Friday, January 25, 2002Volume 2, Issue 2
The Materials Characterization Lab
An update on the activities at MCL:
- Equipment summary
- American Vacuum Society (AVS) Short Courses being organized by MRI/MCL, Summer 2002
- How to gain access to MCL equipment
- List of current fees
- New equipment (XPS, STEM, FE-SEM, SEM/ESEM, XRD, OIM, DSC, TGA)
- Undergraduate and graduate coursework and MCL use
- Seed funds to aid in obtaining preliminary data
- Equipment proposals
- EQUIPMENT SUMMARY - MCL is a fully staffed analytical and testing facilities laboratory, which serves the materials community at Penn State offering more than 25 techniques and support services. It operates on a breakeven principle and is partially subsidized by the Materials Research Institute. Services offered include:
- Microscopy (TEM, SEM, ESEM, AFM, Orientation Imaging Microscopy)
- Surface and Thin Film (XPS/ESCA, SIMS, EPMA)
- Structural Analysis (XRD, FTIR, Raman, UV-Visible, XRR)
- Chemical Analysis (ICP, ICP-MS, DCP, AAS, IC)
- Physical Property Determination (dielectric properties, powder characterization, thermal analysis)
- Materials Processing (sintering lab, metal sputtering, hot press, sample preparation, machine shop)
- SHORT COURSES - MCL will be hosting a number of 1-, 2-, and 3-day materials-related short courses aimed at educating grad students, faculty, staff, visitors, post docs and industry in specific technologies. These courses will be taught by experts in their respective fields. A tentative listing of courses is given below. Other topics are welcome. More information is available on our website at http://www.mri.psu.edu/pages/shortcourses.asp, including a survey form that we ask you to complete if you are interested in taking any of these courses. Contact me at (
Validate to view address - Send Email via form
) if you are interested in one or more courses OR if you'd like to suggest another course topic.
- Introduction to vacuum technology (3 days), Jack Singleton - consultant
- Microfabrication Technology for Micro-electromechanical Systems (1 day), Stella Pang - University of Michigan
- Quantitative X-ray Diffraction (2 days), Scott Misture - Alfred University
- Orientation Imaging Microscopy, TBA
- Focused Ion Beam: Principles and Applications (1 day), Fred Stevie - Lucent Technologies
- Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (1 day), Fred Stevie - Lucent Technologies
- Sputter deposition (1 day), Joe Greene - University of Illinois
- Plasma etching and RIE (1 day), John Coburn - University of California
- Colloid chemistry, Jim Adair - Penn State University
- Dielectrics for Microelectronics (1 day), Eugene Irene - University of North Carolina
- Chemical mechanical planarization (1 day), John Givens - consultant
- ACCESS - All University researchers (faculty, staff, students and post docs) are encouraged to utilize MCL facilities. We offer individual training at anytime during the year, although most new users and graduate students choose to get trained during the summer when we offer the most comprehensive sessions. If researchers do not have the need to be individually trained, in most cases an MCL staff member will perform analyses for you and help with interpretation.
- FEES - We have reduced the rates for many of the techniques; a new fee sheet is located at http://www.mri.psu.edu/mcl/rate_table2.pdf.
- NEW EQUIPMENT - We recently installed (or will be taking delivery of shortly) several new pieces of equipment:
- Orientation Imaging Microscopy (OIM) - June 2001
- Hot stage X-ray Diffraction (XRD) - September 2001
- Differential Scanning Calorimetry/Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (DSC-TGA) - January 2002
- Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with environmental capabilities - January 2002 (through a special arrangement with Engineering Sciences and Mechanics)
- X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS/ESCA) - February 2002
- Field Emission Transmission Electron Microscope (FE-TEM) - June 2002
- Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) - Summer 2002
- GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE CLASSES - MCL offers complete access to our facilities and personnel for undergraduate and graduate teaching. If you would like to inquire about lab tours, assistance with analysis or student projects please contact Jeff Shallenberger.
- SEED FUNDS - A small MCL seed grant fund has been established to aid faculty in obtaining preliminary data for proposals. These funds can only be used to cover the cost of MCL instrumentation and personnel. To inquire, please send a brief description of your request to Jeff Shallenberger.
- EQUIPMENT PROPOSALS - We are eager to offer our assistance on proposal preparation for equipment that will be made available via our facility. We are intimately familiar with not only the technical aspects of various types of analytical equipment, but also the supporting information required such as educational and outreach activities, maintenance, operation and training. We can frequently recommend faculty with overlapping interests that can further aid in justification of equipment to federal agencies.
- CONTACT INFORMATION - We are in the process of upgrading our web page (www.mri.psu.edu/facilities/mcl). Please check there for the latest develops, links to personnel, online instrument sign-ups, etc. If anyone has any questions about how to get access to MCL, the techniques we offer, training, rates, locations or equipment proposals feel free to contact:
Jeff Shallenberger
Tel: 865-0337
Email: Validate to view address - Send Email via form
Special MRI Faculty Meeting
January 31, 2002, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m., 189 MRL Building
Here is your chance to get specific information, and answers to your questions, about proposal submissions, negotiating new contracts, matching policy, responsibility for uncollected invoices, spinning-off your own discoveries into a business, and any other questions you might have about PSU procedures and policies.
I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO ATTEND - Please R.S.V.P. to April Benson ( Validate to view address - Send Email via form ) and we will reserve a box lunch for you.
Agenda:
- Introductions - Pantano/Cornwall
- Proposal, Contract Administration and Negotiations - Killoren
- Cost Matching Guidelines and Policies - McGrath
- Budgeting and Financial Administration - Doncsecz
- Research Accounting and Invoicing - Mattern
- Intellectual Property and Commercialization Issues - Weber
- Panel Discussion - all
Frontiers in Materials
Mark your calendars for an exciting set of seminars that capture current aspects of interdisciplinary materials research.
New Funding Opportunities
Through a single Small Grants Programs announcement, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the Department of Commerce has eight funding opportunities for FY 2002. Application procedures, deadlines and review criteria vary by program.
Materials Seminars
Friday, January 25, 2002Location: 210 Hallowell BuildingThursday, January 31, 2002
Title: Electrode Design for Interfacing with the Peripheral Nervous System
Speaker: Dominique M. Durand, PhD Professor Biomedical Engineering and Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University
Location: 112 Kern BldgTuesday, February 05, 2002
Title: Electroactive Polymeric and Organic Materials for Thin-Film Transistor Technologies
Speaker: Andy Lovinger, NSF
Location: 22 Deike BldgTuesday, February 12, 2002
Title: The National (and Global) Nanotechnology Initiative: Big Expectations from Small Structures
Speaker: Jim Murday, NRL
Location: 22 Deike Bldg
Title: Integrated Nanotechnologies - Putting Small Things to Work
Speaker: Terry Michalske, Sandia National Lab
