Instructional Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technology, widely used for making commercial electronic devices, is now an appropriate technique to include in undergraduate courses and teacher training.  The MRSEC is currently constructing the Yale/SCSU Teaching MBE Facility at Yale, which will be used to train students in the growth of epitaxial complex oxide materials using MBE.  It will be used in conjunction with the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Teaching Facility at SCSU, low-temperature transport measurements, and solid-state device characterization to support graduate and undergraduate student course work, high school teacher training, and MRSEC outreach.  Participants will prepare oxide materials by MBE at Yale and then use SPM and TEM at SCSU for atomic-scale visualization of the films.  The Teaching MBE Facility will be reserved exclusively for teaching and outreach (CRISP has several other oxide growth systems for research) and will be designed and built for educational purposes.  For example, safety interlocks and ease of use will be primary considerations for this facility.