MRI-Acquisition: Sputtering System for Developing Novel Germanium Detectors and Materials

MRI 采集：用于开发新型锗探测器和材料的溅射系统

• 批准号: 2117774
• 负责人: Dongming Mei
• 金额: $ 28.16万
• 依托单位: University of South Dakota Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2117774&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Sputtering; System; Developing

This award will provide a new sputtering system for developing novel germanium (Ge) detectors and materials research in the Departments of Physics at the University of South Dakota (USD) and at South Dakota State University (SDSU). This instrument will significantly improve the research facility and capability in the state of South Dakota. The device will be used by a number of investigators to develop and test novel germanium detector designs, some with promising applications to dark matter and neutrino detection, others for medical imaging. The equipment and the dedicated detector fabrication laboratory promise to realize an unusually broad spectrum of Broader Impact. This includes advances in medical research, but also more generically, in fields like environmental monitoring or homeland security. In addition, the group has a track record of involving students from underrepresented groups in the research. The planned instrument will enable multidisciplinary research and more than 50 students will be trained.A sputtering system with a configuration to coat up to 4 inches in diameter and 3 inches in thickness for substrates per batch from both sides by utilizing an in-situ substrate pallet flipping mechanism is planned in this project. Sputtering is a deposition technology involving a gaseous plasma which is generated and confined to a space containing a target (substrate) to be deposited. The surface of the target is eroded by high-energy ions within the plasma, and the liberated atoms travel through the vacuum environment and are deposited into a substrate to form a thin film. The sputtering technology has been used in developing novel Ge detectors by creating amorphous Ge (a-Ge) or a-Si thin films onto high-purity Ge crystals to make electrical contacts, which provide bipolar blocking for electrons and holes.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.

该奖项将为南达科他大学 (USD) 和南达科他州立大学 (SDSU) 物理系提供新型溅射系统，用于开发新型锗 (Ge) 探测器和材料研究。该仪器将显着改善南达科他州的研究设施和能力。许多研究人员将使用该设备来开发和测试新型锗探测器设计，其中一些在暗物质和中微子探测方面具有广阔的应用前景，另一些则用于医学成像。该设备和专用探测器制造实验室有望实现异常广泛的更广泛影响。这包括医学研究的进步，更广泛地说，包括环境监测或国土安全等领域的进步。此外，该小组还有让代表性不足群体的学生参与研究的记录。计划中的仪器将支持多学科研究，并将培训 50 多名学生。溅射系统的配置可利用原位基板托盘，从两侧每批次对直径达 4 英寸、厚度达 3 英寸的基板进行镀膜本项目计划采用翻转机制。溅射是一种涉及气态等离子体的沉积技术，气态等离子体被产生并限制在包含待沉积的靶材（基板）的空间内。靶材表面被等离子体内的高能离子侵蚀，释放出的原子穿过真空环境沉积到基板上形成薄膜。溅射技术已用于开发新型Ge探测器，通过在高纯度Ge晶体上形成非晶Ge (a-Ge)或a-Si薄膜来形成电接触，从而为电子和空穴提供双极阻挡。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。