WVU NSE Facility Base

Materials Growth and Characterization

Multifunctional Materials Laboratory (MML)

The MML consists of four separate laboratories comprising approximately 2500 square feet of clean space and an additional 1000 sq ft of standard lab space housing materials growth and characterization facilities. Located in Physics, under the direction of David Lederman, the MML supports interdisciplinary collaborations with the Department of Chemistry, the School of Pharmacy, and the College of Engineering.  The MML represents an infrastructure investment of over $3.5 million, with funding coming from the Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation’s Instrumentation for Materials Research, Materials Research Instrumentation, and EPSCoR programs, the West Virginia University Research Corporation, the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, the West Virginia Challenge Grant program, and the Department of Physics.  We have obtained equipment donations from General Electric, BAE, Texas Instruments and NRL. 

Multifunctional Materials MBE Growth Room (Class 1000) 
The newest growth capability consists of a unique set of three MBE systems for the fabrication of very thin layers and nanostructures of oxides, nitrides, fluorides, and metals.  The different MBE systems are interconnected via a load-locked UHV distribution chamber.   Their structure can be assessed by an array of advanced in-situ characterization techniques, including electron diffraction, x-ray dispersive analysis, and cathodoluminescence.  There is also LEED, Auger and an Omicron UHV scanning probe microscope in an additional chamber connected in UHV via the distribution chamber. This lab was made possible using NSF instrumentation grants and ONR DURIP funding. 

Additional Stand-alone MBE Growth (Class 1000)

• VG-80 Group III-V (including Nitride) System
• Seven port custom compact GaN MBE Growth System
• Fifteen port II-VI MBE Growth System

Microscopy Room  (Class 10,000)

• Nomarski interference/contrast microscope
• Scanning electron microscopy with EDS capability retrofitted to allow e-beam lithography
• E-beam compatible resist spinner
• Veeco Multimode Scanning Probe Microscope.  This SPM is capable of measuring organic and biological samples in solution, as well as scan in AFM, EFM, MFM, and STM modes.
• Dektak surface profiler

Optical Characterization Room  (Class 10,000)

• Photoluminescence system based on Argon ion laser and an 0.3 m spectrometer, 14-400K
• Spectral/Temporal Photoconductivity Measurement System, 14-400K, 10 nS resolution
• Imaging Raman/PL system from Renishaw with sub-micrometer spatial resolution

Magnetic and Structural Characterization Laboratory 

• Standard 2q x-ray diffractometer; 18 kW rotating anode x-ray system (Rigaku) with 4-circle goniometer (Huber); a 2-circle goniometer for x-ray reflectivity measurements (Huber)
• Hall effect and temperature-dependent resistivity (with either a standard electromagnet (1T) or a Janis superconducting magnet (12T)
• Quantum Design SQUID(7 T) magnetometer capable of measuring in the 2 K to 800 K temperature range
• EGG vibrating sample magnetometer;
• Magnetooptic Kerr effect magnetometer
• Ferroelectric Tester.

MOCVD Growth and Characterization Laboratory

 The Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) laboratory is directed by Korakakis and located in the Engineering Research Building on the Evansdale Campus of WVU. The lab was set up through a research collaboration with Aixtron Inc.

The MOCVD system has been set up for the growth of III-Nitrides films and heterostructures making the system especially useful for UV – visible optical sources and detectors as well as wide bandgap electronic and photonic device applications. The MOCVD gas lines are: hydrogen and nitrogen as carrier gases, ammonia for growth and dilute silane in hydrogen for n-type doping. The MOCVD is also equipped with an EPIRAS system for the thickness and quality monitoring of the epitaxially growing layer. The system is connected to a single phase scrubber to decompose the exhausted ammonia.  The capabilities of this system which include wide area (50mm substrate size) device quality growth, high growth rate (1.4 micron/hr), and wide source and epitaxial (and grown) material variety make this system an excellent compliment to the MBE systems of the Multifunctional Materials Lab. 

Additionally, for the support of the growth and device work, the following equipment is available in the lab:

• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
• Scanning Ellipsometer
• Hall measurement system
• Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy and Capacitance-Voltage profiling
• 4 probe measuring station.
• White light spectrometry for thickness measurements.