Operations and Maintenance Support for the Centre for Crystal Growth

新材料的合成及其单晶生长对于许多材料物理和化学来说是一种复杂的能力。在理解最终通过材料的高级表征而制成的新材料及其理论理解方面的进展，始于新材料的合成和晶体生长。在许多情况下，正是这第一步限制了我们在材料物理和化学方面的进步。这个领域是当代科学中最大的领域之一，既包括基础兴趣，也包括应用兴趣。 材料合成和晶体生长包括材料合成和晶体生长的所有组成部分，包括充分描述所产生的材料的能力，以便量化和了解它们的组成、化学计量比和晶体性质。在单晶体的情况下，它还包括将晶体切割和定向成适合最终用户打算的实验的特定几何形状的能力。 麦克马斯特大学布罗克豪斯材料研究所(BIMR)是晶体生长中心(CCG)的所在地，该中心构成了加拿大最大、最广泛的一套材料制备和晶体生长基础设施--投资超过700万美元用于这一目的的前沿技术基础设施。它集中在加拿大五个浮动区图像熔炉中的三个，这些熔炉负责90%的过渡金属氧化物大单晶的生长。新的磁性和超导材料通常就是这样的氧化物，CCG拥有加拿大在这一领域的大部分技术基础设施和专业知识。CCG雇用了四名技术人员，他们允许来自加拿大各地的一大批优秀材料物理学家和化学家以最佳方式利用这些设施。如果没有他们的专业知识和奉献精神，CCG内的前沿研究基础设施是不可行的。特别是，技术人员允许对与学术用户相关的HQP进行复杂的培训，并将尖端基础设施保持在适当的准备状态。CCG还举办了“BIMR晶体生长现代方法暑期学校”，这是加拿大唯一一所与这些重要技术和技能相关的专业学校。 该提案寻求为中央协调小组的四名技术工作人员提供部分经费，并为相关的基础设施提供维护支助。NSERC的这种支持对于CCG为国家用户群提供与材料制备和晶体生长相关的独特和复杂的技术能力的使命至关重要。反过来，CCG强调了加拿大材料物理和化学实验室的重要研究项目，这些实验室将发现、理解和开发支持未来新技术的材料。

The synthesis of new materials and their growth as single crystals is a sophisticated enabling capability for much of materials physics and chemistry. Advances in understanding new materials that are ultimately made through the advanced characterization of the materials, and their theoretical understanding, begins with the synthesis and crystal growth of new materials. In many instances, it is this initial step that limits our progress in the physics and chemistry of materials. This field is among the largest in contemporary science, including both fundamental and applied interests. Materials synthesis and crystal growth includes all components of synthesis and crystal growth of materials, including the capability to sufficiently characterize the resulting materials such that their composition, stoichiometry and crystalline nature are quantified and understood. In the case of single crystals it also includes the capability to cut and orient the crystals into particular geometries appropriate to the experiments that the end users intend. The Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research at McMaster University (BIMR) is home to the Centre for Crystal Growth (CCG), which constitutes the largest and most extensive set of materials preparation and crystal growth infrastructure in Canada - an investment of over $7M in forefront technical infrastructure devoted to this purpose. It is centred on three of the five floating zone image furnaces in Canada that have been responsible for 90% of the growth of large single crystals of transition metal oxides. New magnetic and superconducting materials are often such oxides, and the CCG hosts much of Canada's technical infrastructure and expertise in this area. The CCG employs four technical staff members who allow these facilities to be optimally exploited by a large cohort of excellent materials physicists and chemists from across Canada. The forefront research infrastructure within the CCG is not viable without their expertise and dedication. In particular the technical staff allow for sophisticated training of the HQP associated with the academic users, and maintain the cutting edge infrastructure in an appropriate state of readiness. The CCG also hosts the "BIMR Summer School on Modern Methods of Crystal Growth" which is Canada's only such specialized school related to these these important techniques and skills. The proposal seeks to provide partial funding for the four CCG technical staff members and to provide maintenance support on associated infrastructure. This NSERC support is crucial to the CCG's mission of providing unique and sophisticated technical capabilities related to materials preparation and crystal growth for a national user base. In turn, the CCG underlies important research programs in Canadian materials physics and chemistry laboratories that will discover, understand and exploit materials enabling future new technologies.