MRI: Acquisition of Plasma Multi-ion-source Focused Ion Beam Microscope

来自重大研究仪器计划的这一奖项支持购买配备先进探测器和自动化工具的最先进的聚焦离子束/扫描电子显微镜。该仪器支持和支持学术界和工业界内的各种研究项目和计划，这些项目和计划涉及微结构的三维、多模式表征和图案化。这种三维分析对于制定添加剂制造的材料加工策略以及了解导致材料降解和失效的机制尤为重要。此外，该仪器的纳米喷雾能力为新型纳米级光学和机械设备提供了精密工程。该仪器位于研究三角纳米技术网络内，这是NSF国家纳米技术协调基础设施(NNCI)的一个节点，为来自全国各地的研究人员提供了更好的机会，影响了当地大学、非营利性机构和行业。该仪器将被整合到NSF资助的国家研究培训计划下开发的课程中，该计划将材料科学、统计学和机器学习社区聚集在一起，开发材料信息学研究的新方法。将举办讲习班和培训单元，以扩大少数群体机构的参与，并培养统计和材料科学交叉领域的新一代研究人员。该奖项支持购买电感耦合等离子体(ICP)多离子源聚焦离子束/扫描电子显微镜(pFIB/SEM)，以支持来自北卡罗来纳州立大学和地区性大学五个学术部门的众多教职员工、博士后和学生研究人员正在进行的和未来的研究。此外，该仪器将通过研究三角纳米技术网络被其他学术和行业研究社区广泛使用，该网络是NSF国家纳米技术协调基础设施(NNCI)的一个节点。该仪器专门用于在从纳米到毫米的长度尺度上对材料微观结构的三维进行具有统计意义的定量表征。自动化工具与快速溅射速率的结合释放了以下能力：1)研究由复杂的分级材料微结构控制的材料属性，2)研究材料中的三维微结构，这些结构可能会受到使用传统Ga离子源的离子注入的伪影的影响，以及3)在各种材料中绘制大面积但高保真(纳米级分辨率)的图案。基础设施的更广泛影响在于利用北卡罗来纳州分析仪器设施的独特能力培训不同的用户基础，并开发研究生、本科生和K-12级别的教育模块。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 award from the Major Research Instrumentation program supports the acquisition of a state-of-the-art focused ion beam /scanning electron microscope outfitted with advanced detectors and automation tools. The instrument enables and supports a diverse range of research projects and programs, within academia and industry, that involve three-dimensional, multi-modal characterization and patterning of microstructures. Such three-dimensional analysis is particularly important for developing materials processing strategies for additive manufacturing and for understanding mechanisms leading to material degradation and failure. In addition, the nanopatterning capabilities of the instrument provide precision engineering of novel nanometer-scale optical and mechanical devices. The location of the instrument within the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network, a node of the NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), provides enhanced access to researchers from across the nation, impacting local universities, not-for-profit institutions and industries. The instrument will be integrated into the curriculum developed under an NSF-funded National Research Traineeship program, which brings together the materials science, statistics and machine learning communities to develop new approaches to materials informatics research. Workshops and training modules will be developed to broaden participation from minority institutions and to educate a new generation of researchers at the intersection of statistics and materials science. This award supports the acquisition of an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) multi-ion source focused-ion beam/ scanning electron microscope (pFIB/SEM) to support the ongoing and future research of numerous faculty, postdoctoral and student researchers from across five academic departments at North Carolina State University and regional universities. In addition, the instrument will be broadly utilized by other academic and industry research communities via the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network, a node of the NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI). The instrument is outfitted specifically for statistically meaningful quantitative characterization of material microstructures in three dimensions across length scales from nano meter to millimeter. The coupling of automation tools with the rapid sputtering rates unlocks the ability to: 1) study material properties governed by complex hierarchical material microstructures, 2) study three dimensional microstructures in materials that would be susceptible to artifacts from ion implantation using conventional Ga ion sources, and 3) pattern large area yet high fidelity (nanometer-scale resolution) patterns in a variety of materials. The broader impacts of the infrastructure lie in leveraging the unique capabilities of the North Carolina State Analytical Instrumentation Facility in training a diverse user-base and in developing education modules at the graduate, undergraduate and K-12 levels.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.