MRI: Acquisition of a Nanocoating System for Engineering Surfaces

CBET-0821162 DallasINTELLECTUAL MERIT设计表面属性的能力对于具有重要应用的许多技术的功能性、有用性和长期性能至关重要。在许多技术领域，德克萨斯理工大学的研究人员开发了测试和表征系统，允许详细、定量地了解表面特征和性能。这些技术已经并将用于建立基准，从而允许对暴露在各种条件下的涂层进行系统的性能比较。然而，德州理工学院缺乏一种灵活的沉积工具，能够应用多种涂层来满足众多应用目标。该提案讨论了德克萨斯理工学院对分子气相沉积(MVD)系统(应用微结构MVD 100系统)的需求和计划，该系统适用于微/纳米设备和传感器、纺织品和生物工程等应用中的纳米级涂层。本征表面性质的改性是实现更高性能器件和系统的关键。这一工具能够通过将其添加到多用户设施来显著影响不同的研究领域和教育努力，并将填补我们基础设施中的一个关键空白。预计将产生重大的技术和社会影响的变革性结果。材料表面的物理属性控制着材料与世界相互作用的许多重要方面。特殊涂层可以像几个分子层一样薄，提供的质量增加通常可以忽略不计，但极大地改变了表面特性，从而能够与其他表面和蒸汽相互作用。该系统将用于对特定纳米涂层如何以及为什么具有这样的性能进行基础和应用研究。这将促进当前研究和学术的扩展，同时为许多新的资助机会和研究互动打开大门。MVD技术的优点包括将特别定制的前体和催化剂蒸气精确地注入真空室，从而形成粘附层和纳米级分子涂层(自组装单分子膜等)。可应用于多种不同材料，应用范围广泛，几乎零浪费。由于这项技术相对较新，仍有许多研究需要做，以确定许多重要应用的最佳分子涂层工艺。收购MVD系统将使具有重大社会影响的研究和开发活动成为可能，包括寿命更长、性能更好的微器件、功能增强的纺织品和生物医学器件。学术传播将通过参与该提案的不同研究小组的许多不同期刊和技术会议来完成。随着对利用其功能感兴趣的科学家和工程师队伍的增长，将该工具放置在多用户设施中将促进许多额外的应用。该系统生产的纳米级涂层将用于从小学到研究生院的教育项目。该系统的使用将被纳入三个已建立的研究生水平课程(MEMS、AFM和纺织整理)，这些课程整合了研究和教育。将开发一个新的短期课程，向德克萨斯理工大学和合作伙伴机构(包括安吉洛州立大学)的潜在用户介绍这项技术。具有不同表面特征的表面之间的润湿形成了鲜明的对比，使得普通民众很容易分辨出纳米级的效应。这一特点将通过化学和物理方面的K-12教育倡议来促进，这些倡议每年将惠及许多教师和数百名学生。这是用科学和技术，特别是在纳米尺度上的兴奋，接触到代表不足的群体的一个方面。与女性和少数族裔服务于技术协会的校园讲座将增加潜在用户的名单，并帮助教育任何大学生表面特性在许多技术领域的重要性。

CBET-0821162DallasINTELLECTUAL MERITThe ability to engineer surface properties is critical to the functionality, usefulness, and long term performance of a host of technologies with important applications. In a number of technology areas, Texas Tech researchers have developed testing and characterization systems that allow a detailed, quantitative understanding of surface characteristics and performance. These techniques have and will be used to establish benchmarks, thereby allowing systematic performance comparisons to be made between coatings exposed to various conditions. However, Texas Tech lacks a flexible deposition tool that is capable of applying a wide variety of coatings to meet numerous application goals. This proposal discusses Texas Tech's needs and plans for a Molecular Vapor Deposition (MVD) system (Applied Microstructures MVD 100 system) for the application of nanoscale coatings for applications that include micro/nano devices and sensors, textiles, and bioengineering. The modification of intrinsic surface properties is the key to higher performance devices and systems. This tool has the capability to significantly impact diverse research areas and educational endeavors through its addition to a multi-user facility and will fill a critical void in our infrastructure. Transformative results are anticipated that will have important technological and societal impact. The physical properties of a material's surface govern many important aspects of how the material interacts with the world. Specialized coatings can be as thin as a few molecular layers, providing a usually negligible increase in mass, but drastically changing the surface characteristics and hence the ability to interact with other surfaces and vapors. This system will be used to conduct basic and applied research on how and why specific nanocoatings perform the way they do. This will promote the expansion of current research and scholarship while opening the door to many new funding opportunities and research interactions. The merits of the MVD technology include the precise injection of specially tailored precursor and catalyst vapors into the vacuum chamber allowing an adhesion layer and nanoscale molecular coatings (self-assembled monolayers, etc.) to be applied to many different materials for a wide variety of applications with almost zero waste. Because of the relative newness of this technique, there is still much research that needs to be done to determine the optimal molecular coating process for many important applications.BROADER IMPACTSThe acquisition of the MVD system will allow research and development activities that have significant societal impact, including microdevices with longer lifetimes and better performance, textiles with enhanced functionality, and biomedical devices with improved biocompatibility.Scholarly dissemination will be accomplished through the many different journals and technical meetings representative of the diverse research groups participating in this proposal. The placement of the tool in a multi-user facility will promote numerous additional applications as the pool of scientists and engineers interested in utilizing its capabilities grows.The nanoscale coatings produced by this system will be used in educational programs that span grade school through graduate school. Utilization of the system will be incorporated into three established graduate level classes (MEMS, AFM, and Textile Finishes) that integrate research and education. A new short course will be developed to introduce the technology to potentialusers from Texas Tech and partner institutes (including Angelo State University). The striking contrast in the wetting of surfaces with different surface characteristics allows nanoscale effects to be readily discernable by the general populace. This feature will be promoted by K-12 educational initiatives in chemistry and physics that will reach many teachers and hundreds of students on a yearly basis. This is one facet of reaching under-represented groups with the excitement of science and technology, especially at the nanoscale. On-campus talks to women and minority serving technical societies will increase the list of potential users and help educatemany college students on the importance of surface properties in many technical areas.