MRI: Acquisition of a Nanofabrication and Electron Microscopy System for Materials Research

MRI：采购用于材料研究的纳米加工和电子显微镜系统

• 批准号: 1827608
• 负责人: Arumugam Manthiram
• 金额: $ 70万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1827608&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Nanofabrication; Electron; Microscopy

Non-Technical DescriptionThe acquired nanofabrication and electron microscopy system enhances the research and education capabilities at the University of Texas at Austin in nanometer-scale science and engineering, including the development of new low-cost, efficient materials for solar cells, fuel cells, batteries, nano-electronics, microfluidics, drug delivery, catalysis, health, etc. It also serves as a regional research tool for universities and industries for the study of advanced materials and devices. The fundamental understanding gained on the chemical/physical phenomena seeds transformational breakthroughs in the design of advanced materials and spurs the creation of new technologies. Moreover, the facility where the instrument is located has a profound impact on education and training of students on the campus and beyond, and serves as a focal point for outreach activities for underrepresented student populations through workshops and hands-on training sessions. Technical DescriptionThe instrument acquired through a Major Research Instrumentation grant comprises a high-resolution dual focused ion beam (FIB)/scanning electron microscope (SEM) system equipped with an electron-beam lithography (EBL) package for the fabrication and characterization of 2-dimensional (2D) and 3-dimensional (3D) materials. The system offers innovative electron and ion optics with state-of-the-art patterning control. Specifically, the instrument combines several key features onto a single platform: (i) device fabrication and testing with both ion-beam (3 nm resolution) and electron-beam (20 nm resolution) patterning, (ii) high throughput traditional (cross-sectional) and plan-view (lamella parallel to the surface) site-specific, thin transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation with minimal sample damage, (iii) nano-device fabrication and testing, (iv) gas-chemistry technology for materials deposition, and (v) 3D imaging of complex structures with parallel detection of various signals. The ability to prepare site-specific, TEM samples with limited damage enables key research in multiple areas, e.g., preparation of thin solid-state battery samples and monitoring their atomic structure/composition during the charge-discharge process with in-situ TEM. In the realm of microelectronics, the FIB enables preparation of samples for investigating how different growth processes affect boundary structures and compositions in materials, such as oxide heterostructures, essential for memory/communication devices or sensors. The EBL capability enables fabrication of complex electronic devices based on 2D materials, devices for understanding thermoelectric properties of materials at nanoscale, metasurfaces for molecular detection, and biological nanostructures.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.

非技术描述收购的纳米加工和电子显微镜系统增强了德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校在纳米级科学和工程方面的研究和教育能力，包括开发用于太阳能电池、燃料电池、电池的新型低成本、高效材料、纳米电子、微流控、药物输送、催化、健康等。它也作为大学和行业研究先进材料和器件的区域研究工具。对化学/物理现象的基本理解为先进材料设计带来了变革性突破，并刺激了新技术的创造。此外，该仪器所在的设施对校园内外学生的教育和培训产生了深远的影响，并成为通过讲习班和实践培训课程为代表性不足的学生群体开展外展活动的焦点。技术说明该仪器通过重大研究仪器拨款获得，包括高分辨率双聚焦离子束 (FIB)/扫描电子显微镜 (SEM) 系统，配备电子束光刻 (EBL) 套件，用于二维材料的制造和表征(2D) 和 3 维 (3D) 材料。该系统提供创新的电子和离子光学以及最先进的图案控制。具体来说，该仪器将几个关键功能结合到一个平台上：(i) 使用离子束（3 nm 分辨率）和电子束（20 nm 分辨率）图案化进行器件制造和测试，(ii) 高通量传统（交叉）剖面图）和平面图（平行于表面的薄片）特定位置的薄型透射电子显微镜 (TEM) 样品制备，样品损伤最小，(iii) 纳米器件制造和测试，(iv) 材料气体化学技术沉积，以及 (v) 复杂的 3D 成像具有并行检测各种信号的结构。制备损伤有限的特定位点 TEM 样品的能力使得能够在多个领域进行关键研究，例如，制备薄固态电池样品并使用原位 TEM 监测充放电过程中的原子结构/成分。在微电子领域，FIB 能够制备样品，以研究不同的生长过程如何影响材料中的边界结构和成分，例如对于存储/通信设备或传感器至关重要的氧化物异质结构。 EBL 能力能够制造基于 2D 材料的复杂电子器件、用于了解纳米级材料热电特性的器件、用于分子检测的超表面以及生物纳米结构。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。