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

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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.