| NSF Org: |
DMR Division Of Materials Research |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 6, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | September 6, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1828454 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Z. Ying
cying@nsf.gov (703)292-8428 DMR Division Of Materials Research MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $999,700.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $999,700.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1500 ILLINOIS ST GOLDEN CO US 80401-1887 (303)273-3000 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1500 Illinois St Golden CO US 80401-1887 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Major Research Instrumentation |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
This Major Research Instrumentation project supports acquisition of a unique instrument for studying a variety of materials across multiple length scales - from one millimeter down to near the atomic scale. In particular, this instrument probes information about the chemical bonding and mechanical strain in materials while also evaluating the shape and composition of these materials at the same location in three dimensions. The instrument directly supports areas of scientific and national interest such as mineral resource extraction, energy generation and storage, and biomaterial development. Broader benefits of this acquisition include: (1) providing a managed, easily accessible correlative analysis capability to a large number of researchers in diverse scientific disciplines, (2) advancing technical training of and access to a state-of-the-art instrument for undergraduate and graduate students at Colorado School of Mines and other institutions, and (3) attracting K-12 students to science and engineering fields through hands-on activities.
The acquisition of a Raman imaging - scanning electron microscope / focused ion beam instrument by the Colorado School of Mines provides an open facility for the correlative analysis of advanced functional inorganic, organic, biological, and geological samples across length scales that meets the distinct needs of academic, national laboratory, and industrial research projects. This is the first such instrument in the world openly available to academic researchers. Its usage spans multiple disciplines and many types of materials. Raman spectroscopic imaging enables bonding, phase, and strain identification down to a few hundred nanometers. Scanning electron microscopy enables surface morphology imaging and compositional analysis at the nanometer resolution. The focused ion beam presents the opportunity to access three-dimensional compositional and structural information, as well as preparing samples for further analysis using other techniques such as transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography. The whole instrument facilitates unprecedented access to three-dimensional phase, bonding, structure, morphology, and compositional relationship analysis spanning many orders of magnitude in length.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
As a result of this project, the Colorado School of Mines acquired a Raman Imaging ? Scanning Electron Microscope / Focused Ion Beam (RI/SEM/FIB) instrument to provide the capability for correlative analysis of a wide range of materials within a user facility openly available to both internal and external researchers. The instrument facilitates unprecedented access to three-dimensional phase, bonding, structure, morphology, and compositional relationships spanning five orders of magnitude in length, from ~ 100 microns to 1 nm, and temperatures up to 950 ?C. It is the correlative use of these techniques in the same instrument that allows researchers to draw direct connections between macro-scale and atomic scale, between structure and morphology, and between bonding, strain, composition, and processing. Consistent with Colorado?s statutory mission for Mines, this instrument is being used to explore materials relationships in energy, mineral, and materials science and engineering and associated engineering and science fields. Specifically, the RI/SEM/FIB instrument is being used to examine aging effects in solar cell materials, evaluate the mechanical responses of different glassy materials, explore novel nitride materials for potential semiconductor and piezoelectric applications, characterize shales, carbonates, and silicates, study 2-D graphene-based materials and functionalized carbon-based catalysts and supports, and provide insight into metal processing.
This instrument is being included in materials characterization lab courses. Students are being trained in the hands-on operation of this instrument for their research, which will provide them with valuable skills as they enter the workforce. Additionally, data collected from this instrument is being incorporated into a campus-wide visualization platform and accompanying immersive capabilities to enhance student education, scientific research, materials discovery, and STEM outreach, including in K-12 campus programs.
Last Modified: 11/19/2020
Modified by: David R Diercks
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