Research Facilities

  • State of the art facilities are available for the synthesis, structure characterization, compositional analysis, and property measurement of electronic ceramic systems.
  • The Penn Regional Nanotechnology Facility houses an electron microscopy laboratory with three TEM's, including a JEOL2010FEG microscope equipped with an EDS x-ray spectrometer and parallel EELS system with a Gatan image filter.  This microscope it capable of producing 2.3 A point-to point imaging resolution and the STEM can yield chemical analysis with 1-2nm resolution.  We also have a JEOL 4000EX high resolution microscope capable of collecting images with 1.9A resolution.  The facility also contains 2 SEM's for surface morphology and quantitative analytical characterization.   The facility also contains a FEI Strata DB235 Focused Ion Beam that bridges the gap between nanocharacterization and nanomachining by combining a high resolution field-emission scanning electron microscope with a focused ion beam. Uniting these techniques in a single instrument allows users to seamlessly switch from secondary electron imaging to precision ion milling and ion-beam assisted material depostion and selective etching. Four gas injection systems allow for platinum deposition and selective etching of carbon, metals, and oxides. Both AFM and STM systems are available for detailed studies of surface topology and electronic properties and the  ion scattering facility contains an RBS system for quantitative compositional analysis of bulk and thin film systems.
  • The MSE department has x-ray powder diffractometers and associated software for the simulation and refinement of powder patterns and for crystal structure visualization.  The MRSEC Program  at Penn (LRSM) is also affiliated with synchrotron and neutron lines at major National Laboratory facilities.
  • Our laboratory contains furnaces capable for preparing ceramic materials at temperatures up to 17000C under a variety of atmospheres.
  • Equipment for characterization of material properties includes an LCR system for dielectric measurements from 100Hz to 1MHz at temperatures from liquid nitrogen to 2000C.  A Radiant Ferroelectric testing system for polarization-field measurements.  A network analyzer for  loss measurements of microwave materials up to 20GHz using resonant cavity techniques.  We also share the use of a PPMS (Physical Properties Measurement System) that can measure resistance, AC susceptibility and DC magnetization down to liquid helium temperatures and up to fields of 9 Tesla.