SGER: Feasibility Study of Nano-Electrochemical Machining Process

在生物、光学、电信、材料和电子等各个领域对纳米科学和纳米技术的广泛研究有望提供新的和可持续的技术和产品。为了实现这一承诺，需要一套新的制造工艺和制造模式来实现工业化生产。美国国家科学基金会最近举办的非机械制造和加工研讨会建议，自下而上(如电铸和组装)和自上而下(如EDM、ECM、激光和拆卸)工艺是产生一维、二维和三维纳米结构和器件的潜在技术。该SGER提案寻求资金，以研究开发纳米电化学加工(Nano-ECM)工艺的可行性。电化学加工(ECM)过程是一种阳极溶解过程，可以选择性地逐个原子去除材料原子，从而避免了后处理操作。由于电解加工是一种非热和非机械接触过程，它可以产生无毛刺和无应力的表面。微细电火花加工技术在加工任意三维微细形状方面取得了很大的成功。因此，ECM似乎是一种理想的自上而下的纳米加工工艺。然而，要实现纳米ECM工艺，必须考虑和解决许多科技障碍和相关风险。智力优势：这项研究将建立一个广泛而全面的知识库，研究纳米级电化学沉积和溶解的最新研究以及与之相关的科技障碍。通过考虑极小间隙处的质量传输过程、质量传输的耦合模式、法拉第过程的耦合以及反应离散事件的统计方面，将试图建立一个描述纳米ECM过程的数学模型。纳米ECM细胞将使用原子力显微镜(AFM)组装。广泛的影响：这项研究将启动内布拉斯加州大学林肯分校(UNL)纳米制造教育和研究基础设施的建立，该基础设施将供来自UNL和其他美国大学的研究人员使用。该项目的成功将导致开发一门关于纳米制造的新的研究生/本科课程。项目成果将定期向高中师生展示。计划与华沙理工大学的研究人员合作进行一项研究，同时向美国和欧盟的研究机构提交提案。

Extensive research in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in various fields such as biology,optics, telecommunication, material and electronics promises novel and sustainabletechnologies and products. To fulfill the promise, a set of new manufacturing processesand manufacturing paradigms are needed for industrial scale production. A recentlyconducted NSF workshop on Nonomanufacturing and Processing recommends bottom up(such as electroforming and assembly) and top down (such as EDM, ECM, laser andetching) processes as potential technologies for generating 1D, 2D, and 3Dnanostructures and devices.This SGER proposal seeks funding to study the feasibility of developing a Nano-ElectrochemicalMachining (Nano-ECM) process. Electrochemical machining (ECM)process, an anodic dissolution process, selectively removes material atom by atom andthus avoids post-processing operations. As ECM is a non-thermal and non-mechanicalcontact process, it generates burr-free and stress-free surfaces. Micro-ECM process hasshown to be highly successful in machining arbitrary 3D micro shapes. Therefore, ECMseems an ideal candidate as one of the top down nanomachining processes. However,many scientific and technical barriers and associated risks must be considered andaddressed for the realization of Nano-ECM process.Intellectual Merit:This study will establish an extensive and comprehensive knowledge base of the state-of-theart research in electrochemical deposition and dissolution at nanoscale and relatedscientific and technical barriers. An attempt will be made to develop a mathematicalmodel to describe Nano-ECM process by taking into consideration mass transportprocess at a very small gap, coupled modes of mass transport, coupling of Faradicprocesses and statistical aspects of discrete events of reactions. A Nano-ECM cell will beassembled using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM).Broader Impacts:This study will initiate the establishment of an educational and research infrastructure forNanomanufacturing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) that will be accessibleto researchers from UNL and other U.S. universities. The success of the project will leadto the development of a new graduate/undergraduate course on Nanomanufacturing. Theproject results will be demonstrated to high school teachers and students on a regularbasis. A collaborative research with researchers at the Warsaw University of Technologywill be planned by simultaneously submitting proposals to US and EU research agencies.