Materials Preparation Laboratory @ University of Chicago

The Materials Preparation Laboratory provides facilities for sample fabrication, processing, patterning and characterization. In response to demands in nanofabrication and synthesis, we have more tightly coupled sample fabrication and characterization by incorporating the previously separate Spectroscopic Facility into the Prep Lab. Key capabilities include: a cleanroom area that houses a Digital Instruments Nanoscope IIIa AFM/STM with capabilities for contact and tapping AFM imaging modes, STM, electro-chemistry, and an environmental sample chamber for in-situ AFM imaging up to +250 ?е⌠C. Also in the cleanroom area is a Hitachi S-2700 scanning electron microscope with a Nabity NPGS 8.0 system for electron beam lithography. A WestBond wire bonder is in this area, too. Photolithography down to feature sizes of 1??m is available, as is a Gaertner L116S ellipsometer, a South Bay Technology reactive ion etcher for CF4, SF6, and O2 plasma etching, and an automated STM tip etching system. To meet the increasing demands from more and more students and research staffs, we have set up a second spinner in the cleanroom area for sample preparation for electron beam lithography, and have purchased a new Digital Instruments Nanoscope IV AFM/STM for sample characterization. We currently have available three custom-built multisource, turbopumped evaporators. The Lab also houses equipment for crystal growth and heat treatment, chemical processing and sample cleaning, and mechanical processing. For optical characterization of materials we maintain an automated UV-visible light spectrometer and a FTIR spectrometer. The FTIR spectrometer has been upgraded in 2003 with the most recent version of software and a new computer. Fluorescence study of optical materials is also available. In addition, the facility operates a Raman spectrometer with micro-Raman capability (designed to accommodate bulk macroscopic samples, films, and high-pressure, high-temperature diamond anvil cells), an ESR spectrometer, and a portable ultrasonic spectrometer (1-200 MHz). A key aspect of the Lab is extensive one-on-one training. After successful completion of such training with Dr. Guo, access to the equipment is free for MRSEC users. Sign-up sheets and logbooks, together with supervision by the full-time staff, provide orderly access and monitoring. Several upgrades are pending for the next several years. They include a multiple-source electron beam evaporator for refractory metals and specialized thin film work, an energy-dispersive x-ray analyzer for the SEM to provide elemental mapping. Because of the ever-increasing demands on nanoscale analysis and characterization, we envision replacing our venerable "work horse" Hitachi S-2700 SEM with a newer, field emission SEM within the next 2 or 3 years.