Industrial and National Lab Outreach

The UMD-MRSEC co-investigators have a strong program of scientific collaborations with industry, government laboratories and other educational institutions. The proposed MRSEC will support and help expand this program of scientific collaboration in the next grant period. Our collaborations have succeeded, and will continue to grow thanks to the broad range of scientific expertise, represented by the members of our IRG’s, and the variety of shared experimental facilities (SEF’s) available to our collaborators. In the coming funding cycle, we propose to extend the collaboration program by adding expanding formal contacts with neighboring federal laboratories and by graduate student internships with industry. These interactions will be coordinated with two other programs (see also Education Outreach Section) to expand collaboration a "sabbatical" visitation program for minority faculty and a collaboration with dedicated scientist educators to support the Outreach program of the proposal.

The University of Maryland is strategically placed geographically, such that it has a unique advantage when it comes to the development of collaborations with federal laboratories. Within a 30-mile radius of the campus, there are many federal laboratories with research programs appropriate for collaborations with our faculty in the areas of materials science and technology development. NIST, NIH, NRL, NSA, ARL, GSFC, the FDA and NOAA all have large research facilities near the campus. The new FDA and NOAA research facilities are within one mile of the campus, and a second FDA facility is scheduled to open later in 2005 less than 3 miles from the campus. Every one of these laboratories already has multiple collaborations established with faculty, and depends on the University of Maryland to provide many of the scientists that ultimately take jobs at those facilities.

MRSEC Workshops for Knowledge Exchange: The University of Maryland has strong programs in materials chemistry and nanotechnology that extend across three colleges (Engineering, Physical Sciences, and Life Sciences) and has worked diligently to expand this field of research on the campus for the past decade. Last year, the University made a significant commitment to materials chemistry program on the campus by establishing the University of Maryland NanoCenter, headed by Gary Rubloff. The financial commitment to the center is in excess of $20 million dollars, and it will be housed in the new Kim Engineering Building ($65 million). Several members of the MRSEC serve on the executive committee of the new center, and many more are affiliated with it. A major activity sponsored by the Maryland NanoCenter will be an annual one-day, multi-session symposium on Nanoscience and Engineering. Due to the obvious interest that this symposium should spawn in the regional community, the MRSEC will hold a series of one-day symposia and workshops focusing on Material Science in coordination with the Maryland NanoCenter’s Nanotechnology Day.

• Scanned probe microscopy measures functional properties of materials at nanoscale dimensions
• Focused ion beams sculpt nanoscale structures in electronic materials by pinpoint material removal, metal or dielectric deposition, and dopant implantation
• Near-field microwave microscopy provides contact-free, non-destructive measurement and characterization of electronic, magnetic materials at nanoscale dimensions
• Near-field scanning optical microscopy provides physical imaging and spectroscopy semiconductor and magnetic materials at nanoscale dimensions
• Photoelectron emission microscopy provides rapid, wide-field views of chip topography, dopant concentrations, wiring integrity at 80-nanometer resolution
• Pulsed laser deposition grows high quality epitaxial thin films of several materials, including multi-element compounds
• Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and ion channeling for materials analysis

Corporate and Small Business Outreach

• Scanned probe (microwave and SQUID) microscopy: Neocera, Inc., MD
  Collaborators: L. Knauss (Neocera), I. Takeuchi, S. Anlage / E.D. Williams (UMD-MRSEC)
  This outreach involves the development of novel scanned probes and their use for characterizing the electrical and magnetic properties of thin film materials and devices. The PI's and associated students will work with engineers at Neocera to jointly develop and characterize the hardware and software tools for the scanned microwave microscope.
        •  EPSCAN Microwave Microscopy
  
• EFM/MFM/Scanned Microscope Studies of Electromigration
  Collaborators: E. Williams / P. Rous(UMBC).
  This collaboration involves the use of magnetic force microscopy to measure the variation of current density in conjunction with structural changes during electromigration. The results of this research have recently been highlighted in Electron Device and Failure Analysis, volume 5 (November 2003) p. 45.
  
