This award provides partial support for the acquisition of equipment to provide Rice University researchers with a state-of-the-art ultrahigh vacuum, variable-temperature scanning tunneling/atomic force microscope instrument. This instrument will address the needs for nanoscale imaging, localized spectroscopy, and single molecule device fabrication and transport measurement capabilities for a cluster of faculty members in the Physics, Chemistry, and Electrical and Computer Engineering Departments. A primary focus for this instrument is the study of fullerene nanotubes in a range of scientific and technological contexts.
The system will allow the following research activities:
1) imaging and spectroscopy of fullerene nanotubes and other nanoparticles of interest, 2) assembly of single-molecule and nanoparticle-based device structures, 3) characterization of hybrid e-beam lithography/molecular self-assembly device fabrication methods, 4) fabrication, characterization, and imaging applications of fullerene STM tips: C60- adsorbed STM tips, and fullerene nanotube AFM/STM tips, 5) structural imaging and spectroscopic investigations of functionalized fullerene nanotubes and nanotube defects using C60-adsorbed STM tips, 6) temperature-dependent nanoscale imaging and analysis of the phase transitions and structural transformations in nanosized polymers.
This instrument will be the only ultrahigh vacuum or variable temperature STM/AFM instrument at Rice University. It will therefore provide significant new experimental capabilities, enhancing the ongoing programs of several research groups as well as providing a state-of-the-art nanoscale facility for junior faculty with growing research programs. %%% ***
