Visualization, Imaging and Modeling: Shared Instrumentation in Materials Research and Education

Introduction

The proposed activity in Visualization, Instrumentation and Modeling (VIM) is focused on shared instrumentation, involving the development of virtual characterization laboratories in two industrial companies, two universities, and a National Laboratory (the Air Force Research Laboratory) within the State of Ohio. In addition to being used for research activities in materials science and engineering, these virtual laboratories will be used in undergraduate science education, a program which will be increasingly introduced into 9-12th grade education. These two activities, research and education, will be explained below.

Research Activities

Almost all areas of advanced technology, e.g., nanotechnology, bio-materials and bio-medical engineering, power generation, and transportation, require the development of advanced materials and the optimization of existing ones. To be competitive, this development must be accomplished in an accelerated manner, accompanied by a reduction in costs. The Center for the Accelerated Maturation of Materials (CAMM) at the Ohio State University (OSU) has been involved in coupling and integrating computational modeling schemes with critical experiment to achieve this goal of accelerated materials development. In this case, critical experiment often involves the use of sophisticated research instrumentation for the characterization of materials down to the atomic scale. A problem arises involving the increasingly high costs of this instrumentation and hence the difficulty involving equipment acquisition experienced by many research organizations, including academia, national laboratories and industry. Consequently, although new m

ethods required for the accelerated development of materials are being made available, it is very difficult for most research organizations to be able to take advantage of these state-of-the-art research tools. This proposal is aimed at providing a solution to this problem by developing virtual characterization laboratories providing remote access to highly sophisticated equipment installed within CAMM at OSU.

During the initial two year period, it is proposed that remote access to four instruments be provided over the Third Frontier Network (TFN), providing essentially real-time interaction between remote user and machine. These will include two scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and two transmission electron microscopes (TEM). Regarding the scanning electron microscopes, one is a state-of-the-art imaging machine providing the highest spatial resolution possible. This instrument includes an energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer for analysis of local chemical compositions. The second scanning electron microscope offers reasonably high spatial resolution for imaging, but includes an orientation imaging system for determining local crystallographic information and texture. The transmission electron microscopes are both state-of-the-art machines, one optimized for high spatial (atomic) resolution and the other for analytical transmission electron microscopy. These microscopes offer facilities and capabilities not available at the remote sites designated to be participants in the present proposal.

These instruments are manufactured by the FEI Company, headquartered in Hillsboro, OR, and with design and manufacturing facilities in Eindhoven, Netherlands. They have been developing both the Virtual Laboratory Netherlands (VLN) and the Virtual Laboratory for e-Science (VLeS), which involve participants having remote access to equipment similar to that to be placed in the virtual laboratory being proposed here. It has been agreed that a collaborative effort will be established which will permit an acceleration of the development of the OSU effort.

It is planned to initiate the virtual laboratory with two companies (Timken and General Electric Aircraft Engines (GEAE), two universities (University of Cincinnati and Wright State University) and a National Laboratory (AFRL). During the first year, emphasis will be placed on providing SEM access to Timken and advanced TEM access to UC and AFRL; access for the second company and university will be added during the second year.

During the first year, the remote access infrastructure and procedures will be developed and implemented. Also, training protocols for intended operators at the companies, laboratories and universities will be established. Full access is expected to be on-line from the third quarter of the year. During the second year, the additional users will be added to the scheme.

Educational Activities

Part of the proposed effort will be focused on educational outreach. At first, it is intended to develop a modular approach to the teaching of the principles and use of SEM and TEM to undergraduate students at OSU, UC and WSU. These modules will also be offered to the industrial collaborators and research personnel at AFRL as part of continuing education and retraining. The instruction will involve web-based classes coupled with hands-on remote access demonstrations. The classes will lead to longer term undergraduate research projects involving materials characterization where the SEMs and TEMs may be accessed remotely. It is believed that these educational activities will lead to a richer undergraduate experience.

As this educational activity for undergraduates is developed, modified components of the modules will be rendered for use at a local high school. Negotiations are underway with the FEI Company who are being requested to donate a rudimentary SEM which may be dedicated to this part of the proposed educational program, so that students at the high school may be able to access the instrument essentially at will, without having to compete for time on the research machines.