The acquisition of a dual beam focused ion beam / scanning electron microscope (FIB/SEM) instrument capable of cross-sectional imaging, in-situ sectioning and transmission electron microscope (TEM) sample preparation, and nano-scale selective etching and deposition will complement and expand the materials analysis capabilities of the Advanced Materials Characterization Lab (AMCL) at the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR). The FIB/SEM will be utilized in projects that will develop nonvolatile memory devices and microfluidics-based biochemical sensors, environmentally sound aircraft coatings, innovative laser joining and deposition techniques, nanophase aluminum alloys via the friction-stir process, electrodeposited spintronic materials, chiral structures, and new techniques to analyze fluid inclusions and investigate two-phase and multi-phase nanofluidics. These projects represent only a fraction of the tasks that UMR faculty have proposed for the new instrumentation. Never before has the acquisition of a piece of equipment spurred such a high level of interest on our campus. Acquisition of this FIB/FESEM will not only enhance the capabilities and collaborations of research faculty on the UMR campus, but will benefit research being done throughout the State of Missouri. Other institutions that will benefit from the acquisition of this equipment include the Research Alliance of Missouri and the Missouri Nanoalliance, organizations dedicated to facilitating collaborative nanoscience research and facility development in the State of Missouri. The FIB/FESEM will allow graduate students working in many different materials and manufacturing research areas on campus to more fully and efficiently characterize thin films, interfaces, coatings, and many other applications. This state-of-the-art equipment will also enhance recruitment efforts at the undergraduate and graduate levels at UMR through programs such as the Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experience (OURE). In addition, the instrument will be utilized to generate excitement among the K-12 students who participate in UMR's many pre-college programs.
Looking into the incredible world of nano-technology, 10,000 times smaller than the human hair, requires sophisticated equipment that can image many of the mysteries that escape the naked eye. Even better, being able to look beneath the surface of nano-structures and nano-materials reveals details otherwise lost. Combining the ability to both cut and image nanosystems, a focused ion beam / scanning electron microscope (FIB/SEM) enables engineers and scientists to investigate topics as wide ranging as synthetic bone replacements to semiconductor chips to stronger metals to environmentally friendly coatings that protect aircraft from corroding. Like ideas seen in Jurassic Park, where DNA is extracted from old fossils, the FIB/SEM can cut away the outer layers of centuries old biological samples and probe their characteristics to understand how they functioned. Unlocking the imagination of college students and researchers, the FIB/SEM at the University of Missouri-Rolla will be the first one of its kind in the state of Missouri, and will be utilized on numerous interdisciplinary projects between materials scientists, chemists, engineers, biologists and physicists. It will also reach out to the over 1,000 K-12 students that visit and tour the campus each year during field trips and summer camps in the hope to spark interest in the physical sciences for the next generation of scientists and engineers.