• In-situ TEM studies of domains in ferroelectric thin films: NEC
  Collaborators: A. Krishnan / M. Treacy / J. Chadi (NEC) and L. Salamanca-Riba (UMD-MRSEC)
  This collaboration will study the domain structure and the interaction of domains with microstructural features using teh state-of-the-art in-situ TEM capability at NEC, Princeton.
  
• Oxide Layers for Magnetic Tunnel Junctions: Seagate Technologies
  Collaborators: Song Xue (Seagate) and T. Venkatesan (UMD-MRSEC).
  This collaboration is exploring metal oxides for conducting and insulating layers in a magnetic tunnel junction.
  
• Temperature dependent TEM studies: Lucent Technologies (Bell Laboratories)
  Collaborators: S.C. Chen (Lucent) and T. Venkatesan / A. Millis / S. Cheong (MRSEC)
  This collaboration will use the temperature dependent TEM capabilities at Bell Labs to study electronic phase separation issues in samples prepared by IRG3 researchers.
  
• Growth and characterization of ferroelectric crystals: Lucent
  Collaborators: H. Safar (Lucent) and S. Cheong (UMD-MRSEC)
  This collaboration will focus on the growth of single crystals of ferroelectric oxides, which will be used to study polarization dynamics using optical techniques.
  

National Laboratory Outreach

• Self Assembly of Nanodevices for Homeland Security Applications: Laboratory for Physical Science
  Collaborators: E.D. Williams*, H.D. Drew*, M. Fuher*, R. Gomez*, D. Hines, S.B. Lee, R. Phaneuf*, D. Romero, G. Rubloff* and V. Ballarotto, W. Herman, P. Kolb, W. Vanderlinde.
  This collaboration is focused on developing key technology solutions for rapid systems fabrication on nontraditional substrates, such as thin film plastics, using non-traditional materials such as organic semiconductors, nanotubes, conducting polymers, etc. We anticipate that advances in this field will ultimately yeild small concealable systems that incorporate power harvesting, sensing, information processing and information exfiltration.
  * MRSEC co-I’s or Seed-fund recipients
  
• Development of Near Field Scanning Microscopy (NSOM): Laboratory for Physical Sciences
  Collaborators: P. Kolb, B. Palmer, B. Vanderlinde, D. Schmadel, H.D. Drew
  The goal of this work is to probe inhomogenieties in films and crystals on the 50 nanometer scale. This collaboration is developing the capability for NSOM at low temperatures (2 K to 400 K), high magnetic fields (15 T). High throughput polarization preserving NSOM tips are being developed that will eneable optical imaging to a spacial resolution of 50 nm. This effort is being funded through LPS at the level of approximately $200,000 per year.
  
• Raman and Photoluminescence studies of magnetic transition metal oxides: Laboratory for Physical Sciences
  Collaborators: D. Romero (LPS), A. Sushkov and H.D. Drew (UMD-MRSEC)
  This research collaboration is focused on understanding the electronic structure of magnetic transition metal oxides from Roman and micro-Raman and photoluminescence and micro-photoluminescence studies using the spectroscopic facilities at LPS.
  
• Optical Spectroscopy of metal oxide materials: Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA
  Collaborators: M. Quijada (NASA), A. Sushkov, J. Simpson, and H.D. Drew (UMD-MRSEC)
  This collaboration is focused on the exploration of the optical properties of novel transition metal oxide materials for optical applications.
  
• Development / application of LEEM and PEEM and STM: Laboratory for Physical Sciences
  Collaborators: R. Phaneuf (LPS/UMD-MRSEC), P. Sczcepanek (LPS) and E.D. Williams (UMD-MRSEC)
  LPS will contribute in-kind matching to the extent of $180,000 per year for salary and equipment development involving low energy electron microscopy (LEEM), photoelectron emission microscopy and STM for characterization, processing and imaging of nanoelectronic devices. LPS guarantees that at least 25% of LEEM time will be available for basic research under MRSEC support.
  
• Raman Studies of Ferroelectric Thin Films: NIST, Optical Technology Division
  Collaborators: D. Romero / R. Datla (NIST) and H. D. Drew (UMD-MRSEC).
  This research collaboration is focused on understanding the structural and defect properties of epitaxial ferroelectric and magnetic oxide thin films using the Raman scattering capability at NIST, such as the microscopic origins of hydrogen damage. Results have been published.
  
