MRI: Acquisition of a Hard X-ray PhotoElectron Spectroscopy (HAXPES) for the Institute for Materials Research (IMR) at Binghamton University (BU)

固体的化学和电子性质可以通过分析在X射线激发下从物质中喷出的逃逸电子的速度来非破坏性地测量。对于大多数商用实验室软X射线源来说，大多数逃逸电子来自材料的最顶层，使其成为表面化学的灵敏探测器。尽管表面在催化剂和电子设备中的许多应用中是极其重要的，但表面的化学成分往往与下面的主体明显不同。使用更强的X射线增加了从材料内部更深部位逃逸的电子的百分比，但到目前为止，这种大规模研究仅限于专用的国家设施。在新的高性能硬X射线源和探测器方面的最新进展使得能够在大学实验室环境中进行类似的批量敏感测量，从而提供了一种成本效益高的手段来增加这项新兴技术的使用。增加的非破坏性化学深度剖析使人们能够以新的视角了解真实设备架构中的埋层在运行期间如何演变，如晶体管、太阳能电池和电池。美国各地的学术和行业用户都可以使用这台新仪器。该项目将该仪器集成到宾厄姆顿大学现有的各种招生和教育计划中，以增加STEM留存率，并培养下一代能源收集、储存和效率技术方面的劳动力。该项目为宾厄姆顿大学提供了一种基于实验室的新型硬X射线光电子能谱(HAXPES)系统，用于真实材料和设备的无损化学分析。同步加速器设施中的HAXPES研究能够在以前无法接触到的真实材料和设备区域进行精确的化学和电子测量。基于实验室的HAXPES仪器由一种新型的单色Ga K边液体喷射X射线源(9.25keV)组成，能够进行采样深度高达60 nm的核心和价带研究。除了目前在全球运行的少数基于同步加速器的HAXPES系统外，该仪器极大地增加了对这项技术的访问。该项目与宾厄姆顿的联邦资助中心和美国各地的合作机构(包括学术和工业机构)合作，正在开发现场和操作HAXPES能力，以研究下一代晶体管和(光电)电化学电池运行期间的有源层和埋入触点。HAXPES仪器被安置在一个专门的用户设施中，以便接触到更广泛的科学界。HAXPES系统被整合到宾厄姆顿的几个教育和培训项目中，包括一个本科课程，从考古文物的化学和物理特性的背景下研究它们的美学。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The chemical and electronic properties of a solid can be measured non-destructively by analyzing the velocity of escaping electrons ejected from the material excited by X-rays. For most commercial laboratory-based soft X-ray sources, the majority of escaping electrons come from the topmost layers of the material making it a sensitive probe of the surface chemistry. Although surfaces are extremely important for many applications in catalysts and electronic devices, the chemistry at the surface is often distinctly different from the bulk underneath. Employing harder X-rays increases the percentage of electrons escaping from deeper within the material, but such bulk studies have thus far been limited to dedicated National facilities. Recent advances in new high-performance hard X-ray sources and detectors enable comparable bulk-sensitive measurements within a university laboratory setting thereby presenting a cost-effective means of increasing access to this emerging technique. The increased non-destructive chemical depth-profiling enables new insight into how buried layers within real device architectures evolve during operation, such as transistors, solar cells and batteries. The new instrument is accessible for academic and industry users across the U.S.A. The project integrates the instrument into various existing recruitment and educational programs at Binghamton University for increasing STEM retention and developing the workforce in next-generation technologies for energy harvesting, storage and efficiency.This project provides a novel laboratory-based HArd X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (HAXPES) system for non-destructive chemical analysis of real materials and devices at Binghamton University. HAXPES studies at Synchrotron facilities are capable of precise chemical and electronic measurements at previously inaccessible regions of real materials and devices. The laboratory-based HAXPES instrument consists of a novel monochromatic Ga K-edge liquid jet x-ray source (9.25 KeV) enabling core and valence band studies with sampling depths up to 60 nm. This instrument dramatically increases access to this technique beyond the handful of Synchrotron-based HAXPES systems currently operational worldwide. Working with Federally funded centers at Binghamton and partnering institutions across the U. S. A. (both academic and industrial) this project is developing in-situ and operando HAXPES capabilities for studying active layers and buried contacts within next-generation transistors and (photo-)electrochemical cells during their operation. The HAXPES instrument is housed in a dedicated user facility for access to wider scientific community. The HAXPES system is integrated into several educational and training programs at Binghamton, including an undergraduate course examining the aesthetics of archeological artifacts within the context of their chemical and physical properties.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.