Thin films play an ever more important role in the U.S. electronics, automotive, jewelry and related industries whose competitiveness in the international area depends on developing new and better ways to produce coatings having the best characteristics for specific applications. This award establishes an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Thin Film and Interface Research (CTFIR) jointly between Brown University and the University of Rhode Island. Research at the CTFIR will aim at solving the scientific and technological problems which are impeding the development of such new thin films and coatings, and will focus on: characterization of films and interfaces; methods of deposition (especially high through-put methods such as sputtering) and growth of metal, semiconductor and insulator films; coatings for corrosion resistance in harsh environments; coatings for surgical implants; coatings for various electronic applications; thin film semiconductor devices like solar cells and transistors; films for passivating layers for semiconductor devices; films for optical coatings in high power laser and fiber optic applications; polymer films including Langmuir-Blodgett films and high temperature superconducting films produced by sputtering. The Industry Advisory Board for the Center has been established with 12 industry members, and the State of Rhode Island will provide $1M to equip a state-of-the-art diagnostics laboratory. This Center was coordinated with Dr. J. Larsen-Basse, Acting Program Director for Materials Engineering and Processing. The Program Manager recommends that Brown University be awarded $100,000 each year for five (5) years for the initiation of this joint Center between Brown University and the University of Rhode Island. As a Co-Center institution, the University of Rhode Island will receive a subcontract from Brown University for approximately half ($50,000) of the NSF annual support for the five year period. Near the end of each 12-month period, the Program Manager and/or Director of The Division of Cross-Disciplinary Research will review the progress of the Center on a number of renewal criteria, including the following: (1) extent to which university/industry interaction and collaboration is developing; (2) extent to which the support base for the center is expanding; (3) extent to which a robust research program is developing. If review is satisfactory, the Program Manager will recommend support of the next period of this continuing grant.
