Peruse each section below, listed by CNMS research groups, for a quick list of capabilities offered at CNMS. Visit the group pages for more detailed information.
electron Materials MicroAnalysis Group Capabilities
Aberration Corrected STEM
Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope with an ‘extreme Schottky’ high-brightness field emission gun (X-FEG) and variable operating voltages (60 and 300 kV). Equipped with Gatan Quantum GIF for dual-EELS and fast spectrum imaging , One View Camera and STEMx for 4D-STEM experiments, and specialty holders (Cryo, Tomography, Liquid, Gas, Thermal, Electrical Bias)
Aberration-corrected S/TEM-EELS microscope equipped with a cold-field emission gun, JEOL ASCOR aberration corrector, operating at 30kV, 60kV, 80kV, and 200kV with Gatan Quantum GIF for EELS/EFTEM, dual large solid angle EDS, secondary electron, segmented and pixelated STEM detectors. Specialty holders available for Cryo STEM, tomography, heating and electrical bias experiments.
Ultra high-vacuum, low voltage (60-100kV), aberration-corrected STEM/EELS equipped with a cold-field emission gun, Nion IRIS spectrometer, and Dectris ELA hybrid-pixel detector. Specialty holders available for heating and electrical biasing experiments.
Monochromated aberration-corrected STEM (“MACSTEM”) with a side-entry stage, provides high-vacuum, low voltage (60-100kV), aberration-corrected STEM and monochromated EELS to below 10 meV energy resolution. It is equipped with a cold-field emission gun, Nion IRIS spectrometer, and Dectris ELA hybrid-pixel detector. Specialty holders available for heating, cooling to liquid nitrogen temperatures, and electrical biasing experiments.
Cryo Electron Microscopy
Thermo Fisher Scientific Krios G4 Cryo-TEM
Dedicated 300kV Cryo-S/TEM, equipped with a high brightness “extreme Schottky” field emission gun (X-FEG), is ideally suited for cryo-electron tomography, single particle analysis, and micro-electron diffraction applications.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Talos L120C TEM
Dedicated 120kV Cryo-TEM, equipped with a LaB6 source, Ceta CMOS Camera, and Gatan multi-specimen, single tilt cryo-transfer holder for cryo-TEM imaging and analysis.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Helios Hydra 5 Cryo PFIB
DualBeam cryogenic plasma FIB instrument equipped with four plasma bean ion sources (Xe, Ar, O, and N), cryogenic system for sample preparation and transfer, and SE/BSE/ICE/EDS/EBSD detectors.
Atom Probe Tomography
A local electrode atom probe (LEAP) with a UV, 250 kHz laser, a 200 kHz high-voltage pulse generator, reflectron energy compensating lens, and a single atom cross delay line position-sensitive detector.
Thermo Fisher Helios 5 CX DualBeam FIB
Dedicated dual beam focused ion beam instrument used for APT preparation of site-specific, needle shaped specimens and equipped with SE, TLD, DBS and EDS detectors.
Focused ion beam instrument dedicated to the fabrication of site-specific, needle shaped specimens required for APT.
TEM Specimen Preparation
Fischione Instruments Model 1040 NanoMill
This instrument is an ultra-low energy argon ion beam milling system for thinning TEM samples.
Fischione Instruments Model 1010 Ion Mill
This instrument uses an argon ion beam to perform final ion-beam milling of the specimen to electron transparency.
Gatan Ilion Model 693 Precision Cross-Section Mills
The Gatan Model 693 Ilion Precision Cross-Section Milling System is a broad beam argon ion milling system for the preparation of ultra-smooth surfaces for SEM and EBSD.
This instrument uses an argon ion beam to perform final ion-beam milling of the specimen to electrontransparency.
Thermo Fisher Vitrobot Mark IV
This semi-automated vitrification system allows for fast, easy, and reproducible cryoEM sample preparation.
Leica EM ICE High Pressure Freezer
Allows for cryo-immobilization of solvated samples under high pressure, with controlled freezing to prevent crystalline ice formation.
Leica EM UC7 Cryogenic Ultramicrotome
Allows for ultra-thin sectioning of resin-embedded, room temperature samples or cryo-immobilized samples.
