MRI: Acquisition of PeakForce Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy Package and Upgrade for Dimension Icon Scanning Probe Microscopy System

非技术性描述：该项目的资金升级到一个扫描探针显微镜，是中央的研究，教学和推广活动在阿巴拉契亚州立大学。该系统对校园内四个不同的物理和化学研究小组至关重要，并使其能够与包括杜克大学和罗切斯特理工学院在内的几个机构继续合作。使用升级后的系统进行的研究将主要由本科生和硕士生进行，并将侧重于有机半导体和原子薄晶体等电子材料的开发和表征。它通过帮助开发可再生能源和高性能电子技术使公众受益。除了研究，该仪器每天用于教学，并被纳入阿巴拉契亚大学的显微技术，材料科学和纳米科学研究生课程。该显微镜还经常出现在教育推广和招聘活动中，例如校园开放参观图尔斯和阿巴拉契亚的科学，技术，工程，艺术和数学（STEAM）博览会，这是一个每年聚集约2，500名K-12学生的科学节活动。技术描述：该奖项允许在阿巴拉契亚现有的Dimension Icon扫描探针显微镜上增加两种纳米级成像模式，Peakforce Kelvin探针力显微镜和定量纳米力学映射。Kelvin探针显微镜表征了纳米尺度下材料功函数的变化，而纳米力学映射成像了应变和弹性模量的空间变化。该团队使用这些模式：（1）研究和优化基于有机半导体共混物的场效应和光伏器件的形态;（2）表征货车德瓦尔斯异质结构中的局部掺杂;（3）对扭曲货车德瓦尔斯异质结构中由莫尔效应引起的局部应变进行成像;和（4）表征基于金属的可转换弹性体材料的纳米级形态。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。

Nontechnical Description:This project funds upgrades to a scanning probe microscope that is central to the research, teaching, and outreach activities at Appalachian State University. This system is critical to four different physics and chemistry research groups on campus and enables continued collaborations with several institutions, including Duke University and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Research performed using the upgraded system will be conducted primarily by undergraduates and Masters students and will focus on the development and characterization of electronic materials such as organic semiconductors and atomically thin crystals. It benefits the public by helping to develop renewable power sources and performant electronic technologies. In addition to research, the instrument is used daily for teaching and is integrated into Appalachian's graduate-level courses on microscopy techniques, materials science, and nanoscience. The microscope is also regularly featured in educational outreach and recruiting events, such as campus open house tours and Appalachian's Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Expo, a science festival event that gathers approximately 2,500 K-12 students annually. Technical Description:This award allows the addition of two nanoscale imaging modes, Peakforce Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy and Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping, to the existing Dimension Icon scanning probe microscope at Appalachian. Kelvin Probe microscopy characterizes changes in the work function of a material at the nanoscale, whereas nanomechanical mapping images the spatial variations of the strain and elastic modulus. The team uses these modes to: (1) investigate and optimize the morphology of field-effect and photovoltaic devices based on organic semiconductor blends; (2) characterize local doping in van der Waals heterostructures; (3) image the local strain that arises from Moire effects in twisted van der Waals heterostructures; and (4) characterize the nanoscale morphology of switchable elastomeric materials based on metal-coordination complex crosslinked polymer networks.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.