Critical repairs to a 19-years-old surface science system

这个小型设备应用程序寻求支持，以修复我们在1987年建造的第一个超高真空（UHV）系统中的三个关键部件。近二十年来，我们一直使用该系统来研究硅单晶表面上的各种热反应和电子和离子诱导的表面反应。不幸的是，在过去四年中，由于大量使用，我们老化的系统中出现了一些硬件故障。这笔拨款的支持将使我们能够(a)更换一个19年的“泄漏”操纵器，它的真空完整性已经用真空密封来维持，(b)更换一个19年的磨损的四网格延迟场光学系统，以促进更可靠的电子衍射和新的俄歇测量，(c)用差动泵离子源取代一个19年的离子源，使涉及更多活性有机复合物的离子辐照实验成为可能。这些维修代表了一种非常经济有效的途径，不仅延长了这种自制特高压系统的使用寿命，而且通过结合俄歇分析和处理更多活性有机材料的能力，大大提高了我们的实验质量。这些实验将使我们对低能电子束和离子束介导的许多表面过程的性质和机制有基本的了解，特别是溅射和沉积反应之间的相互作用作为辐照参数的函数。我们还可以获得低温有机等离子体与硅表面相互作用的重要见解，这对于在多功能电子材料的制造中开发更好的控制非常重要。所要求的维修对于我们在滑铁卢的表面科学项目的持续生存是至关重要的，事实上，两名研究生的论文工作在很大程度上依赖于这次紧急修复。

This minor equipment application seeks the support to repair three critical components in the first ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system that we built in 1987.  This system has been used by us to study a variety of thermal and electron- and ion-induced surface reactions on silicon single-crystal surfaces for almost two decades.  Unfortunately, a few hardware failures have developed in our aging system in the past four years due to heavy use.  Support for this grant will enable us (a) to replace a 19-years-old "leaky" manipulator, the vacuum integrity of which has been precariously maintained with Vac-Seal, (b) to replace a 19-years-old worn-out four-grid retarding-field optics system to facilitate more dependable electron diffraction and new Auger measurements, and (c) to replace a 19-years-old ion source with a differentially pumped ion source to make possible ion irradiation experiments involving more reactive organic complexes.  These repairs represent a very cost-effective route to extend not only the lifetime of this home-built UHV system, but also dramatically improve the quality of our experiments made possible by the incorporation of Auger analysis and the ability to handle more reactive organic materials.  These experiments will allow us to obtain fundamental understanding of the nature and mechanisms involved in many of the surface processes mediated by low-energy electron and ion beams, particularly the interplay between sputtering and deposition reactions as a function of irradiation parameters.  We can also gain important insights into the interactions of low-temperature organic plasmas with silicon surfaces, which are important to developing better control in the manufacturing of multifunctional electronic materials.  The requested repairs are critically needed for the continued survival of our surface science program at Waterloo, and indeed the thesis works of two graduate students vitally depend on this emergency fix.