MRI: Acquisition of a X-Ray Diffraction System for Materials Research in Alabama

凭借这项主要研究仪器（MRI）奖，奥本大学获得了一种新的高分辨率x射线衍射系统。该系统使该大学的材料科学和工程领域的前沿研究跨越五个学科领域，并将提供给整个阿拉巴马州的研究人员。该仪器的研究重点是开发用于下一代电子设备和可再生能源系统的新型晶体薄膜和纳米结构材料。用于电子设备的材料包括超薄晶体薄膜和多层材料，这些材料被设计用来产生非自然发生的电子和磁性。该系统还专门用于研究电池和催化剂等材料中的电化学反应，从而推进其在未来能源技术中的应用。该仪器将通过奥本大学研究仪器设施进行管理，并可供整个大学的学生和教师研究人员以及阿拉巴马州的其他学术和工业研究人员使用，在其他任何大学都没有具有其功能的仪器。在这项工作的协同作用下，研究人员将支持少数族裔本科生通过奥本科学家和工程师合作方法（CASE）本科生研究经验（REU）项目进行研究项目，该项目由包容、公平和多样性办公室运营。每年夏天，奥本大学的研究人员将指导REU项目的学生，利用该系统在研究人员的实验室里进行下一代材料合成实验。x射线衍射仪设计用于在源和检测器上使用x射线单色仪进行高角分辨率的测量。一个二维面积探测器可以实现超快速测量，更有效地利用系统。测量能力包括空间互反映射、x射线反射、温度依赖性研究和原位电化学研究。该仪器将提高奥本大学电子和能源材料研究的研究成果。电子材料的研究主要集中在通过分子束外延和脉冲激光沉积合成的复杂氧化物和硫族化合物薄膜、多层和超晶格，这些都需要高分辨率的能力。这些材料有望用于自旋电子器件和拓扑量子计算，奥本在这些领域拥有一支不断壮大的跨学科研究团队。能源材料研究由奥本大学能源集群招聘计划聘用的教师领导，主要研究用于催化和储能的过渡金属氧化物和碳化物材料。这项工作将利用原位电池连接和加热阶段进行温度依赖性研究。研究生和本科生的研究人员将接受有关仪器的培训，并为他们未来在工业和科学研究领域的职业生涯增加经验。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With this Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award, Auburn University is acquiring a new high-resolution X-ray diffraction system. The system enables cutting-edge research in materials science and engineering at the university across five disciplinary fields and will be available to researchers throughout the state of Alabama. Research enabled by this instrument focuses on the development of new crystalline thin film and nanostructured materials for next-generation electronic devices and renewable energy systems. Materials for electronic devices include ultrathin crystalline films and multilayers that are engineered to produce electronic and magnetic properties that do not occur naturally. The system is also tailored to study electrochemical reactions in materials such as those used for batteries and catalysts, which advances their applications in future energy technologies. The instrument will be managed through the Auburn University Research Instrumentation Facility and available to student and faculty researchers across the university and to other academic and industrial researchers across Alabama, where there is no instrument with its capabilities at any other university. In synergy with this work, investigators will support minority undergraduate students to perform research projects through the Auburn Collaborative Approaches Among Scientists and Engineers (CASE) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program run by the Office of Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity. Faculty researchers at Auburn will mentor students in the REU program each summer on projects employing the system for experiments on next-generation materials synthesized in the investigators’ laboratories. The X-ray diffractometer is designed to perform measurements with high angular resolution using an X-ray monochromator on the source and detector. A two-dimensional area detector enables ultrafast measurements for more efficient use of the system. Measurement capabilities include reciprocal space mapping, X-ray reflectometry, temperature-dependent studies, and in situ electrochemical studies. The instrument will enhance research output in electronic and energy materials research at Auburn. Electronic materials research is focused on complex oxide and chalcogenide thin films, multilayers, and superlattices synthesized via molecular beam epitaxy and pulsed laser deposition that require high-resolution capabilities. These materials are promising for spintronic devices and topological quantum computation where Auburn has a growing interdisciplinary research team. Energy materials research is led by faculty hired through the Auburn energy cluster hiring initiative and is focused on transition metal oxide and carbide materials for catalysis and energy storage. This work will take advantage of an in situ battery cell attachment and heated stage for temperature-dependent studies. Graduate and undergraduate researchers will be trained on the instrument and enhance their experience for future careers in industry and scientific research.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.