和NanoSIMS)。IMS 6f在样品室真空(支持痕量氢、碳分析和痕量氢的同位素测量)、透过率、质量分辨率以及横向和深度分辨率方面具有出色的规格。它非常适合于在小区域(几微米)进行精确的同位素比率测量和微量元素分析，以及以几纳米级的分辨率深入剖析微量元素分布。纳米SIMS具有极高的横向分辨率和高质量分辨率下的高二次离子透过率。这是一个很好的匹配范围广泛的NSF耳朵支持的研究，是唯一的纳米SIMS在美国作为一个开放的设施。30多年来，亚利桑那州立大学一直是SIMS研究和开发的领导者，并以跨学科合作而闻名。这一设施支持的更新将使亚利桑那州立大学能够继续与广泛的地球科学家分享专业知识，同时继续改进现有的和开发新的分析技术。亚利桑那州立大学SIMS实验室参与面向公众的开放参观，每年举办一次研讨会(主要是为研究生)，并为那些有兴趣了解更多关于这一丰富分析技术细节的人创建培训指南。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award continues support of the Arizona State University Community Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS) Facility that will provide NSF-researchers in Earth Sciences access to two complex analytical instruments that allow them to analyze very small areas in natural and synthetic materials. The NanoSIMS can detect and quantify signals from a spot as small as 50 nanometers across. This is ~1000 times less than the width of a human hair. The 6f SIMS instrument analyzes larger areas (a few micrometers across), but can achieve sub-micron resolution in depth. Both instruments are expensive, require major efforts to maintain, and can be challenging to use. The funds support ASU specialists who work with visitors and help them design their experiments and select instrument protocols to get the best possible analyses from their samples. Visitors are taught how to operate the instruments for their particular problem, instructed in the basic principles of SIMS, and encouraged to describe new questions so that the facility specialists may develop appropriate, novel analysis techniques using these instruments. The SIMS technique has multiple applications in Earth and Space Sciences, nuclear non-proliferation, and the semiconductor/materials science fields. Thus, the knowledge gained by visitors and Facility-supported students in the past has helped them obtain employment in SIMS labs in industry, academia, and national laboratories. During the past funding cycle (September 2014 through May 2018), the facility helped a diverse group of visitors obtain the best possible trace element and isotopic microanalyses. In the new funding period the facility will continue this role in the US geochemical community, and add functionality through development of new analytical techniques, improving quantification and infrastructure (standards), and enhancing educational approaches for new visitors (training). The existing facility contains two Cameca instruments (IMS 6f and NanoSIMS). The IMS 6f has excellent specifications for sample chamber vacuum (enabling trace H, and C analyses and isotope measurements for trace H), transmission, mass resolution and lateral and depth resolution. It is well-suited for precise isotope ratio measurements and trace element analyses in small (several micrometer) areas and for in-depth profiling of trace element distributions with few-nanometer resolution. The NanoSIMS has extremely high lateral resolution coupled with high secondary ion transmission at high mass resolving power. It is a good match for a wide range of NSF EAR-supported research and is the only NanoSIMS in the US that acts as an open facility. Arizona State University has been a leader in SIMS research and development for over 30 years and is known for cross-disciplinary collaborations. The renewal of this facility support will allow ASU to continue sharing expertise with a broad spectrum of earth scientists while continuing to improve existing and develop new analytical techniques. The ASU SIMS labs participate in open houses for the general public, conduct a workshop once a year (mostly for graduate students), and create training guides for those interested in learning more details about this rich analysis technique.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.