Acquisition and Development of X-Ray Instrumentation for the Study of Nanostructured Materials and Thin Films

小行星9625965 由于限制和表面能效应，非常薄的膜的性质经常偏离本体。 与体特性的偏差取决于诸如膜厚度、应变和处理条件的参数，并且这些变化可以取决于膜内的深度。 薄膜工艺的许多进步是用于表征这些材料的技术进步的结果。 高强度X射线源的发展使得聚集体样品、准有序材料、非常小的样品和薄膜的内部研究成为可能。 目前，在马里兰州大学的材料与核工程系，正在研究一系列依赖于纳米尺度结构表征的问题。 该奖项为购买18千瓦旋转阳极X射线源和建造小角X射线散射（SAXS）衍射仪提供支持。 旋转阳极源上的两个端口将用于小角衍射仪和该部现有的薄膜四圆衍射仪。 该设备将使我们能够在1-100 nm的尺寸范围内对薄膜和体形貌进行小角度分析，并对薄膜进行面内和深度剖面分析。 通过使用四圆衍射仪可以立即解决的正在进行的研究问题包括：液晶薄膜、半导体多层膜、金属聚集体和无序簇的膜、聚合物纳米泡沫介电膜和反应性聚合物共混物界面。 除了以上列出的许多系统之外，SAXS系统还可以立即用于解决以下领域的当前研究问题：金属聚集体和簇合物的结构，高度支化的树枝状分子的结构和反应性聚合物共混物的表征。 所有这些研究领域都是该部门目前的项目，其中X射线散射技术的应用将对解决电子器件，光学显示器件和聚合物共混物领域中突出的结构表征和应用问题产生巨大而实质性的影响。 ***

9625965 Martinez-Miranda The properties of very thin films often deviate from the bulk due to confinement and surface energy effects. The deviation from bulk properties depends on parameters such as film thickness, strain and processing conditions and these variations can depend on the depth within the film. Many advances in thin film processes are the result of advances in the techniques used to characterize these materials. The development of high intensity x-ray sources has made possible in-house studies of aggregate samples, quasi- ordered materials, very small samples and thin films. Currently in the Materials and Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of Maryland there are a range of problems being studied which depend on the characterization of structure in the nanometer size scale. This award provides support for the purchase of an 18 kW rotating anode x-ray source and the construction of a small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) diffractometer. The two ports on the rotating anode source would be used for the small angle diffractometer and for a thin film four circle diffractometer already available in the Department. This equipment will allow us to perform small angle analysis of thin film and bulk morphology in the size range of 1-100 nm and in-plane and depth profile analysis of thin films. %%% The on-going research problems which can be addressed immediately by the use of the four circle diffractometer would include: thin films of liquid crystals, semiconducting multilayers, films of metal aggregates and disordered clusters, polymer nanofoam dielectric films, and reactive polymer blend interfaces. In addition to many of the systems listed above, the SAXS system could be used immediately to solve current research problems in area of: structure of metal aggregates and clusters, structure of highly branched dendrimer molecules and characterization of reactive polymer blends. All of these research areas are current projects in the Dep artment where the application of x-ray scattering techniques would have a dramatic and substantial impact on solving outstanding structural characterization and application problems in the fields of electronic devices, optical display devices and polymer blends. ***