MRI: Acquisition of a Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope

这项重大研究仪器奖支持收购双光束聚焦离子束(FIB)/扫描电子显微镜(SEM)。双束FIB/SEM使用离子束在纳米尺度上切割和成形固体材料，以制造用于显微镜研究以及微纳尺度性质测量的小样本。电子束与离子束并行使用，以在离子束切片和/或塑造固体时创建材料的扫描电子显微镜图像。为了处理使用离子束创造的微小样本，该仪器将有一个纳米操纵器，包括一个可以焊接到样本上的细针尖，然后样本可以被取出并送到另一个显微镜进行性能测量。以纳米级分辨率对固体进行切片、切片和成形的能力将使学生能够在使用该仪器的基于实验室的课程中了解微观结构、相和界面。将把FIB纳入三门课程，包括一门必修的本科实验室课程，并纳入高级论文和研究生水平的研究，从而加强校园教育。来自不同科学学科的学生、博士后和教职员工将每天使用FIB，每年产生约150个独立用户的总用户池。此外，FIB将面向行业进行专业营销，预计将吸引更多的行业用户进入校园。该仪器还将被纳入我们的校园参观和推广工作中，在高中访问和类似的校园工程活动中，纳米科学可能有助于吸引年轻人对科学和工程的兴趣。该重大研究仪器奖获得的双光束聚焦离子束(FIB)/扫描电子显微镜(SEM)带有增强的背散射电子探测器、气体注入系统和纳米操纵器，将加强教育和研究活动，并支持联邦、州和工业研究。FIB将使透射式电子显微镜(TEM)研究的样品制备多样化，并开辟新的途径来扩展当前的研究，包括使用FIB制备的切片测量微观尺度的各向异性属性、界面和相界。该仪器将支持阿尔弗雷德大学的多学科研究和教育项目，包括陶瓷、玻璃、金属、生物材料、化学和地质学/地球化学学。FIB样品制备是先进材料研究中的关键，例如研究亚表面和内部缺陷和局部塑性变形，将缺陷的产生与添加剂制造和加工条件联系起来，以及跟踪内、外表面和界面的微观结构和化学成分的细微变化。因此，申请的FIB将成为阿尔弗雷德大学以陶瓷为中心的教育和研究领域取得转型进展的核心。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Major Research Instrumentation award supports the acquisition of a dual-beam focused ion beam (FIB)/scanning electron microscope (SEM). The dual-beam FIB/SEM uses an ion beam to cut and shape solid materials at the nanometer size scale for making small samples for microscopy studies and for micro- and nano-scale property measurements. An electron beam is used in parallel with the ion beam to create scanning electron microscopy images of the material as the ion beam slices and/or shapes the solid. In order to handle the tiny specimens created using the ion beam, the instrument will have a nano-manipulator comprising a fine needle tip that can be welded to the sample, and the sample can then be removed and sent to another microscope for property measurements. The ability to slice, section, and shape solids with nanoscale resolution will enable students to understand microstructures, phases and interfaces in their lab-based courses that use the instrument. Education on campus will be strengthened by incorporating the FIB into three courses including one of the required undergraduate laboratory courses and into senior thesis and graduate-level research. Students, postdocs and faculty from diverse scientific disciplines will make daily use of the FIB, yielding a total user pool of ~150 unique users per year. In addition, the FIB will be professionally marketed for use by industry and is expected to draw additional industrial users to campus. The instrument will also be incorporated into our campus tours and outreach efforts, where nanoscale science may help attract young people’s interest in science and engineering during high school visits and similar on-campus engineering events.The dual-beam focused ion beam (FIB)/scanning electron microscope (SEM) with enhanced backscattered electron detector, gas injection system, and nanomanipulator acquired with this Major Research Instrumentation award will strengthen education and research activities as well as bolster federal, state and industrial research. The FIB will enable versatile sample preparation for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies as well as opening new avenues to extend current research to include measurement of micro-scale anisotropic properties, interfaces and phase boundaries using FIB-prepared sections. The instrument will support multi-disciplinary research and education programs including ceramic, glass, metal, biomaterials, chemistry and geology/geochemistry studies at Alfred University. FIB sample preparation is key in the study of advanced materials, for example studies of sub-surface and internal defects and localized plastic deformation, linking creation of flaws to additive manufacturing and processing conditions, and tracking subtle changes in microstructure and chemistry at internal and external surfaces and interfaces. As such, the requested FIB will become a centerpiece in making transformational progress in the ceramics-centric areas of education and research at Alfred University.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.