The Department of Chemistry at Colorado State University (CSU) will acquire, in this project funded by the Major Research Instrumentation program, three complementary instruments for materials characterization: thermal analysis, vibrational spectroscopy, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The requested instruments will augment existing instrumentation to build the important interdisciplinary core facility supporting teaching and research called the Central Materials Analysis Facility (CMAF). The facility will support the Department's strong commitment to teaching and research in materials chemistry. The facility will also serve materials research needs in other departments at CSU, at nearby institutions, and in local industry. The thermal analysis equipment will be used in undergraduate and graduate teaching, as well as research involving polymers, colloidal phases, and solid-state inorganic materials and will affect the research of nine identified user groups. Vibrational spectroscopy equipment will be used by eleven identified interdisciplinary research groups. The surface characterization capabilities are essential for existing undergraduate and graduate analytical chemistry courses as well as research. The spectroscopic ellipsometer will be used in graduate teaching and by seven interdisciplinary research teams on campus for determination of thickness and optical properties of thin film polymer, metal, semiconductor and ceramic materials. %%% This set of instruments, to be acquired through the National Science Foundation's Major Research Instrumentation program, will significantly expand the teaching, analytical and research capabilities in the department's Central Materials Analysis Facility. This project will have a strong impact upon a large group of interdisciplinary faculty and materials researchers within the Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, and surrounding institutions and industry. ***
