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The Ohio State University

College of Engineering


MSE research facilities

Campus Electron Optics Facility (CEOF)

Campus Electron Optics Facility (CEOF) was established at OSU to provide state-of-the-art electron beam and x-ray analytical services. The facility is available to all researchers, both those in the university community and those outside OSU.

This facility has been expanded, adding more equipment, personnel, and capabilities. The equipment, valued at over $5 million, is used for both graduate and undergraduate instruction within the department, as well as by researchers both inside and outside Ohio State. CEOF offers for use three transmission electron microscopes, three scanning electron microscopes, and two X-Ray diffractometers.

The department of Materials Science and Engineering occupies 70,000 square feet of laboratory and office space in Watts Hall, MacQuigg, Fontana, and Koffolt Labs. In collaboration with other engineering departments and research units at Ohio State, high-tech equipment and facilities support the educational and research programs of the department. Examples of the facilities and equipment available--valued at over ten million dollars--are described below.

Computer Facilities

Student and faculty general resources

Link to Engineering Region 6 Computing Center Students and faculty in MSE use an extensive computing facility located in the materials science/chemical engineering complex. Substantial annual investments made to the computing facilities ensure that the resources are available to support teaching and the cutting-edge research performed in the department. All MSE students have access to this facility, which contains over 100 computers with the latest processing speeds. Computers are attached to Gigabit Ethernet switches allowing quick access to resources in the department, on campus, and around the world. DVD recording, color laser printing, large format plotting, digital video recording and editing and high resolution scanning provide students and faculty the tools needed to prepare professional presentations and manuscripts.

Materials modeling

Built by Dr. Ju Li, a 14-CPU (2.4 GHz Intel Xeon) Beowulf cluster (2 CPU per node; each node has 4GB memory and 120GB disk) connected by a gigabit Ethernet switch, and running openMosix operating system ("UC01"). A 14-CPU sister cluster of the same configuration was soon built afterwards in Prof. Yunzhi Wang's group ("UC02"). Currently, VASP, PWscf, DACAPO, GAMESS-US, MOPAC, Matlab, Mathematica and assorted visualization software are installed on the above clusters. Prof. Li built another 12-CPU (3.0GHz Intel Xeon EM64T) cluster with 8GB memory per node ("UC03").

Remote computing

Access to the 512-CPU (2.4 GHz Intel Xeon) Beowulf cluster at The Ohio Supercomputer Center on the west campus of OSU. The Center holds frequent training sessions on parallel programming and performance optimization. OSC also offers Cray supercomputers for demanding computational projects.

Electron Optics and X-Ray Characterization Facilities

Campus Electron Optics Facility (CEOF). The MSE department houses and administers this facility, which has been expanded, adding more equipment, personnel, and capabilities. The equipment, valued at well over $5 million, is used for both graduate and undergraduate instruction in the department, as well as by researchers both within and beyond Ohio State. CEOF offers for use a number of transmission electron microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, and X-Ray diffractometers.

Chemical Sensor Materials Characterization Laborabory

The focus of this laboratory is to study chemical sensor arrays, which are based upon the concept that, for an array of sensor materials, their individual, differentially selective responses to changes in gas compositions can be modeled and then used to determine unknown gas compositions. The more selective the individual responses, the fewer responses needed for the model and, hence, materials for the array. The fewer materials needed for the array, the simpler and less costly the actual device. The materials challenge is to synthesize, and characterize the responses of, large numbers of candidate materials in order to find a small array set of materials with enough differentiation to predict the concentrations of the gases of interest. Below is the equipment available for this type of work.

IR Thermographic Screening

A novel IR thermographic technique has been developed to rapidly screen compositional libraries of semiconducting oxides for chemical sensing applications. The system was designed to monitor and measure the changes in the electrical properties of an array of materials when they interact with a variety of gases and gas mixtures of interest. The responses reported are derived by subtracting the reponses in a reference gas from those in the test gas of interest. The novel aspect of this technique involves the application of a voltage bias across the multiple sample array. The voltage bias allows for a more effective determination of a semiconducting oxide material's sensitivity because the resistance change that occurs with gas adsorption is amplified by directly monitoring the associated I, V thermal response. More than 2000 materials have been characterized by this technique. Materials determined to be "hits" (i.e., showing activity and selectivity to a gas of interest) are then more rigorously characterized by further techniques.

AC Impedance Measurements

AC impedance measurements are done in a controlled atmosphere tube furnace. Typically, the resistance of a metal oxide semiconductor is measured as a function of gas concentration and temperature. When compared to a standard state condition, the resistivity changes associated with changes in the concentration of various gas components yield both a measure of a material's sensitivity and selectivity to those components. Unfortunately, the design of the apparatus does not permit the measurement of dynamic properties such as response time. However, the AC impedance-derived sensitivity and selectivity data facilitate the selection of candidate array sets of materials via Principal Components Analysis (PCA) of the materials' responses. The AC impedance measurements made as a function of frequency (1 Hz-1 MHz) and temperature (400-800°C) in various gas environments also permits the study of a material's conduction mechanisms.

DESCARTES

OSU's Device Sensitivity, Chemistry, and Response Time Experimental System (Decartes) was designed to measure a material's sensitivity and selectivity as well as its dynamic response to changes in gas composition. High gas velocity and a small sample chamber, coupled with a computer-controlled gas manifold, give the Descartes system a dynamic gas switching time constant of approximately 0.65 seconds, which is faster than the 1 Hz data acquisition rate.

