The Facility is used by researchers from a large number of departments at UMass-Amherst (including PS&E, Chemistry, BMB, Food Science, Kinesiology, Microbiology, etc.) as well as investigators within the Five College Consortium and surrounding academic institutions.

The Mass Spectrometry Facility operates either as a hands-on research laboratory or as a service facility for researchers wishing to submit samples for analysis. In the former case training is a necessary pre-requisite for use of the instrumentation, but once training is complete and the student is confident they are allowed unrestricted access. In the later case samples may be mailed in to the Facility for analysis. Please complete a submission form for each sample and enclose a purchase order.

Recharge Rates:

Please contact the facility director for rates and training.

The CAF houses a LaB₆ 200keV Hitachi H-8000 TEM for general imaging requirements, and a FEI F20 Supertwin 200keV TEM (NSF-MRI-0421376), for analytical microscopy. The F20 is installed with a High Angle Annular Detector for Z-contrast imaging in the STEM mode, X-ray Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (XEDS) for point, line and 2D composition and a 1k CCD camera for digital microscopy. The CAF also has a FEI Quanta 3D dual beam Focused Ion Beam (FIB) for site-specific TEM and atom probe specimen preparation. The Quanta has a XEDS system and an in situ micromanipulator. The FIB was an internal UA investment in 2004, demonstrating UA’s commitment to providing the necessary instrumentation for active and proposed research programs. In May 2007, through another UA internal investment, the CAF received an Imago Scientific Instruments Local Electrode Atom Probe (LEAP). The LEAP provides 3D reconstruction of individual atoms’ identity and spatial location with near atomic precision. This is done by collecting and reconstructing the trajectory from field evaporation of a surface that has been shaped into a tip with a radius of curvature ~50-100 nm. In September 2007, UA was awarded a picosecond laser-attachment to the LEAP (NSF-MRI-0722631). This expands the capability and range of materials which can be analyzed by thermally assisting field evaporation. The CAF also houses two SEMs, a tungsten-filament Philips XL-30 with XEDS for general imaging and a JEOL 7000 FEG-SEM (NSF-MRI-0321180) equipped with XEDS, Wavelength Dispersive Spectroscopy (WDS), Nabity e-beam lithography, Orientation Imaging Microscopy and secondary/backscattered detectors. The CAF also houses a Kratos XPS system (1995 ARF, DMR-9512264) and a JEOL microprobe. All the required specimen preparation equipment is maintained in the CAF for general users.

A shared Shamrock seven-source planetary sputtering system is also available in the MFF Facility. The system is completely automated, ensuring reproducibility between depositions. The seven sputtering targets can be operated in DC, AC or RF modes, as well as co-sputtered, which provides flexibility in gradually changing composition. A magnetic substrate holder provides easy axis orientation for soft magnetic films, including in situ rotation of the field relative to the substrate.

A six-target high vacuum (base pressure ~10^-8 Torr) laser deposition system with a load-lock chamber is also in use in the MINT Center. The system has an in situ differentially-pumped RHEED system for surface characterization, with chamber pressure as high as 200-500mTorr. A low-energy ion gun is available for surface cleaning. This advanced laser deposition system - referred to as a laser molecular beam epitaxy system (laser MBE) - is used primarily for the controlled, layer-by-layer growth of multilayers and artificially structured materials. A smaller four-target laser deposition setup, without in situ analysis, is available for more routine deposition of single and bilayer films at elevated temperatures. The two systems share an excimer laser (Lambda Physik, Model COMPexPro 201, 248 nm radiation) for deposition, with an appropriate optical setup to switch between them.

NISPLab is dedicated to the characterization of the structure and composition of a broad spectrum of hard and soft materials and biological systems with nanometer resolution. These capabilities are used for research, and the teaching and training of students. The research performed in the laboratory is focused on the characterization of materials and structures in the areas of biomaterials, multifunctional and smart materials, nanostructured materials, nanodevices and geological materials. Equipment includes a JEM 2100 LaB6 transmission electron microscope (TEM) coupled with fiber optic, video-rate imaging, allowing observation of devices and conditions both in situ and in real time; a Hitachi SU-70 field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) equipped with an energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDS) used for elemental mapping; a JEOL 2100F atomic-resolution field emission transmission electron microscope (FE-TEM); and a JEOL JXA-89 electron microprobe equipped with a wavelength-dispersive x-ray spectrometer (WDS), used primarily in materials and geology research.

