MRI: Acquisition of Cryogenic Capabilities for Microanalysis of Hard-Soft Nanoscale Materials in the Transmission Electron Microscope

获得加州大学默塞德分校核心电子显微镜设备的低温能力，将为纳米级软硬材料以及物理、生物科学和工程领域的所有研究人员提供新的研究机会。此外，我们在美国国家科学基金会纳米科学与工程中心的合作校园：集成纳米机械系统中心将有机会获得这一独特的资源。它结合了用于硬材料的先进显微镜技术，如高分辨率透射电子显微镜、电子能量损失光谱（EELS）和x射线能量色散光谱（XEDS），以及处理软材料所需的低温样品制备和处理能力。它还将扩大与惠普等工业伙伴的现有纳米技术合作项目的范围。具体来说，所要求的cryoultramicroome将允许快速冷冻和切片硬-软样品进行TEM和SEM分析，而不会破坏内部结构和界面，而通常的样品制备方法包括脱水。所要求的低温转移阶段将允许在不加热的情况下将这些标本转移到TEM中，此外，允许在分析期间将它们保持在液氮温度下。这种能力对于软质材料是至关重要的，因为它可以将试样的损伤率降低4-10倍，并防止碳迁移到电子束位置，这使得通过厚度敏感技术（如EELS）进行微分析几乎是不可能的。EELS对轻元素高度敏感，并且不需要软材料优先被引入人工制品的重元素染色，结合低温显微镜将能够在其原生状态下对硬-软材料进行纳米级分析。XEDS探测器也被要求补充我们现有的EELS能力。除了外展工作外，所要求的仪器将加强本科教学和研究。此外，还将为生物工程（2005年新设）、化学、材料化学、材料科学与工程、物理（2006年新设）等本科专业招聘高素质的教师。这些教师聘用的全职教师的分配方式特别鼓励跨学科合作，软材料或软硬材料被确定为除其中一个专业外的所有专业的研究重点。将非常小的软材料（聚合物和生物材料）和硬材料（半导体、陶瓷和金属）结合起来，可开发用于人类健康和环境的新技术；新能源;电子产品;航空学需要这样的设备。为了了解这些设备是如何工作的，并使他们的发展，需要一个电子显微镜和样品制备设备，可以研究硬和软组件。为了实现这一目标，我们建议将用于软样品的非常冷的样品制备和保持技术与用于硬材料的分析技术相结合。我们的显微镜设备为我们大学物理科学、工程和生物领域的所有研究人员提供服务，包括本科生的研究和教学。例如，我们2005年入学的第一届工程班的本科生已经参与了一个显微镜研究项目，这将要求他们使用这些工具。我们的学生将把他们的成果纳入他们正在为当地一家为中学生服务的科学博物馆建造的展览中。研究结果还将用于学生们正在开发的一个技术教育网站。该网站将用于教师访问地区的初中和高中的交互式技术演示。

Acquisition of cryogenic capabilities for UC Merced's core electron microscopy facility will provide new research opportunities for nanoscale soft-hard materials and for all researchers in the physical and biological sciences, and engineering, at our fledgling campus. In addition, our partner campuses in the NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center: Center Of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems will have access to this unique resource. It offers a combination of advanced microscopy techniques employed for hard materials, such as high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS), with the cryogenic specimen preparation and handling capabilities necessary for working with soft materials. It will also expand the scope of existing nanotechnology collaborative projects with industrial partners such as Hewlett-Packard. Specifically, the requested cryoultramicrotome will permit rapid freezing and sectioning of hard-soft specimens for TEM and SEM analysis without disruption of internal structures and interfaces that occur with common specimen preparation methods involving dehydration. The cryotransfer stage requested will allow transfer of these specimens into the TEM without warming and, in addition, allow them to be held at liquid nitrogen temperatures during analysis. This capability is critical for soft materials since it decreases specimen damage rates by a factor of 4-10X and prevents carbon migration to the electron beam position that makes microanalysis by thickness-sensitive techniques, such as EELS, otherwise nearly impossible. The combination of EELS, which is highly sensitive to light elements and does not require soft materials to be preferentially stained by heavy elements that introduce artifacts, with cryomicroscopy will enable nanoscale analysis of hard-soft materials in their native state. An XEDS detector has also been requested to complement our existing EELS capabilities. The requested instrumentation will enhance undergraduate teaching and research, in addition to outreach efforts. It will also assist in recruiting highly qualified faculty for our new undergraduate majors in bioengineering (introduced in 2005) and chemistry, materials chemistry, materials science and engineering, and physics (to be introduced in 2006). FTEs for these faculty hires have specifically been allocated in a manner to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, with soft or soft-hard materials identified as a research focus for all but one of these majors. Combining very small-scale soft materials (polymers and biological materials) and hard materials (semiconductors, ceramics, and metals) leads to development of new technology for applications in human health, the environment; new energy; electronics; and aeronautics requires devices that. In order to understand how these devices work and to enable their development, an electron microscope and specimen preparation equipment are required that can study both the hard and soft components. We propose to combine very cold specimen preparation and holding techniques used for soft specimens with analysis techniques used for hard materials in order to achieve this. Our microscopy facility serves all researchers at our university in the physical sciences, engineering, and biology, and includes undergraduate research and teaching. For example, undergraduate students from our first freshman engineering class (entering in 2005) are already engaged in a microscopy research project that will require them to use these tools. Our students will incorporate their results into an exhibit that they are building for a local science museum serving area middle school students. The results will also be used for a technology education website that the students are developing. This website will in turn be used for interactive technology demonstrations by faculty visiting area middle and high schools.