MRI: Acquisition of Plasma Multi-ion-source Focused Ion Beam Microscope

该奖项来自主要研究仪器项目，支持采购配备先进探测器和自动化工具的最先进的聚焦离子束/扫描电子显微镜。该仪器能够支持学术界和工业界的各种研究项目和计划，涉及微观结构的三维，多模态表征和模式。这种三维分析对于开发增材制造的材料加工策略以及理解导致材料降解和失效的机制尤为重要。此外，该仪器的纳米图像化能力提供了新型纳米尺度光学和机械设备的精密工程。该仪器位于研究三角纳米技术网络（NSF国家纳米技术协调基础设施（NNCI）的一个节点）内，为来自全国各地的研究人员提供了更好的访问机会，影响了当地的大学、非营利机构和行业。该仪器将被整合到由美国国家科学基金会资助的国家研究培训计划开发的课程中，该计划将材料科学，统计学和机器学习社区聚集在一起，开发材料信息学研究的新方法。将举办讲习班和培训单元，以扩大少数民族机构的参与，并教育统计学和材料科学交叉领域的新一代研究人员。该奖项支持获得电感耦合等离子体（ICP）多离子源聚焦离子束/扫描电子显微镜（pFIB/SEM），以支持来自北卡罗莱纳州立大学和地区大学五个学术部门的众多教师，博士后和学生研究人员正在进行的和未来的研究。此外，该仪器将通过研究三角纳米技术网络（NSF国家纳米技术协调基础设施（NNCI）的一个节点）被其他学术和工业研究团体广泛使用。该仪器专门用于从纳米到毫米的长度尺度上的三维材料微观结构的统计有意义的定量表征。自动化工具与快速溅射速率的耦合解锁了以下能力：1)研究由复杂分层材料微观结构控制的材料特性，2)研究易受传统镓离子源离子注入伪影影响的材料中的三维微观结构，以及3)在各种材料中绘制大面积高保真度（纳米级分辨率）的图案。该基础设施的更广泛影响在于利用北卡罗莱纳州立分析仪器设施的独特能力来培训多样化的用户群，并开发研究生、本科生和K-12级别的教育模块。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。

This award from the Major Research Instrumentation program supports the acquisition of a state-of-the-art focused ion beam /scanning electron microscope outfitted with advanced detectors and automation tools. The instrument enables and supports a diverse range of research projects and programs, within academia and industry, that involve three-dimensional, multi-modal characterization and patterning of microstructures. Such three-dimensional analysis is particularly important for developing materials processing strategies for additive manufacturing and for understanding mechanisms leading to material degradation and failure. In addition, the nanopatterning capabilities of the instrument provide precision engineering of novel nanometer-scale optical and mechanical devices. The location of the instrument within the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network, a node of the NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), provides enhanced access to researchers from across the nation, impacting local universities, not-for-profit institutions and industries. The instrument will be integrated into the curriculum developed under an NSF-funded National Research Traineeship program, which brings together the materials science, statistics and machine learning communities to develop new approaches to materials informatics research. Workshops and training modules will be developed to broaden participation from minority institutions and to educate a new generation of researchers at the intersection of statistics and materials science. This award supports the acquisition of an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) multi-ion source focused-ion beam/ scanning electron microscope (pFIB/SEM) to support the ongoing and future research of numerous faculty, postdoctoral and student researchers from across five academic departments at North Carolina State University and regional universities. In addition, the instrument will be broadly utilized by other academic and industry research communities via the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network, a node of the NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI). The instrument is outfitted specifically for statistically meaningful quantitative characterization of material microstructures in three dimensions across length scales from nano meter to millimeter. The coupling of automation tools with the rapid sputtering rates unlocks the ability to: 1) study material properties governed by complex hierarchical material microstructures, 2) study three dimensional microstructures in materials that would be susceptible to artifacts from ion implantation using conventional Ga ion sources, and 3) pattern large area yet high fidelity (nanometer-scale resolution) patterns in a variety of materials. The broader impacts of the infrastructure lie in leveraging the unique capabilities of the North Carolina State Analytical Instrumentation Facility in training a diverse user-base and in developing education modules at the graduate, undergraduate and K-12 levels.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.