MRI-R2: Acquisition of a Versatile Deposition System

Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN

Investigators

Abstract

0957701 Rosenthal Vanderbilt U. Technical Summary: This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This proposal is for the acquisition of a deposition tool that has the capability to sequentially evaporate high quality, defect-free organic, metal, and oxide films without cross-contamination or exposure to air. An attached spin-coating coating unit (also in inert environment) allows the integration of nanocrystals and polymers, extending the fabricating capabilities of the tool. The instrumentation will be used for a broad range of research projects spanning the disciplines of physics, chemistry, engineering and the life sciences, all within the central theme of nanoscience. The capabilities of this deposition cluster tool will enable transformative research initiatives addressing a large range of forefront nanoscience and nanotechnology challenges, from nanoscale plasmonics to biological sensing on single cells, and from efficient solid-state lighting to graphene devices. The deposition tool will also enhance student learning, as students who grow their own materials and design/build their own materials structures are forced to engage the science at a much deeper level than they would if relying on outside sources for samples made elsewhere. The instrument will be housed and operated by the Vanderbilt Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering and will improve the research and training of many young scientists including under-represented students (supported by a NSF IGERT for Fisk (an HBCU) and Vanderbilt) and a diverse group of professors near the beginning of their careers. In addition to incorporating the instrumentation into graduate and undergraduate course work, the deposition system will be a part of three outreach efforts involving summer programs for high school students. Layman Summary: This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Intrinsic to building any device is the capability to deposit material. A single deposition might be the evaporation of aluminum onto graphene to make electrical contact, whereas more complicated structures might involve evaporating multiple layers of different organic materials and metals to make a desired device structure, such as a solar cell or a solid state lighting device. This proposal is for the acquisition of a versatile materials deposition system that has the capabilities to deposit organic films, metal films, and metal oxide films. The deposition system is in an air free environment such that the films do not react with air, and the different materials are in different chambers in such a fashion that depositing one film layer does not contaminate another, and such that the films can be deposited sequentially. The instrumentation will be used for a broad range of research projects spanning the disciplines of physics, chemistry, engineering and the life sciences, all within the central theme of nanoscience. The capabilities of this instrument will enable transformative research initiatives addressing a large range of forefront nanoscience and nanotechnology challenges, from nanoscale plasmonics to biological sensing on single cells, and from efficient solid-state lighting to graphene devices. The instrument will be housed and operated by the Vanderbilt Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering and will improve the research and training of many young scientists including under-represented students (supported by a NSF IGERT for Fisk (an HBCU) and Vanderbilt) and a diverse group of professors near the beginning of their careers. In addition to incorporating the instrumentation into graduate and undergraduate course work, the deposition system will be a part of three outreach efforts involving summer programs for high school students. Many of the proposed research efforts utilizing the deposition system pertain to energy, including the creation of new types of solar cells, bio-fuel cells, and energy conserving solid state lighting. Progress in these areas would benefit society by creating renewable energy, reducing demand on current power sources, and subsequently reducing greenhouse gas emissions.