Functional AFM Group Capabilities
ADVANCED AFM CAPABILITIES FOR FUNCTIONAL STUDIES
Nano- and Electromechanics
Study of nanoscale elastic and plastic properties by stiffness, adhesion and friction force measurements
Nano Electromechanical Measurements
Piezoresponse Force Microscopy to detect mechanical deformation of materials under bias modulated AFM tips, to study piezoelectricity and ionic motion
Electric and Dielectric Responses
Study of local conductive properties and I(V) spectrosctopy by using the AFM tip as a top mobile electrode
Electrostatic and Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy
Measurement of local surface work functions and tip sample electrostatic interactions to study surface charge states
Scanning Microwave Impedance Microscopy
Study of electrical capacitance, dielectric properties and dielectric losses by reflected microwave radiation using the AFM tip as a MW antenna
Environmental Control and Solid-Liquid Interfaces
Laser assisted sample heating through AFM tip, to study thermal dependence of functional properties
Fully automated large scanning AFM (DriveAFM, Nanosurf) equipped with hollow microfluidic probes
Control of environmental conditions with AFM in Ar filled glove box
Control of environmental conditions in AFM using an environmental cell for gases and liquids
Advanced Spectroscopies & Workflows
Adaptive Band Excitation and Software for SPM
Hardware and software toolbox for multifrequency SPM modes
G-Mode Controller and Software for SPM
Hardware and software toolbox for full signal data acquisition and processing
Scanning Oscillator and Software for SPM
Multifrequency toolbox for synchronous modulation of external fields in SPMs
PyScanner Controller and Software for SPM
Hardware and software toolbox for customized control of SPM operation parameters (scanners and tip motion)
SCANNING PROBES AND PHOTONICS LAB
Nanoscale Combined Optical and SPM Measurements
Anasys NanoIR AFM (Bruker) with 4 chip QLC laser for IR absorption spectroscopy in contact resonance mode
Integra Spectra II AFM (NT-MDT) combining general purpose AFM with Raman confocal spectrometry
Scanning Near Field Optical Microscopy
AFM Tip induced near field spectroscopy for sub-wavelength resolution
UHV SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPIES
Variable temperature UHV AFM with optical beam deflection detection for contact and non-contact measurements
QUANTUM ELECTRONIC AND MAGNETIC PROBES
Study of magnetic nanostructures and nanoscale ferromagnetism
ToF SIMS
ToF.SIMS.5-NSC combining FIB, AFM and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometer (ToF-SIMS) in the same vacuum chamber for correlative functional and chemical characterization
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Group Capabilities
See group page for full list, including ultra-high vacuum, variable temperature, and low temperature cabailities
Functional Hybrid Nanomaterials Group Capabilities
Synthesis
Pulsed Laser Deposition of Thin Films
Several PLD systems for thin film growth
Pulsed Laser Deposition with in situ Diagnostics
PLD systems with in situ plume and film diagnostics
Autonomous PLD Synthesis Development Platform
Automated PLD with XPS, Raman, and AI/ML Exploration
Multiple CVD systems for 2D materials growth
Optical Characterization
CL with nm resolution, single photon detection
Tunable Low Frequency Raman Spectroscopy
Tunable CW laser and Raman spectroscopy
Raman and PL at cryogenic temperatures
Ultra-fast (fs) Pump-Probe Spectroscopy
Femtosecond laser and UV-Vis microspectroscopy
Renishaw Confocal Raman Microscopy and Fluorescence Mapping Systems
Raman and PL mapping in specialized environments
Cary 5000 UV-Vis-NIR Spectrophotometer
Spectrophotometer for absorption spectra with multiple specialized attachments
Fluorometer and Luminescence Spectroscopy System
Fluorescence and PLE spectra of liquids, UV-Vis to NIR
Optical height profiling with 10 nm resolution
Processing
Controlled Atmosphere Glovebox Facility Overview
Multi-glovebox for 2D material exfoliation, transfer, electrode deposition, and testing
Fully Motorized 2D Transfer System
HQGraphene system for automated stamping of 2D materials
“Hands off” bonding of samples in glovebox
Confocal Raman Imaging Microscope in Glovebox
WiTec Apyron automated Raman imaging of 2D material heterostructures
Raith Picomaster 100 in glovebox for writing electrode patterns
Angstrom Engineering Amod Electron Beam/Thermal Evaporator
For precise thin film deposition of electrodes and coatings
Sonospray Deposition of Nanomaterials and Organics
Sonicated tip spray deposition of nanomaterial solutions
Properties Measurements
Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS)
Electrical transport, magnetometry, DC resisitivity measurements to cryogenic temperatures
Multifunctional Environmental Chamber
In situ measurement of electrical, optical, and gravimetric/viscoelastic properties of thin films in changing temperature, gas pressure and type, humidity
Electrochemical (AC and DC) and Optical Characterization Measurement System
Impedance measurement systems by Biolin and Zahner with optical excitation for multiple applications
Q-Sense Pro Gravimetric/Viscoelastic Thin Film Properties Measurement System
QCM-D sensing of gravimetric and viscoelastic changes in thin films measures adsorption/desorption, binding, cross-linking, and other surface interactions
External Quantum Efficiency Measurement System for Light Emitting Devices
Calibrated LED efficiency measurement system
External Quantum Efficiency of Photovoltaic Devices
Calibrated PV efficiency testing system by Hamamatsu
X-ray Characterization
Xenocs Xeuss 2.0 & 3.0 Small- and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS/WAXS) System
Structural characterization of nanomaterials, such as polymers, nanocomposites, patterned structures, thin films, gels and biological samples
Malvern PANalytical Aeris Benchtop X-ray Diffraction (XRD) System
Used for determining the chemical and phase structure of materials
Malvern PANalytical X’Pert Pro MPD High Resolution X-ray Diffraction System
Utilized for the identification of crystalline phase structure and quantitative phase analysis
Multipurpose X-ray diffractometer for X-ray reflectivity, reciprocal space mapping, rocking curve analysis, theta-2theta scans, and texture analysis
Functional Hybrid Characterization
Photocatalysis, Electrocatalysis and Plasma Catalysis
Specialized systems for photo-, plasma-, and electro-induced catalysis
MacroMolecular Nanomaterials Group Capabilities
Macromolecular Synthesis
For an overview, including anionic polymerization, step-growth polymerization, surface-initiated polymerization, and novel polymers and precursors visit here.
