MRI: Acquisition of a Nanofabrication and Electron Microscopy System for Materials Research

MRI：采购用于材料研究的纳米加工和电子显微镜系统

• 批准号: 1827608
• 负责人: Arumugam Manthiram
• 金额: $ 70万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1827608&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Nanofabrication; Electron; Microscopy

Non-Technical DescriptionThe acquired nanofabrication and electron microscopy system enhances the research and education capabilities at the University of Texas at Austin in nanometer-scale science and engineering, including the development of new low-cost, efficient materials for solar cells, fuel cells, batteries, nano-electronics, microfluidics, drug delivery, catalysis, health, etc. It also serves as a regional research tool for universities and industries for the study of advanced materials and devices. The fundamental understanding gained on the chemical/physical phenomena seeds transformational breakthroughs in the design of advanced materials and spurs the creation of new technologies. Moreover, the facility where the instrument is located has a profound impact on education and training of students on the campus and beyond, and serves as a focal point for outreach activities for underrepresented student populations through workshops and hands-on training sessions. Technical DescriptionThe instrument acquired through a Major Research Instrumentation grant comprises a high-resolution dual focused ion beam (FIB)/scanning electron microscope (SEM) system equipped with an electron-beam lithography (EBL) package for the fabrication and characterization of 2-dimensional (2D) and 3-dimensional (3D) materials. The system offers innovative electron and ion optics with state-of-the-art patterning control. Specifically, the instrument combines several key features onto a single platform: (i) device fabrication and testing with both ion-beam (3 nm resolution) and electron-beam (20 nm resolution) patterning, (ii) high throughput traditional (cross-sectional) and plan-view (lamella parallel to the surface) site-specific, thin transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation with minimal sample damage, (iii) nano-device fabrication and testing, (iv) gas-chemistry technology for materials deposition, and (v) 3D imaging of complex structures with parallel detection of various signals. The ability to prepare site-specific, TEM samples with limited damage enables key research in multiple areas, e.g., preparation of thin solid-state battery samples and monitoring their atomic structure/composition during the charge-discharge process with in-situ TEM. In the realm of microelectronics, the FIB enables preparation of samples for investigating how different growth processes affect boundary structures and compositions in materials, such as oxide heterostructures, essential for memory/communication devices or sensors. The EBL capability enables fabrication of complex electronic devices based on 2D materials, devices for understanding thermoelectric properties of materials at nanoscale, metasurfaces for molecular detection, and biological nanostructures.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.

Non-Technical DescriptionThe acquired nanofabrication and electron microscopy system enhances the research and education capabilities at the University of Texas at Austin in nanometer-scale science and engineering, including the development of new low-cost, efficient materials for solar cells, fuel cells, batteries, nano-electronics, microfluidics, drug delivery, catalysis, health, etc. It also serves as a regional research tool for universities and industries用于研究高级材料和设备。对高级材料设计中的化学/物理现象种子变化的突破，并激发了新技术的创建。此外，该乐器所在的设施对校园及其他地区的学生的教育和培训产生了深远的影响，并通过研讨会和动手培训课程为代表性不足的学生群体提供外展活动的焦点。技术描述通过主要的研究仪器赠款获得的仪器包括配备了电子梁光刻（EBL）套件的高分辨率双重聚焦离子光束（FIB）/扫描电子显微镜（SEM）系统，用于制造和表征2维（2D）和3二维（3D）材料。该系统提供具有最新图案控制的创新电子和离子光学元件。 Specifically, the instrument combines several key features onto a single platform: (i) device fabrication and testing with both ion-beam (3 nm resolution) and electron-beam (20 nm resolution) patterning, (ii) high throughput traditional (cross-sectional) and plan-view (lamella parallel to the surface) site-specific, thin transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation with minimal sample damage, (iii) nano-device fabrication and测试，（iv）材料沉积的气体化学技术，以及（v）复杂结构的3D成像，并平行检测各种信号。准备特定地点的TEM样品的能力有限，可以在多个区域进行关键研究，例如准备薄固态电池样品，并在用原位TEM的电荷分发过程中监测其原子结构/组成。在微电子学领域，FIB可以制备样品，以研究不同的生长过程如何影响材料中的边界结构和组成，例如氧化物异质结构，对于内存/通信设备或传感器来说必不可少。 EBL功能能够基于2D材料，用于理解纳米级材料热电学特性的设备制造复杂的电子设备，用于分子检测的元图和生物纳米结构。该奖项反映了NSF的法规任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识优点和广泛的范围来评估的，并值得通过评估来进行评估。