Award Abstract #0079002
Acquisition of an Automated Digital Transmission Electron Microscope

NSF Org:	DMR Division of Materials Research
Initial Amendment Date:	July 24, 2000
Latest Amendment Date:	July 24, 2000
Award Number:	0079002
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Charles E. Bouldin DMR Division of Materials Research MPS Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences
Start Date:	August 1, 2000
Expires:	July 31, 2004 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$620000
Investigator(s):	Mark Aindow m.aindow@uconn.edu (Principal Investigator) Douglas Pease (Co-Principal Investigator) Steven Suib (Co-Principal Investigator) Raymond Joesten (Co-Principal Investigator) Nitin Padture (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	University of Connecticut 343 Mansfield Rd Storrs, CT 06269 860/486-3622
NSF Program(s):	MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION
Field Application(s):	0106000 Materials Research
Program Reference Code(s):	AMPP, 9161
Program Element Code(s):	1189

ABSTRACT

0079002

Aindow

This grant supports the acquisition of an automated digital 200-kilovolt transmission electron microscope (TEM) by the Institute of Materials Science at the University of Connecticut. The new TEM will be operated as a central user facility and will offer greatly enhanced capabilities as compared with the existing TEM at University of Connecticut including: ultra-high resolution objective lens (Cs<0.6mm) giving better than 0.19 nanometer a point-to-point resolution; image filter for parallel electron energy-loss spectrometry (PEELS) and electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI); multi-scan charge-coupled device camera enabling images to be acquired digitally; and fully automated microprocessor control allowing remote operation. Five key research programs have been identified which will make most use of the instrument. The research areas are: interfacial structure and defect-mediated interfacial processes in engineering alloys, kinetic studies of mineral reactions and textural evolution in silicate rocks, microstructural evolution in tough ceramics, PEELS/ESI as a probe of magnetic structure in metals and alloys, and synthesis and characterisation of inorganic helices. The instrument will also revolutionise classroom teaching of TEM and related topics at the University of Connecticut by allowing faculty to combine conventional teaching materials with live output from the microscope via remote operation over the campus network.

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This grant supports the acquisition of a state-of-the-art automated digital transmission electron microscope by the Institute of Materials Science at the University of Connecticut. The new microscope will serve as a central user facility and will offer the following key features to researchers: imaging at atomic resolution allowing the crystal structure of materials to be studied directly, energy filtering which will reveal the distribution of elements in materials, and fully automated computer control allowing the instrument to be used across the internet. The new instrument will have a dramatic impact on a wide variety of research programs at the University of Connecticut. These include development of new materials such as aerospace alloys, tough ceramics, and porous semiconductors, studies of nanostructured magnetic materials and of reactions in minerals. Remote control capability of the instrument will also have a revolutionary impact on teaching and outreach. The use of live output from the microscope in the classroom will enable professors at University of Connecticut to teach this challenging topic more effectively. Similarly, when operated over the internet in presentations to high school students and others, the instrument will act as a powerful visual aid which will assist in the ongoing efforts to promote diversity by attracting graduate students from under-represented groups.

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