This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
This project will modernize the 10000 cleanroom facility in the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) core laboratory complex. This 1635 square foot cleanroom facility has been in continuous service since 2003. At present many faculty members and students are working on different research projects using this cleanroom facility including studies on solar energy conversion from electron field emission, thermal transport in carbon nanotubes, biosensor synthesis requiring e-beam lithography, and metal-insulator transitions that are modulated by optics. For the continued safe use of this cleanroom facility, it is in need of replacement of the following two essential components: 1) Toxic Gas Monitoring System (TGMS); and 2) HEPA filter fan units (FFU). This proposal is to replace the old TGMS unit with a new one, and make the cleanroom compatible to the current standards. The new TGMS unit is expected to detect all of the gases used or generated in a Semiconductor manufacturing facility.
Teaching, training and educational activities using the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) core laboratory complex are well defined and detailed in the proposal, and cleanroom facilities play a key role in these activities. In addition, the NSF supported IGERT program at Vanderbilt University with Fisk University provides opportunity for underrepresented minority students to be trained and educated using the VINSE Core Laboratory facilities. These facilities are also used by students and faculty members from Delaware State University for their education and research activities. Other outreach activities included nanoscience and nanotechnology programs for high school students through Vanderbilt Summer Academy.
During the term of the reporting period the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) has met the objectives and exceeded the expectations set forth by this project for the renovation and refurbishment of our shared cleanroom facility. As a result of this project’s funding we have restored our cleanroom laboratory to its original design specifications enabling the continued work of more than 20 independent research groups at Vanderbilt University. The Toxic Gas Monitoring System (TGMS) was upgraded to the industry supported Midas gas detection technology offered by Honeywell Analytics, Inc., avoiding the impending shutdown of our laboratory due to the approaching end of life of our original TGMS system that was no longer supported by either the original vendor, or third parties. We have used this opportunity to install new process gases, such as phosphine, which would not have been possible without the renovation. Together with the replacement of failed Filtered Fan Units (FFUs) the renovation project reestablished a workspace that exceeds specific minimum standards for airborne particulates, and ensures that our researchers are not exposed to harmful process gases. This has resulted in significant outcomes impacting the multiple VINSE missions of faculty recruitment, education, training, outreach and research. In addition to maintaining research continuity within our community of investigators, five talented scientists have joined the VINSE faculty during the term of this project, including our new Dean of Engineering Philippe M. Fauchet. Each of these new faculty members could not have been recruited to Vanderbilt University without a refurbished and functioning cleanroom laboratory. Together with our established VINSE faculty they pursue a variety research projects ranging from NSF- and DOE-funded initiatives within the National Nanotechnology Initiative, to NIH- and DOD-funded research projects in biosensor technology. We have initiated exciting educational programs such as a new undergraduate minor in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, that would not have been possible without access to the advanced nanofabrication and characterization capabilities hosted by our shared cleanroom laboratory. Four courses, including Nano 250 and Phys 266, currently use the laboratory for instructional purposes, training nearly 100 students per year in nanotechnology methods and techniques. The refurbished cleanroom permits us to reach out to talented students and teachers from across middle Tennessee who participate in mentored research projects through programs such as the Vanderbilt Summer Academy (VSA), Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) and the Tennessee Solar Conversion and Storage using Outreach, Research and Education (TN-SCORE). In addition we host visitors such as American Vacuum Society 58th International Symposium participants visiting Nashville in 2011. The extended life of our cleanroom has allowed VINSE to leverage other NSF funded initiatives to acquire and install new tools and capabilities, including a versatile deposition system for the fabrication of novel heterostructured devices with energy, biological and medical applications, funded through a grant from the NSF MRI program, and a chemical vapor deposition reactor funded by the NSF TN-SCORE program to produce nanoscale diamond devices. Finally, the significant scientific results which have been enabled by this project have been reported in the form of publications and conference proceedings that are detailed elsewhere in our Project Final Report, and demonstrate that Vanderbilt University remains competitive in the fields of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology as VINSE pursues our sponsored research programs throughout the next decade.
