ABSTRACT Paul Ho University of Texas Austin Proposal No. CTS-9512657 Two Central facilities will be created on campus, the Ultra High Vacuum facility (Scanning Electron Microscopy, Scanning Tunneling and Atomic Force Microscopy with development of Nearfield Scanning Optical Microscopy) and the ambient probe system (including Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy) for studying wet surfaces. Sixteen faculty are involved for seven departments, which cut across both science and engineering. Some of the proposed state-of-the-art instruments were originally developed by the principal investigators, and development of new extensions are proposed. The Ultra High Vacuum Facility will be used to investigate fundamental properties of semiconductor devices and chemical catalysis. The ambient probe facility will characterize materials which cannot be fabricated under vacuum, such as polymer films. Both photonic and magnetic materials with implications for information storage will be investigated. Another area of focus will be biological research. The project will establish state-of-the-art imaging capabilities for advanced materials research and education.