Contact the lab director, Dr. Wen-An Chiou, at wachiou@umd.edu or (301) 405-0541.

EQUIPMENT:
1. SPEAR: The Specimen Preparation Evaluation Analysis and Reaction System is a system of interconnected Ultrahigh Vacuum (UHV) chambers for the preparation and study of surfaces and interfaces. The Analytical Chamber is equipped with a PHI Electronics Duoplasmatron Ion Gun, a PHI Electronics Dual-Anode X-ray Source, an FEI Thermally Assisted Schottky Field Emission Electron Gun, and the PHI Electronics Spherical Electron Energy Analyzer. The ion gun can produce oxygen, argon, or xenon ions which, when coupled with a secondary electron detector, generate useful Secondary Electron Microscopy (SEM) images during sputtering. The electron energy analyzer can acquire XPS data from either Al K-alpha or Mg K-alpha x-rays from the X-ray source, as well as highly spatially resolved Auger electron data generated by the electron gun. The electron gun can also be used for the direct heating of samples. The Transfer Chamber allows samples to be moved between the Load-Lock, the Analytical chamber, and various other connected systems (UHV-HREM, MIBE, SINBAD) while at all times remaining in a UHV environment.

2. UHV-HREM: The Hitachi UHV-H9000 High Resolution Electron Microscope is the first conventional transmission instrument to achieve routine mid 10 × 10 -11 torr operation. It is equipped with a Gatan Parallel EELS and CCD Camera, both interfaced to computers. Routinely the instrument will resolve at about 0.18nm for bulk spacings and atomic structure of surfaces at about the 0.25nm level.

3. MIBE: The main goal of the Magnetron and Ion Beam Epitaxy System is to combine deposition processes with the analytical capabilities of SPEAR and an UHV TEM. Samples can be grown in MIBE and then transferred to SPEAR where analytical techniques can be performed. It has two metal ion sources currently fitted with boron and carbon targets, two d.c. magnetron sputtering sources used to form ZrN and CNx multilayer materials, and one gas ion source.

4. SINBAD: The Stabilizing Ion and Neutral Beam Assisted Deposition system is a specially designed system for the in-situ investigation of thin solid films. It is designed to handle the deposition of thin films onto thin 3mm TEM ready samples and investigate the effect of energetic particles on materials. The sample manipulation stage can be used for d.c. biasing of the sample as well as resistive heating during deposition and the unit is equipped with a single position electron-beam evaporator, a 4 keV ion-gun, and a compact electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source. It is also connected to the SPEAR system.

5. Computers: Two Linux clusters, JosephSmith and HyrumSmith, are used for running DFT calculations and compiling code. Additionally, computers are used for image simulation and diffraction calculations. The primary software is NUMIS, a combination of Semper 6 and multislice/imaging programs. Originally these calculations were run on UNIX machines, but are gradually being moved to PC’s running an X-windows environment. Additionally, the EDM software package, which is continually being updated, is used to combine various aspects of image processing and manipulation of high resolution images and diffraction patterns as well as direct methods.

Typical samples can range from thin films to single crystals, with specimens mounted on interchangeable sample holders. Hall measurements are made with a magnetic flux density of 0.74 Tesla. The measurements of the sample cross-sectional area and voltage probe separations (Hall and conductivity) are made with a calibrated Bausch & Lomb binocular microscope.

EQUIPMENT:
DC electrical conductivity and Hall measurements: Liquid helium/liquid nitrogen cryostat and associated equipment (such as vacuum pumps), and lab-made dipsticks for sample mounting. Keithley and Lake Shore rack-mounted source-measure and switching equipment are all GPIB controlled by a computer running control software written using LabView. A Lake Shore electromagnet and power supply are used for the Hall measurements. Sample preparation includes various fine tweezers and wire, conductive dags, colloids, pastes, etc.. A calibrated Bausch & Lomb binocular microscope is used to mount and physically characterize the specimens under test.

Polymer synthesis continues to be a major theme in the Polymer Group at the University of Minnesota. Model homopolymers and copolymers with an array of molecular architectures are routinely produced using a wide variety of synthetic methodologies. The Polymer Synthesis Facility (PSF), an External Sales Organization at the University of Minnesota, was established to prepare these interesting samples on large scale (kilogram) and provide them to academic and industrial institutions through contract sales arrangements. The PSF received “start-up” funds from the Center for Interfacial Engineering and the University of Minnesota Materials Research and Engineering Center, and operates out of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota.