Capabilities
3-D Printers
In collaboration with ADAPT we have a Lithoz Cerafab 7500, Tethon Bison, Form2, two Lulzbot Taz5 printers (one of which has been modified into a paste extrusion printer with in-line mixing of multiple feedstocks), and a custom-built Direct Ink Write (DIW) printer in addition to metal printers such as a 3DSystems DMP Flex 350.
Tape Casters
Two different continuous tape casters give us the opportunity to cast ceramic tapes with thicknesses from ~1-500um. A screen printer allows us to print custom patterns to stack into multilayer capacitors, LTCC sheets, structures or other multiplayer features.Mills and Presses
Several mills including a Roller (Ball) Mill, Planetary Mill, Spex Mill, Attrition (Bead) Mill, and 3-Roll Mill provide a variety of options and capabilities for mixing and particle size reduction. We also have a rotary evaporator for segregation-free drying of powders as well as uniaxial presses and a cold isostatic press (CIP) for consolidation.Piezoelectric Measurements
With a Berlincourt-style meter, we can quickly and easily measure the direct piezoelectric response of macroscopic samples. An Agilent 4294A enables resonant measurements up to 110MHz. Finally, we have priority access to an Asylum MFP-3D scanning probe instrument with the high voltage PFM add-on.
With an aixACCT DBLI, we can collect even higher resolution piezoelectric measurements. The dual-beam laser interferometers (DBLI) allow us to perform piezoelectric characterization on thin films, from 1 inch manually to 8 inches semi-automatically. We can also use the DBLI to determine the d33 coefficient of clamped layers quickly, precisely and with a high degree of reproducibility.
Custom Electronics
With a Keithley 237 Source Measure Unit, multiple oscilloscopes, a wide variety of high and low voltage power supplies, voltmeters, pulse generators, and other miscellaneous electronics, we can build a number of custom AC, DC, or pulsed test beds.
Furnaces
We have a number of furnaces at our disposal with temperature capabilities up to 1700C in the air or up to 1500C in under controlled atmosphere conditions. A motorized sample winch enables controlled high rate heating or cooling of samples in vertical tube furnaces.Impedance Analysis
Any of our impedance analyzers (HP4284A, Agilent 4294A, and Solartron ModuLab) can be connected to samples in a Sun environmental chamber for measurements between -180 and +300C or in a tube furnace for measurements in any atmosphere up to 1500C.Ferroelectric Hysteresis
With a Radiant Technologies Precision Multiferroic system integrated with a Trek 609B high voltage amplifier, we can measure ferroelectric hysteresis and a number of other related polarization characteristics across a wide variety of measurement conditions.
We also have an aixACCT system with DBLI for simultaneous measurement of polarization reversal and strain response.
Thin Film Deposition
We have two spin coaters for thin film and/or photoresist deposition, one of which resides inside the CSM class 1000 cleanroom facility. We also have access to extensive sputtering, pulsed laser, and molecular beam epitaxy deposition capabilities both at Mines and via collaborations at NREL and NIST.
Particle Characterization
In addition to simple sieves for coarse separations, we can also measure particle size distribution using a Malvern Mastersizer particle size analyzer. We also have capabilities for measuring Zeta potential, surface area, and complex rheological characteristics.