Deuterated Monomers, Polymers, Ionic Liquids, and Specialty Molecules
For an overview, including Synthesis of Deuterated Monomers and Building Blocks, Selective Deuteration of Polymers, and Biodeuteration, visit here.
Macromolecular Characterization—Molecular Weight, Spectroscopy, Scattering, Thermal Analysis, Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy
Bruker NEO Console 500 MHz NMR
Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC)
Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy
Varian Cary 5000 UV-Visable NIR
Bruker Vertex70 FTIR Spectrometer
Two-Dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy (2DIR)
Thin Film Characterization
JA Woollam M-2000U Spectroscopic Ellipsometer
Kruss DSA 30 Contact Angle Goiniometer
Sum-Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy
3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing
Nanofabrication Research Laboratory Group Capabilities
Thin Film Deposition & Reactive Ion Etching
A Lesker ALD150LX and Oxford FlexAl system are available to deposit ultra-thin conformal films of oxides and nitrides.
First Nano Rapid Thermal Processor
Controlled heating of samples for annealing and material modification.
High temperature deposition of high quality dielectric films
Oxford Plasmalab System 100 PECVD
Plasma enhanced deposition of silicon based films.
Oxford Plasmalab System 100 Reactive Ion Etchers
Chlorine, fluorine, & cryogenic dry etching of thin films and silicon substrates.
DiamoTek 700-6 Microwave Plasma Diamond CVD Film Deposition Diamond Film Deposition
Deposition of nano-crystalline diamond thin films.
DC Magnetron sputtering and electron beam evaporation are available for physical vapor deposition of metals, as well as some dielectric and semiconducting materials.
Electron Beam and Optical Lithography
JEOL 8100 FS Electron Beam Lithography
Create nanoscale patterns in electron beam resist across large areas at high speeds
SUSS MicroTech Contact Aligner
Align and expose photoresist patterns using masks created here or at home
Design and create your own masks onsite in hours
Heidelberg MLA150 Maskless Aligner
Rapid mask and direct substrate writing
3D Direct-write ion, electron and optical processing
Nanoscribe Photonics Professional GT System
Multiphoton lithography to create unique 3D polymer architectures
Raith Velion Multiple Ion Species Ion Beam Lithography System
Multi-ion direct write processing at the wafer-scale
Thermo Scientific Helios 5 Hydra UX DualBeam Multiple Ion Plasma FIB / SEM
Precise focused ion beam (FIB) milling and etching combined with metal/insulator deposition for nanoscale prototyping, machining, 2D and 3D-characterization, and analysis
Zeiss Orion NanoFab Helium Ion Microscope
Helium and neon offer extensive possibility for imaging and exploring creation of functional defects in materials
Design, Characterization & Packaging
Asylum MFP-3D Atomic Force Microscope
AFM measurement of surface properties and topography
Merlin FE-SEM can achieve an image resolution of 1 nanometer and is coupled with a Bruker energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) system
Phenom XL Scanning Electron Microscope
Benchtop imaging with nanoscale resolution
Wyko NT9800 Optical Profilometer
Optical measurement of surface topography and vibrational characteristics
Work with staff members to layout your project and create physical models before you arrive and throughout your collaboration.
Wafers to chips with precision
SCS PDS2010 Lab Coater 2 Parylene Coating System
Deposit parylene for encapsulation and dry lift-off
Optical Thin Film Characterization
Interferometric and ellipsometric measurements of thin films
Bio-affiliate Labs & Optical Microscopy
Ultra high resolution and Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy, Time-lapse brightfield and epifluorscence microscopy and facilities for cell culture and sample preparation are available.
Understand the performance of your devices in controlled environments
Nanomaterials Theory Institute Group Capabilities
See group page for full list.
Data NanoAnalytics Group Capabilities
See group page for full list.