MRI-Acquisition: Sputtering System for Developing Novel Germanium Detectors and Materials

MRI 采集：用于开发新型锗探测器和材料的溅射系统

• 批准号: 2117774
• 负责人: Dongming Mei
• 金额: $ 28.16万
• 依托单位: University of South Dakota Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2117774&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Sputtering; System; Developing

This award will provide a new sputtering system for developing novel germanium (Ge) detectors and materials research in the Departments of Physics at the University of South Dakota (USD) and at South Dakota State University (SDSU). This instrument will significantly improve the research facility and capability in the state of South Dakota. The device will be used by a number of investigators to develop and test novel germanium detector designs, some with promising applications to dark matter and neutrino detection, others for medical imaging. The equipment and the dedicated detector fabrication laboratory promise to realize an unusually broad spectrum of Broader Impact. This includes advances in medical research, but also more generically, in fields like environmental monitoring or homeland security. In addition, the group has a track record of involving students from underrepresented groups in the research. The planned instrument will enable multidisciplinary research and more than 50 students will be trained.A sputtering system with a configuration to coat up to 4 inches in diameter and 3 inches in thickness for substrates per batch from both sides by utilizing an in-situ substrate pallet flipping mechanism is planned in this project. Sputtering is a deposition technology involving a gaseous plasma which is generated and confined to a space containing a target (substrate) to be deposited. The surface of the target is eroded by high-energy ions within the plasma, and the liberated atoms travel through the vacuum environment and are deposited into a substrate to form a thin film. The sputtering technology has been used in developing novel Ge detectors by creating amorphous Ge (a-Ge) or a-Si thin films onto high-purity Ge crystals to make electrical contacts, which provide bipolar blocking for electrons and holes.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.

该奖项将为南达科他州大学和南达科他州州立大学物理系开发新型锗(Ge)探测器和材料研究提供新的溅射系统。该仪器将显著改善南达科他州的研究设施和能力。该设备将被许多研究人员用来开发和测试新的锗探测器设计，其中一些设计在暗物质和中微子探测方面有很好的应用前景，另一些设计用于医学成像。该设备和专门的探测器制造实验室承诺实现异常广泛的更广泛的影响。这包括医学研究方面的进步，但更笼统地说，也包括环境监测或国土安全等领域的进步。此外，该组织还有让代表人数不足的群体的学生参与研究的记录。计划中的仪器将支持多学科研究，并将培训50多名学生。该项目计划建立一个溅射系统，其配置利用原位衬底托盘翻转机构，从两侧为每批衬底涂覆直径达4英寸、厚度达3英寸的涂层。溅射是一种沉积技术，包括产生气体等离子体并将其限制在包含要沉积的目标(衬底)的空间内。靶的表面被等离子体中的高能离子侵蚀，解放出来的原子穿过真空环境，沉积到衬底中形成薄膜。溅射技术已被用于开发新型的Ge探测器，方法是在高纯度的Ge晶体上创建非晶态Ge(a-Ge)或a-Si薄膜，以形成电接触，为电子和空穴提供双极阻挡。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。