MRI: Acquisition of PeakForce Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy Package and Upgrade for Dimension Icon Scanning Probe Microscopy System

非技术描述：该项目资助升级扫描探针显微镜，该显微镜是阿巴拉契亚州立大学研究、教学和推广活动的核心。该系统对校园内四个不同的物理和化学研究小组至关重要，并使包括杜克大学和罗切斯特理工学院在内的几个机构能够继续合作。使用升级后的系统进行的研究将主要由本科生和硕士生进行，并将重点放在有机半导体和原子薄晶体等电子材料的开发和表征上。它通过帮助开发可再生能源和高性能电子技术使公众受益。除了研究之外，该仪器每天用于教学，并被整合到阿巴拉契亚大学的显微镜技术、材料科学和纳米科学的研究生课程中。这种显微镜也经常出现在教育推广和招聘活动中，比如校园开放日参观和阿巴拉契亚的科学、技术、工程、艺术和数学（STEAM）博览会，这是一个每年聚集大约2500名K-12学生的科学节活动。技术描述：该奖项允许在Appalachian现有的Dimension Icon扫描探针显微镜上增加两种纳米级成像模式，Peakforce开尔文探针力显微镜和定量纳米机械测绘。开尔文探针显微镜表征了材料在纳米尺度上的功函数变化，而纳米力学映射成像显示了应变和弹性模量的空间变化。该团队使用这些模式：(1)研究并优化基于有机半导体混合物的场效应和光伏器件的形态；(2)表征范德华异质结构中的局部掺杂；(3)对扭曲范德华异质结构中云纹效应引起的局部应变进行成像；(4)表征基于金属配位复合交联聚合物网络的可切换弹性体材料的纳米级形貌。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。

Nontechnical Description:This project funds upgrades to a scanning probe microscope that is central to the research, teaching, and outreach activities at Appalachian State University. This system is critical to four different physics and chemistry research groups on campus and enables continued collaborations with several institutions, including Duke University and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Research performed using the upgraded system will be conducted primarily by undergraduates and Masters students and will focus on the development and characterization of electronic materials such as organic semiconductors and atomically thin crystals. It benefits the public by helping to develop renewable power sources and performant electronic technologies. In addition to research, the instrument is used daily for teaching and is integrated into Appalachian's graduate-level courses on microscopy techniques, materials science, and nanoscience. The microscope is also regularly featured in educational outreach and recruiting events, such as campus open house tours and Appalachian's Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Expo, a science festival event that gathers approximately 2,500 K-12 students annually. Technical Description:This award allows the addition of two nanoscale imaging modes, Peakforce Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy and Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping, to the existing Dimension Icon scanning probe microscope at Appalachian. Kelvin Probe microscopy characterizes changes in the work function of a material at the nanoscale, whereas nanomechanical mapping images the spatial variations of the strain and elastic modulus. The team uses these modes to: (1) investigate and optimize the morphology of field-effect and photovoltaic devices based on organic semiconductor blends; (2) characterize local doping in van der Waals heterostructures; (3) image the local strain that arises from Moire effects in twisted van der Waals heterostructures; and (4) characterize the nanoscale morphology of switchable elastomeric materials based on metal-coordination complex crosslinked polymer networks.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.