University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB ... - FEI Company

CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY
University of California at Santa Barbara
“Electron microscopy,
whether with SEM
or TEM techniques,
allows us to link
structure with
physical properties.
It’s an essential part
of our research.”
— Professor James Speck
With an enrollment of
approximately 20,000
students, the University of
California at Santa Barbara
includes five schools that offer
more than 200 majors. UCSB’s
world-renowned Materials
Department uses FEI products
to conduct groundbreaking
research.
www.materials.ucsb.edu
www.mrl.ucsb.edu
Material Success
FEI delivers the varied materials analysis capabilities
needed by researchers at the University of California
at Santa Barbara.
The University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) is one of the world’s leaders in
materials research. Two Nobel Laureates, one winner of the Millennium Prize, thirteen
members of the National Academy of Engineering, five members of the National Academy
of Sciences, and two Fellows of the Royal Society are members of the UCSB’s Materials
Department. Top faculty and graduate students drive the department’s achievements,
and exceptional facilities and a collaborative atmosphere support them every step of the
way. With state-of-the-art equipment and a multi-disciplinary approach, the large Microscopy
and Microanalysis Facility is emblematic of the Materials Department’s recipe for
success. The lab houses one Titan 80-300 S/TEM and two Tecnai 20 G 2 Sphera transmission
electron microscopes (TEMs) from FEI along with an Inspect S scanning electron
microscope (SEM) and a Strata DualBeam, which includes SEM and focused ion beam
(FIB) capabilities. By taking advantage of FEI products and service, UCSB’s Materials
Department is able to:
•
•
•
Prepare some types of samples four times faster
View and analyze high-resolution images of atomic scale structure and materials
defects
Ensure high levels of availability for shared characterization tools
The Challenge
Materials researchers face substantial challenges. It can be time-consuming to prepare
samples for analysis, and many types of samples deteriorate quickly. Though often
necessary for accurate characterization, high-resolution images of atomic-scale structural
details can be hard to capture without artifacts. Open 24 hours a day, the Microscopy and
Microanalysis Facility at UCSB is designed and equipped to help overcome these challenges.
Professors, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students use advanced equipment
in the lab to do everything from preparing samples to conducting structural analysis and
characterizing materials.

“With all the difficulties inherent in good research, the last
thing our people need is undependable tools,” says Dr. Jan
Löfvander, a lab manager at UCSB. “It’s essential that our
researchers can count on their equipment to be available as
scheduled. Our lab is unusually large and busy—we serve hundreds
of users, and they need to be able to keep their projects
moving.”
Why FEI
UCSB has used FEI products for advanced nanoscale imaging,
sample preparation, and characterization for many years. For
example, the university adopted its Strata in 2001. At the time,
it was the only readily available SEM with FIB capabilities. The
Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility has since added three
TEMs from FEI. The most powerful of these is the Titan 80-300
S/TEM, which incorporates scanned probe (STEM) and TEM
functionality with a resolution better than 1.5 Ångström.
By providing fast answers to questions and prompt service,
FEI makes ensuring high levels of equipment uptime a priority.
According to Mark Cornish, another lab manager at UCSB,
“Uptime is very important. It contributes to improved productivity
for the people who depend on our lab equipment.”
The Solution
FEI products such as the Strata, the Tecnai TEM, and the
Inspect S are furthering research inquiries in a wide array
of areas. This includes research that focuses on growing
improved structures for laser diodes used in optical storage
devices, such as Blu-Ray players, being conducted by Professor
James Speck, Chair of the Materials Department, and his
research group. Professor Speck’s team prepares the material
samples using the Strata, and then analyzes and characterizes
them with the Tecnai and Inspect S.
“Electron microscopy, whether with SEM or TEM techniques,
allows us to link structure with physical properties,” explains
Professor Speck. “It’s an essential part of our research.” He
adds, “Having a FIB to aid in sample preparation has accelerated
our work—before, sample preparation was slow and
highly specialized, but now, our whole team can quickly
prepare samples. Samples that once took a day to prepare can
now be completed in about two hours.”
Professor Susanne Stemmer, a faculty member in the Materials
Department at UCSB, conducts research into the properties of
novel functional oxide thin films. Oxide thin films are used as
insulators and interfaces in a many devices, such as semicon-
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The Titan 80-300 S/TEM is available to researchers at the Microscopy and
Microanalysis Facility at UCSB.
ductor transistors. Because her work hinges on the structural
characteristics of nanoscale materials, she needs extremely
high-resolution images. With the Titan 80-300, Professor Stemmer’s
team can obtain highly accurate information on atomic
structure and defects. In addition, they can take advantage of
TEM, STEM, and analytical electron energy loss spectroscopy
and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy capabilities at the
same time.
“Defects on the materials we work with are extremely small,
so the higher the resolution of our images, the better,” says
Professor Stemmer. “Our microscope can capture images of
atomic structures that are directly interpretable, which means
we can conduct analysis more efficiently. Without directly
interpretable information, we would have to work from models.”
The Result
By exploring and refining their ideas, the researchers at UCSB
are enhancing the way materials perform. “We’ve achieved
great results,” notes Professor Speck. “Our team has not only
produced numerous publications highlighting our findings—
the diodes we helped to develop enable the larger storage
capacities in today’s leading-edge optical data storage devices.
Advanced characterization definitely plays an important role in
our success.”
© 2008. We are constantly improving the performance of our products, so all specifications are subject to change
without notice. The FEI logo and Tools for Nanotech are trademarks of FEI Company. 06AP-SV0111 12/2008