"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)"
The objective of this MRI-R2 project is to add device fabrication capabilities to the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology campus for organic electronics and energy-related nanoscience research and education. The approach is the acquisition of a thin-film deposition glovebox system, which will be the principal instrument for material synthesis and device fabrication in organic electronic and photovoltaic research.
Intellectual Merit: The requested thin-film deposition system and accessories will provide infrastructure for researchers to conduct cutting-edge research projects in the area of organic electronics and energy-related nanoscience. The system will enable researchers to fabricate devices such as organic transistors, hybrid or dye-sensitized solar cells, plasmonic material based nanophotonics, and sensors. With the fabrication capabilities of the system, collaborative efforts from students and faculty across different disciplines will reveal new scientific insights in the field of electronic and photovoltaic materials and devices, and lead to development of innovative device structures and technologies for future organic electronics and solar cells.
The specific objective of this MRI-R2 project is to add fabrication capability for organic electronic and photovoltaic devices to the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSM&T) campus. All the equipments have been installed, and are operational. These equipment include (See attached photos for the equipments purchased through this MRI grant): 1. Glovebox deposition system 2. Instruments related to the sample cleaning a. Plasma Etching system b. Probe sonicator c. DI water purification system d. Laminar Flow Hood 3. Solar simulator and Keithley 2400 SourceMeter: We purchased a solar simulator from Newport after the PI had approval from the program manager Dr. Fulay. The solar simulator will be used to carry out the research activities related to the projects outlined in the original MRI-R2 proposal. The equipment enables us to fabricate devices such as organic thin film transistor, hybrid organic/inorganic solar cell, dye-sensitized solar cell, plasmonic material based nanophotonics, and chemical sensors for investigating the device physics and fundamental physical properties of the related material systems and for developing practical technologies of organic flexible electronics and solar cells. These fabrication capabilities are essential for many research projects on campus that focus on the physical properties and device physics of the oxygen and moisture-sensitive organic semiconducting small molecules and polymers. Additionally, the undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral associates from the PI and the co-PIs lab have received training from the MBraun engineer during his visit at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in February, 2011. The PI have already discussed with the MBraun several times about the instrumentation operation and maintenance. The regular users of the instrument include one postdoctoral researcher, two PhD students, and one master student. The instrument is available for users on campus. The PI has given numerous tours of the glovebox deposition system to the prospective high school students who are interested in chemistry major at SDSM&T. The glovebox deposition system was also introduced during the CAREER Lunch Program of the SDSM&T Youth Program in 2012. Publication that acknowledges the ECCS-0959336 award: 1. Wang, X.; Karanjit,S.; Zhang, L.; Joshi, P.; Fong, H.; Qiao, Q.; Zhu, Z.-T. "Transient photo-current and photo-voltage studies on charge transport in dye sensitized solar cells made from the composites of TiO2 nanofibers and nanoparticles" Appl. Phys. Lett. 2011, 98, 082114.
