MRI-R2: Acquisition of an Electron-Beam Evaporator for Undergraduate Research

0958900弗里德曼阿默斯特学院技术摘要该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助。高质量金属薄膜的沉积对于各种研究目的都是必不可少的，包括超导器件物理学，研究级专用光学器件的生产以及材料科学和纳米科学的许多方面。 该项目将获得一个最先进的电子束蒸发系统，适用于各种研究项目，其中大多数涉及文科学院的本科研究人员。 该系统将只用于蒸发非磁性材料，以生产高质量的超导薄膜。 此外，它还将具有几个重要的功能，使其能够满足各种研究需求;这些功能包括具有多个源的盒，组合加载锁/沉积室和用于原位表面清洁的Ar离子枪。 蒸发器将使研究项目包括超导结构和设备的制造，以研究它们的宏观量子特性，由磁涡旋介导的超导层之间的磁相互作用，以及电子数宇称对超导纳米环中持续电流的影响。 该系统还将用于涂覆光学器件和谐振腔，用于创建用于玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体研究的“相位点”，以及用于电极沉积和相关的表面清洁，用于研究实验中使用的Gd/Y-铁石榴石材料，以寻找电子电偶极矩。 蒸发器将具有足够的自动化和灵活性，可以由本科生轻松操作，他们将使用最先进的设备进行尖端研究。该系统将由来自阿默斯特和芒特的本科生使用。霍利奥克学院、马萨诸塞州大学的研究生以及来自这三所大学的博士后研究人员和教师。非技术摘要该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。高质量金属薄膜的沉积对于各种研究目的是必不可少的，包括生产超导器件和定制光学器件，以及材料科学和纳米科学中的许多应用。 该项目将获得一个最先进的电子束蒸发系统，适用于各种研究项目，其中大多数涉及文科学院的本科研究人员。 该系统将只用于蒸发非磁性材料，因为即使是少量的磁性杂质也会对超导设备产生不利影响。 它还将具有许多专门功能，以满足各种研究需求。 新的蒸发器将用于制造超导结构和设备，制造专门的光学设备和电磁谐振器，并创建用于研究磁性材料的电极。 这些活动将支持许多基础和应用研究领域的工作，如量子计算，超低温物理，材料科学和纳米科学/纳米技术。 蒸发器将具有足够的自动化和灵活性，可以由本科生轻松操作，他们将使用最先进的设备进行尖端研究。该系统将由来自阿默斯特和芒特的本科生使用。霍利奥克学院，研究生从马萨诸塞州大学，博士后研究人员和教师从所有三个机构。

0958900FriedmanAmherst CollegeTechnical Abstract This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The deposition of high-quality metallic films is indispensable for a variety of research purposes, including superconducting-device physics, the production of research-grade specialized optics and in many aspects of materials science and nanoscience. This project will acquire a state-of-the-art electron-beam evaporation system suitable for a diverse set of research projects, most involving undergraduate researchers at a liberal-arts college. The system will be reserved for evaporating only non-magnetic materials in order to produce high-quality superconducting thin films. In addition, it will have several important features that will allow it to meet a diverse set of research needs; these include a cassette with multiple sources, a combination load lock/deposition chamber and an Ar-ion gun for in situ surface cleaning. Research projects that the evaporator will enable include the fabrication of superconducting structures and devices to study their macroscopic quantum properties, the magnetic interactions between superconducting layers mediated by magnetic vortices, and the influence of electron-number parity on persistent currents in superconducting nanorings. The system will also be used for coating optics and resonant cavities, for the creation of "phase dots" used in studies of Bose-Einstein Condensates as well as for electrode deposition and associated surface cleaning for studies of Gd/Y-iron-garnet materials used in experiments to search for the electron electric-dipole moment. The evaporator will have enough automation and flexibility to be operated easily by undergraduate students, who will use the state-of-the-art equipment to perform cutting-edge research. The system will be used by undergraduates from Amherst and Mt. Holyoke Colleges, graduate students from the University of Massachusetts, and postdoctoral researchers and faculty from all three institutions.Non-technical Abstract This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The deposition of high-quality metallic films is indispensable for a variety of research purposes, including producing superconducting devices and custom optics, as well as for many applications in materials science and nanoscience. This project will acquire a state-of-the-art electron-beam evaporation system suitable for a diverse set of research projects, most involving undergraduate researchers at a liberal-arts college. The system will be reserved for evaporating only non-magnetic materials since even small amounts of magnetic impurities can adversely affect superconducting devices. It will also have many specialized features to meet a diverse set of research needs. The new evaporator will be used to fabricate superconducting structures and devices, make specialized optical devices and electromagnetic resonators, and create electrodes for studying magnetic materials. These activities will support work in numerous fundamental and applied research areas, such as quantum computing, ultra-low-temperature physics, materials science, and nanoscience/nanotechnology. The evaporator will have enough automation and flexibility to be operated easily by undergraduate students, who will use the state-of-the-art equipment to perform cutting-edge research. The system will be used by undergraduates from Amherst and Mt. Holyoke Colleges, graduate students from the University of Massachusetts, and postdoctoral researchers and faculty from all three institutions.