MRI: Acquisition of a X-Ray Diffraction System for Materials Research in Alabama

有了这项重大研究仪器(MRI)奖，奥本大学将获得一种新的高分辨率X射线衍射系统。该系统使该大学能够在五个学科领域进行材料科学和工程方面的尖端研究，并将向阿拉巴马州的研究人员提供。该仪器的研究重点是为下一代电子设备和可再生能源系统开发新的晶态薄膜和纳米结构材料。电子设备的材料包括超薄晶体薄膜和多层膜，它们被设计成产生不自然发生的电子和磁性。该系统还专门用于研究电池和催化剂等材料中的电化学反应，这将推动它们在未来能源技术中的应用。该仪器将通过奥本大学研究仪器设施进行管理，并向全校的学生和教职员工研究人员以及整个阿拉巴马州的其他学术和工业研究人员提供，在阿拉巴马州，任何其他大学都没有具有这种功能的仪器。与这项工作相配合，调查人员将支持少数族裔本科生通过由包容、公平和多样性办公室运营的科学家和工程师之间的奥本合作方法(CASE)本科生研究经验(REU)计划来执行研究项目。奥本学院的研究人员每年夏天都会指导REU项目的学生进行项目，这些项目使用该系统对研究人员实验室合成的下一代材料进行实验。X射线衍射仪的设计目的是在光源和探测器上使用X射线单色仪进行高角度分辨率的测量。二维面探测器能够实现超快测量，从而更有效地使用系统。测量能力包括互易空间测绘、X射线反射术、温度依赖研究和现场电化学研究。该仪器将提高奥本大学在电子和能源材料研究方面的研究产出。电子材料研究的重点是通过分子束外延和脉冲激光沉积合成需要高分辨率能力的复合氧化物和硫化物薄膜、多层膜和超晶格。这些材料在自旋电子器件和拓扑量子计算方面很有希望，奥本在这些领域拥有越来越多的跨学科研究团队。能源材料研究由通过奥本能源集群招聘计划招聘的教师领导，重点是用于催化和储能的过渡金属氧化物和碳化物材料。这项工作将利用原位电池连接和加热阶段进行温度依赖研究。研究生和本科生研究人员将接受该仪器的培训，并为未来的工业和科学研究生涯增加他们的经验。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。

With this Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award, Auburn University is acquiring a new high-resolution X-ray diffraction system. The system enables cutting-edge research in materials science and engineering at the university across five disciplinary fields and will be available to researchers throughout the state of Alabama. Research enabled by this instrument focuses on the development of new crystalline thin film and nanostructured materials for next-generation electronic devices and renewable energy systems. Materials for electronic devices include ultrathin crystalline films and multilayers that are engineered to produce electronic and magnetic properties that do not occur naturally. The system is also tailored to study electrochemical reactions in materials such as those used for batteries and catalysts, which advances their applications in future energy technologies. The instrument will be managed through the Auburn University Research Instrumentation Facility and available to student and faculty researchers across the university and to other academic and industrial researchers across Alabama, where there is no instrument with its capabilities at any other university. In synergy with this work, investigators will support minority undergraduate students to perform research projects through the Auburn Collaborative Approaches Among Scientists and Engineers (CASE) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program run by the Office of Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity. Faculty researchers at Auburn will mentor students in the REU program each summer on projects employing the system for experiments on next-generation materials synthesized in the investigators’ laboratories. The X-ray diffractometer is designed to perform measurements with high angular resolution using an X-ray monochromator on the source and detector. A two-dimensional area detector enables ultrafast measurements for more efficient use of the system. Measurement capabilities include reciprocal space mapping, X-ray reflectometry, temperature-dependent studies, and in situ electrochemical studies. The instrument will enhance research output in electronic and energy materials research at Auburn. Electronic materials research is focused on complex oxide and chalcogenide thin films, multilayers, and superlattices synthesized via molecular beam epitaxy and pulsed laser deposition that require high-resolution capabilities. These materials are promising for spintronic devices and topological quantum computation where Auburn has a growing interdisciplinary research team. Energy materials research is led by faculty hired through the Auburn energy cluster hiring initiative and is focused on transition metal oxide and carbide materials for catalysis and energy storage. This work will take advantage of an in situ battery cell attachment and heated stage for temperature-dependent studies. Graduate and undergraduate researchers will be trained on the instrument and enhance their experience for future careers in industry and scientific research.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.