Platform Grant Application: Nanoscale Processing and Characterisation of Magnetic Materials

本材料计划平台资助更新申请由剑桥大学材料科学系器件材料组（DMG）提交。从历史上看，该小组的工作集中在超导性上，但最近在具有相关成分和/或结构的材料中发现了令人兴奋的新功能，我们已经能够将我们的技能和设施转移到这些领域并取得了巨大成功。目前的平台资助使我们能够通过研究新的材料和功能类别并引入新的生长技术来采取几个重要的进化步骤。在最基本的层面上，我们的目标是提高对物理特性如何取决于材料和界面的纳米结构的理解，以及如何通过加工来控制这些。我们的大部分工作都依赖于协同作用和快速反馈，通过在相同的研究环境中结合处理和功能表征来实现。随着我们的工作越来越重视更小的长度尺度，理解纳米尺度下的性质和结构之间的关系是绝对必要的。因此，在集团内部开发和整合结构表征能力是我们未来五年战略的核心。该集团的持续成功取决于三个核心领域的专业知识和基础设施的发展：（1）显微镜和表征我们将任命一名具有透射电子显微镜（TEM）专业知识的PDRA。这将支持广泛的项目，同时协助该集团的其他成员发展他们在显微镜技术方面的能力。除了TEM，该职位还将为我们的聚焦离子束系统提供专业知识和支持。我们相信，通过这一举措，我们将能够在新材料系统的研究中获得更快的反馈，并能够更深入地了解我们正在开发的材料。Alison Twitchett博士是一名电子显微镜学家，在该部门工作多年;她非常适合这项活动，并被命名为PDRA。(2)测量和仪器为我们广泛的研究计划支持和开发电磁测量技术的任务只能由具有相当专业知识的经验丰富的工作人员有效地执行。我们将使用新平台补助金要求的第二个PDRA职位，为这一领域提供灵活的连续性支持。这将以与目前平台资助相同的方式运作，使目前受雇于EPSRC其他项目的关键研究人员（例如G。Burnell先生将于2006年4月返回平台供资），以便在资金到位时，将平台的支助转入或转出其他具体项目。该角色将包括软件和仪器开发以及参与各种当前和未来的探索性研究项目，但未确定特定的PDRA，因为我们希望在该领域保持灵活性。(3)薄膜沉积该集团依赖于多年积累的大型沉积设备基础。我们请求Nadia Stelmashenko博士提供部分支持，以管理大部分设备的培训、安全和维护，并使受资助的项目和集团的大量学术访问者能够有效工作并在短时间内取得成果。未来的平台补助金不仅可以确保研究项目的持续发展，还可以为其他资助安排难以支持的长期和短期研究提供机会。

This application for renewal of a Materials Programme Platform Grant is submitted by the Device Materials Group (DMG) at the Department of Materials Science, University of Cambridge. Historically the work of the Group has concentrated on superconductivity, but with recent exciting discoveries of new functions in materials having related compositions and/or structures we have been able to transfer our skills and facilities to these with great success. The current Platform Grant allowed us to take several important evolutionary steps by studying new classes of materials and functions and introducing new growth techniques.At the most fundamental level, we aim to improve the understanding of how physical properties depend on the nanoscale structure of materials and interfaces, and how these may be controlled by processing. Much of our work is dependent on the synergy and rapid feedback enabled by combining processing and functional characterisation within the same research environment. With the increased emphasis of our work on smaller lengthscales, understanding the relationship between properties and structure at the nm-scale is absolutely necessary. The development and integration of structural characterisation capabilities within the Group therefore lies at the heart of our strategy for the next five years. The continued success of the group depends upon the development of expertise and infrastructure in three core areas:(1) Microscopy and characterisationWe will appoint a PDRA with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) expertise. This will support a wide range of projects whilst assisting other members of the Group in developing their capabilities in microscopy techniques. In addition to TEM the post will provide expertise and support for our focused ion beam system. We believe that through this initiative we will be able to achieve much more rapid feedback in the investigation of new materials systems and be able to gain greater insights into the materials we are developing. Dr. Alison Twitchett is an electron microscopist who has worked in the Department for several years; she is ideally suited to this activity and is the named PDRA.(2) Measurement and instrumentationThe task of supporting and developing electrical and magnetic measurement techniques for our wide range of research programmes can only effectively be performed by experienced workers with considerable expertise. We will use the second PDRA position requested on the new Platform Grant to provide flexible continuity support for this area. This will be operated in the same way as under the current Platform Grant by enabling key researchers currently employed on other EPSRC projects (for example Dr. G. Burnell, who will return to Platform funding in April 2006) to move in and out of Platform support into other specific projects as funding became available. This role will include software and instrument development as well as participation in a variety of current and future exploratory research projects but is not identified for a particular named PDRA as we wish to retain flexibility in this area.(3) Thin film deposition The group is dependent on a large deposition equipment base which has been built up over many years. We are requesting partial support for Dr. Nadia Stelmashenko to manage the training, safety and maintenance for much of this equipment and enable both funded projects and the large number of academic visitors to the Group to work effectively and gain results in a short time. A future Platform Grant will not only ensure the continued development of the research portfolio, but offer opportunities for both long-term and short-term research which are difficult to support within other funding arrangements.