NSF Award
0320908
The grant provides support for the acquisition of surface preparation instrumentation to be used in surface physics studies of epitaxial growth on metallic surfaces. This new instrumentation will be integrated into an ultra high vacuum (UHV) preparation chamber that is part of the existing variable temperature scanning tunneling microscope (VT-STM) system at Bradley University. This new instrument capability will allow the research efforts at Bradley to be expanded to include surface physics studies of metallic surfaces by the addition of sample cleaning/preparation and sample analysis systems. The sample cleaning instrumentation includes an ion gun and a turbomolecular pumping station for sputtering-cleaning of metallic surfaces, and an effusion cell for surface alteration via molecular beam epitaxy. The sample analysis includes an electron gun and hemispherical energy analyzer for surface chemical composition determination, and a low energy electron diffractometer (LEED) for surface structural determination. Research projects include measurement of interlayer diffusion in metallic homoepitaxial systems, the interaction of metalloquinolates with metallic surfaces, the initial nucleation and growth of thin films on atomically clean metal surfaces, and fundamental tribological studies of friction and wear at the nano-scale which are of interest to local area industry. Subsequent research could improve understanding of fundamental atomic scale processes governing the formation of ultra thin films on surfaces. Such understanding could lead to the ability to develop optimal ultra thin film fabrication techniques necessary for building faster and smaller nano-electronic devices. <br/><br/>The established undergraduate program in materials research and education at Bradley University will be greatly enhanced through the acquisition of the new instrumentation and the associated research activities. A significant impact will be the establishment of unique collaborations between scientists in academia, with a fundamental approach to nanomaterials research, and engineers in industry, with a practical, applied science approach. Collaborations with industrial partners will be established to efficiently convert fundamental research results into practical technological applications, and further provide undergraduate students with excellent work related training experiences in applied science.
