The phenom pharos G2 is designed to be the most accessible electron microscopy instrument in MEM-C. It is capable of delivering high resolution images at the level of traditional SEM. This instrument expands its acceleration voltage range down to 1 kV, and up to 20 kV to accommodate insulating and beam-sensitive samples revealing the finest details with a resolution of up to 2 nm for secondary electron (SE) detector and 3 nm for back scattered electron detector (BSE). It integrates an energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy detector (EDS) as well for chemical characterization and analysis. Additionally, a stage for STEM analysis is available for high-angle annular dark field (HAADF), dark field (DF), and bright field (BF) imaging. This desktop SEM/STEM instrument is designed to be available for users with any background with an accessible operation procedure including sample loading and imaging acquisition thanks to its user-friendly software.
Capabilities
User-friendly operation software with default settings, designed to be accessible for non-microscopy background users.
5 kV, 10 kV, 15 kV, and 20 kV acceleration voltages available with high vacuum, medium vacuum and low vacuum modes.
This state-of-the-art Magnetic Property Measuring System (MPMS) from Quantum Design is outfitted with a Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID). Samples ranging from single crystals to powders and including air sensitive materials can be loaded for analysis with an applied field between -7 to 7 T (-70,000 to 70,000 Oe) generated from the superconducting magnet. The magnetic field can be set to 0 ± 0.5 Oe with basic control, and using the Ultra Low Field (ULF) option can set a zero field of 0 ± 0.05 Oe. The sample temperature range is 400 K down to 2 K. The Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM) option achieves magnetic moment sensitivity of 10-8 emu. Additionally, an electron transport option is in the works and will be up and running shortly.
Capabilities
Multiple measurement modes (VSM, DC, and AC) give flexibility to experiments for static and dynamic magnetic properties
Moment vs Field and Moment vs Temperature data is simple to aquire with the MultiVu software
Additional software controls for the temperature and magnetic field readily enable the automation of complex data acquisition procedures
Multiple sample holders allow for a range of materials and mounting procedures (quartz rods, Cu holders, straws)
Automatic centering of samples upon loading and thorughout measurement for accurate values
ULF option ensures minimal field for Zero Field Cooling experiments
The Park systems AFM is a scanning probe tool that can image surfaces down to the nanometer scale. It uses a sharp probe whose z-position over the surface of interest is controlled in a closed-loop feedback measuring the atomic forces of the surface on the probe. These forces are strongly dependent on the probe-surface distance and so the z-adjustments required to maintain constant force during scanning are directly related to the topographical and morphological features. This AFM is a versatile tool to probe and clean various devices, with an additional control on the temperature.
Capabilities
AFM scanning modes available : non contact mode, tapping mode, contact mode
An integrated Lock-in allows to perform electric force microscopy such as Piezoelectric Force Microcopy and Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy.
Motorized x-y scanning stage with magnetic mounting of samples that allows to mount a wide range of samples.
Standard AFM tips available on-site, specialty tips can be purchased by request
Optional heating stage is available to probe samples at a wide range of temperatures (room temperature to 300C).
The MultiPrep™ System is a programmable machine that enables precise semiautomatic sample preparation of a wide range of materials for microscopic (optical, SEM, FIB, TEM, AFM, etc.) evaluation.
A Nikon Eclipse TE2000-U inverted microscope with excitation and detection hardware and electronics to perform single-particle spectroscopy and blinking measurements. In addition, this microscope has been integrated via fiber coupling and electronics with the MSF’s existing Edinburgh FLS1000 fluorometer. This integrated configuration allows users to obtain spatially resolved spectroscopic information about luminescent samples. The combination of a Xenon white light source and multiple lasers in the excitation path enables users to carry out wide-field and confocal microscopy experiments.
Nine MEM-C computing nodes have been recently acquired and added to the MSF’s offerings. This new shared facility, integrated in the UW Hyak high-performance computing (HPC) ecosystem, supports computational materials science and data science research within MEM-C and in the broader materials science research community. This resource is accessible to all UW researchers through UW Hyak’s “checkpoint” access system, where other users can identify and access idle nodes across the cluster. UW Hyak HPC also provides computer hours to the national Open Science Grid (OSG). Training is provided through the UW eScience Software Carpentry program and computational science courses including the Computational Chemistry, Materials and Device Modeling, and Nanotechnology Modeling classes.
The Xeuss 3.0 is the latest generation instrument for Small Angle X-ray Scattering and is already installed in leading research facilities around the world. It incorporates all the latest innovations from Xenocs for added capabilities, flexibility and ease-of-use.
Capabilities
Particle size distribution ranging from a few nanometers to more than 300 nm in diameter (or up to few microns with USAXS)
Crystallization rates and lamellar structure of semicrystalline polymers
Size and shape analysis of surfactants or proteins and other macromolecules in solutions
Organization and orientation of nanomaterials at the atomic- or the nano-scale, in bulk or at surfaces
Phase segregation studies of alloys
Operando and in situ studies
Sample Holders (Stages)
Solid stage: for measuring solid films;
Powder and gel stages;
Capillary stage: for measuring liquid solutions or dispersions;
GISAXS stage: for Grazing-Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering measurements;
Peltier stage: for measuring samples at temperatures from -30 C to 150 C;
Humidity stage: for measuring samples at relative humidity from 1 % to 95 %;
Modular force stage: for measuring solid samples under mechanical stress;
Temperature stage: for measuring samples at temperatures from -150 C to 350 C;
Biocube: robot to automatically load samples into capillaries.
The NanoITC is a state-of-the-art isothermal titration calorimeter (ITC) that is designed to handle large sample volumes while maintaining a small instrument footprint and allows thermodynamic measurements on systems like nanocrystal doping and surface-binding reactions. The ITC can measure reactions in organic solvents as well as under inert atmosphere. The instrument has extremely high sensitivity and can measure heat down to 0.1uJ with minimum noise. The instrument accommodates a large sample volume of 1.6mL and allows for two different volumes of titrant to be used.
Capabilities
Designed to perform high-sensitivity analyses on nanomolar quantities of analytes
Accurate and stable temperature control and efficient titrant control
Vacuum-tight chamber isolates reaction cells from room temperature fluctuations
Integrated, flexible titration assembly ensures quick, easy filling, simple cleaning and accurate titrations
Status note December 2022: The PLD is out-of-service at this time. Please check back for updates on its status or contact the superuser for more information.
Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is a laser-based technique used to grow high-quality thin films of complex materials on substrates like Silicon wafers. The material to be deposited (target) is vaporized by short and intense laser pulses and forms a plasma plume. Then, the vaporized target material from the plasma bombards the substrate and creates a thin homogenous layer on this substrate. For each laser shot, a layer of only a few nanometers of material is ablated to form the plasma plume in a process that typically lasts a few tens of picoseconds. To enable this process, nanosecond pulses from a fully contained excimer laser with energies of tens to hundreds of mJ are necessary.
Capabilities
Precise deposition of chalcogenide monolayers from bulk chalcogenide targets
High vacuum sample chamber for high purity deposition conditions
This custom deposition system is a modular instrument for preparation of thin film metal-halide perovskite materials. The vacuum chamber is equipped with a Pfeiffer ACP40 backing pump and a 10″ Pfeiffer turbo pump allowing fast pump down times to a base pressure of ~1×10-5 torr. Substrates up to 12″ x 12″ can be accommodated on a linear translation rail. The vacuum chamber has numerous feedthroughs on its base and side walls that allow for installation and testing of custom deposition sources.
Capabilities
Resistive thermal evaporation with a Luxel RADAK II deposition source.
