We request funds to acquire a scanning electron microscope that will be capable of high-resolution electron imaging and cathodoluminescence spectroscopy and imaging (CL) with 1 nm resolution. The proposed instrument will be located in the cleanroom (Class 100) in the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Laboratory is an interdisciplinary research user facility that houses advanced equipment for materials and device processing. The laboratory has been very successful in facilitating cross-disciplinary research and collaborations. Over 40 faculty, 20 postdoctoral fellows, 200 graduate students, and many undergraduates have access to the laboratory. The users span across various disciplines and departments on campus. The user list is steadily growing as we facilitate discussions between various groups on the versatility of nanotechnology. Personnel from neighboring academic institutions are users of the laboratory also. The availability of the proposed SEM+CL system is critical to many research programs active at the University of Illinois. Three illustrative examples of these research programs are described in detail. These are: Nanoscale Pattern Formation in Soft Materials (John Rogers and Ilesanmi Adesida) Nanophotonics: Quantum Dots and Photonic Crystals (James Coleman and Kent Choquette)
Silicon Bionanotechnology (Gregory Timp) Various other projects make use of the facilities in the laboratory and among these are the projects that have recently being started under the newly awarded NSF Center for Nano-Chemical- Electrical-Mechanical Manufacturing Systems (Nano-CEMMS) at the University of Illinois. The proposed research instrumentation is vital to these projects since they involve fabrication at length scale less than 20 nm. The intellectual merit of this proposal is in the new science and innovations that will be facilitated. The proposed instrumentation will enable imaging and spectroscopy at the nano-regime; understanding phenomena in organic and inorganic structures and systems at this scale will open a vista to new applications. The proposed instrumentation will facilitate collaborations across various disciplines and the research will lead wide-ranging applications in medicine, food, environment and electronics. For the broader impact, the proposed instrument will see significant use in graduate/undergraduate research and education programs. Minority and under-represented students will be recruited through various mechanisms involving our campus-wide Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) and through our collaborative programs with minority serving universities in Centers such as the Nano-CEMMS. Faculty from these schools will have access to the laboratory through these Centers also. Programs for k-12 teachers to conduct summer research in the laboratory with access to the research instrumentation is in place. Self-operation of the equipment by all qualified researchers regardless of institutional/departmental affiliations or source of funding is encouraged so as to enhance their education. With the availability of the proposed instrumentation, we envisage an increase in usage by and collaborations with industry. The total estimated cost of acquiring the proposed instrument is $688,338. Of this amount, we are requesting $481,837 from the National Science Foundation. The University of Illinois will provide cost sharing of $206,501 (30.0 %) of the total cost of the instrument.
