9311586 Zuo This ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscope (UHV-STM) will greatly improve faculty and student research opportunities in both the Department of Physics and Astronomy (principally) and the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Southwest Missouri State University (SMSU). Current research efforts related to the equipment in the Department of Physics and Astronomy are molecular beam epitaxial growth and characterization of compound semiconductors and the related device physics, conducting polymers, and synchrotron radiation studies of local crystal structures. Research programs in the Department of Biomedical Sciences include the fine structure examination of biological specimens. The requested UHV-STM, a very powerful tool in the study of geometric/electronic structures of surfaces and interfaces with atomic resolution, will enhance our microstructure analysis capability. Its availability will not only extend our current research efforts into an important area connecting electronic and optical properties of materials with their microstructures, but will also give students a direct experience of frontier research and better prepare them for entry into graduate study or careers in various scientific disciplines. ***