• Neutron diffraction studies of magnetic oxides: NIST, Physics Division
  Collaborators: J. Lynn (NIST) and R.L. Greene (UMD-MRSEC)
  This project focuses on the use of neutron scattering techniques to understand the structural and magnetic properties of the magnetic oxide thin films and bulk materials studied in IRG3. The post-doc involved in this project will be paid 50% by MRSEC and 50% by NIST.
  
• Imaging technologies for nanoelectronics: Laboratory for Physical Sciences and Sandia National Laboratory
  Collaborators: E.D. Williams, R. Phaneuf (LPS/UMD-MRSEC) and A. Campbell (Sandia)
  This collaboration is aimed at comparing and contrasting different semiconductor electronic device imaging technologies, including specifically, PEEM, LIVA, and SEM with the goal of exploring the limits of sensitivity and spatial resolution of these techniques. It is funded through LPS to the extent of $110,000 per year.
  
• Single crystal Si wafers for metrology: NIST, Metrology Division
  Collaborators: T. Vorburger (NIST) and E.D. Williams (UMD-MRSEC)
  Well characterized steps on Si surfaces prepared at UMD-MRSEC are being used as metrology standards in a round robin study of AFM calibration in IBM, Topometrix, NIST, Digital Instruments, Park Scientific Instruments, Texas Insturments, and Veeco. NIST is contributing approximately $45,000 per year.
  
• Ferroelectric thin films for microwave applications: NASA Lewis
  Collaborators: F. Miranda (NASA) and R. Ramesh / S. Anlage (UMD-MRSEC)
  This collaboration is focused on exploring the growth and use of ferroelectric and dielectric thin films (specifically Barium Strontium Titanate, BST) thin films for tunable microwave applications such as filters and phase shifters. NASA Lewis will partly fund some of the costs of doing this project.
  
• Photoemission spectroscopy studies: Brookhaven National Labs
  Collaborators: P. Johnson (BNL) and S.W. Cheong / T. Venkatesan (MRSEC)
  Temperature-dependent, spin-polarized UV photoemission and XPS studies of surface spin polarization and surface chmical composition of magnetic oxide materials will be carried out to understand why the surface is so different from the bulk.
  
• Magnetic circular dichroism and tunneling studies: Naval Research Laboratory
  Collaborators: Y. Idzerda / R. Soulen (NRL) and T. Venkatesan / S. Cheong (UMD-MRSEC)
  The goal will be to measure magnetization at surfaces and interfaces as a function of temperature and also measure spin polarization quantitatively at low temperatures via tunneling on thin films/crystals.
  
• High energy Rutherford backscattering: Los Alamos National Laboratory
  Collaborators: J. Tesmer / M. Nastasie (LANL) and T. Venkatesan / A.J. Millis (MRSEC)
  This outreach is an attempt to use the higher energy ion beams (>8MeV) available at Los Alamos to determine oxygen content of transition metal oxide films. A MRSEC graduate student will work at Los Alamos under the supervision of Drs. Tesmer and Nastasie.
  
• Resonant X-ray scattering: Brookhaven National Labs
  Collaborators: J. Hill (BNL) and S. Cheong / V. Kiryukhin (UMD-MRSEC)
  The resonant x-ray scattering technique will be used to study 'orbital ordering' in magnetic oxide single crystals (Cheong). The results will be used to determine the physical origin of the short orrelation lengths observed in the ordered state and its significance for multiphase coexistence.
  
• Transmission Electron Microscopy Studies of DMS Oxides: Lawrence Berkeley Labs
  Collaborators: N. Browning (LBL and UC Davis) and T. Venkatesan (UMD_MRSEC)
  Using high resolution EELS studies we are showing that the ferromagnetism observed in Co doped oxide hosts are indeed arising from intrinsic effects as opposed ti clustering. Further microstructural studies would be of help in elucidating the mechanism of the ferromagnetism in these dilute systems.