MRI: Acquisition of an Atomic Force Microscope with Optical, Thermal, and Electrical Analysis Capabilities

University Of Oregon Eugene, Eugene OR

Investigators

Abstract

The Major Research Instrumentation program provides funds to support the University of Oregon (UO), Oregon State University (OSU), and Portland State University (PSU) with the acquisition of an atomic force microscope instrument. The instrument will provide state-of-the-art capabilities in atomic-scale resolution, multi-mode surface imaging (topography, temperature, magnetization, voltage, stiffness, etc.) and simultaneous optical microscopy that are not currently available to researchers at UO, OSU, and PSU. The instrument will be housed in an open-access, shared semiconductor nanofabrication and characterization facility, which is part of UO's Center for Advanced Materials Characterization in Oregon (CAMCOR), will be managed by full-time professional staff, and will be available for use by researchers in academia and industry throughout the region. The equipment will also be used to develop new curriculum for the UO Master's internship program tracks in semiconductor devices and photovoltaics, polymers, and optics, and the UO Advanced Materials Analysis and Characterization graduate program. These programs attract students from across the US and are helping to provide a trained high-tech workforce to drive the US economy. Furthermore, the instrument will be integrated into a broad range of established public outreach activities on the UO campus through CAMCOR including the SAIL program (low-SES high school students), the SPICE program (underrepresented middle school students), and Sustainable Materials Research Training (SMaRT) for undergraduates. The ability to visualize, manipulate, and probe systems, such as a living cell or a semiconductor device, at the atomic scale plays a vital role in our exploration of urgent questions across the physical, biological, and biomedical sciences. Furthermore, the ability to study systems at this length scale, also known as the nanoscale, holds an essential role in the development and engineering of new technologies in areas as distinct as materials, biotechnology, alternative energy, transportation, and electronics. The instrument has the capability to acquire atomic-resolution topographical, electrical, thermal, and mechanical information on materials ranging from metals, semiconductors, and ceramics, to proteins, synthetic polymers, and living cells, while concurrently performing optical studies via an inverted microscope. The instrument offers force spectroscopy on the level of single atomic bonds and can used as a lithography tool for nanofabrication. The AFM will enable a range of research across chemistry, physics, biology, and geology. Uses include the study of electrodynamic, thermal, and strain coupling in solid-state quantum bits, in situ studies of (photo)electrochemical processes, ascertaining calcite growth dynamics for geology, electron-hole selectivity mapping for improved photovoltaics, the measurement of membrane protein assemblies in liquids, the characterization of thermal properties of novel polymers for biomedical applications, electrical simulation experiments of bio-inspired electronic circuits for neural implants, the study of diffractive electron optics for wavefront-engineered beams in electron microscopes, characterization of novel two-dimensional atomic crystals, study of enhanced photo-response of composite metallodielectrics, exploration and design of optical and photoconductive properties of organic semiconductors, measuring photocurrents in one and two-dimensional materials, and time-resolved dynamical studies of protein structures.