The ease of visually comparing a material's response characteristics using the Descartes system makes it the instrument of choice for investigation and optimization of the materials' microstructures. The Descartes system can be run either as a hot wall reactor (isothermal operation) or cold wall with heated chips. The standard configuration allows 48 materials to be tested at one time (six on each side of 4 chips) or, in the case of heated chips, 24 materials per run (six on one side of 4 chips). AC impedance measurements can also be done on sensor devices in the Descartes system to examine the electrical characteristics of the materials in the frequency domain.

DESADE

While instabilities over the short term (few hours) can be detected with Descartes data, a measure of each material's long term response stability and durability is critical to the eventual success of sensor materials for applications. This need is addressed by OSU's Device Stability and Durability Experiment (DeSade). The DeSade durability system is a derivative of the Descartes system. In DeSade, the sensor materials can be subjected to dynamic synthetic exhaust gas cycling and also thermal cycling by computer-controlled chip heating. A typical DeSade run will be between 500 and 1500 hours. Over that time a material's standard state resistance and sensitivities are expected to have changed by less than 10% for consideration as a potential array candidate material.

Sensors and Measurements Facilities

Several laboratories have been established at The Ohio State University to support development of solid state sensors. These facilities, along with those developed by CISM, the Center for Industrial Sensors and Measurements, include:

  • Laboratory for Novel Microfabrication Methods of Medical Devices in Non-Silicon Materials
  • Thick film fabrication devices,
  • Hybrid micro-electronics lab for Bio-MEMS,
  • Electronic nose along with artificial intelligence and neural-net software,
  • Wide range of electrical measuring equipment,
  • Complete sensor measurement and testing facility with capability for controlled gas flow and mixing systems,
  • Computer-controlled data acquisition and analyses

Microstructural Characterization Facilities

The department has a fully-equipped laboratory for cutting, grinding, and polishing materials for microstructural characterization. The facilities include both manual and semi-automatic machines. Various optical microscopes are available, as well as Nikon epiphot and Nikon optiphot microscopes fitted with fully automatic exposure systems and interfaced with a TV monitor, VCR, and color projector. Computer-based quantitative image analysis is available. Also within this laboratory are instruments for making normal, superficial, and microhardness measurements.

Thermal Analysis Facilities

Instrumentation for the study of materials at elevated temperatures is housed withinthe state-of-the-art Patrick A. Gallagher Thermal Analysis Center. This Center is equipped with the following computer-controlled analytical systems:

  • Differential scanning calorimeters
  • Differential thermal analyzer capable of temperatures reaching 1350C
  • Thermogravimetric analyzer capable of temperatures reaching 1350C
  • Dilatometer capable of reaching 1200C

Ceramic Processing Facilities

MSE has complete powder processing facilities, including particle size reduction mills, a recirculating sonicator, a Hg-Porosimeter, a glovebox for processing water-sensitive materials, and an array of thermoanalytical tools. A wide range of furnaces (air-fired, vacuum, and controlled atmosphere) are available for calcining and sintering studies. In addition, a vacuum hot press capable of temperatures in excess of 2000C and pressures up to 5000 psi is available.

Also included in this facility is a hot isostatic press, capable of temperatures up to 1200C and pressures up to 30,000 psi. Forming equipment includes dry presses, an instrumented laboratory scale extruder, and a laboratory scale tape caster. The department also has complete glass melting facilities and a fiber-drawing facility capable of 1550C for use in producing oxide glass fibers. Also available are facilities for:

  • Electrochemical deposition of nanomaterials
  • Colloidal processing
  • Controlled-atmosphere box and tube furnaces

Corrosion Research Facilities

Fontana Corrosion Center The Fontana Corrosion Center laboratories are equipped with a wide range of instrumentation including computer-controlled stations for electrochemical measurements, two scanning probe microscopes, a Scanning Kelvin Probe, an electrochemical microcell, slow strain rate frames for testing stress corrosion cracking susceptibility, a salt spray chamber and uv exposure chamber, quartz crystal microbalance, a multichannel microelectrode analyzer, and facilities for fabricating bulk and thin film samples.

Wear Testing and Characterization Facilities

A number of wear testing and characterization systems are available in the department. Wear testing facilities include: a block-on-ring friction and wear testing instrument with high-speed capability for dry or lubricated sliding tests; a pin on disk sliding friction and wear tester for tests in vacuum or controlled atmospheres; and a Taber Met Abrader abrasion tester. Support equipment includes a Shimadzu microhardness tester, an Olympus microscope, and a South Bay wire saw for sectioning specimens. The various structural and chemical characterization instruments in the Campus Electron Optics Facility are also available.

Mechanical Testing and Forming Facilities

The MSE department houses and administers the Mechanical Testing Facility (MTF). This facility has undergone a major expansion in equipment, personnel, and capabilities. The equipment, valued at over $1.5 million, is used for both graduate and undergraduate instruction and by researchers in need of the specialized facilities available at MSE. The MTF includes equipment to perform routine and short-term tests of tensile and compressive properties, hardness, fatigue life, and impact toughness. The primary mechanical characterization laboratory includes several computer-controlled instruments with computerized data acquisition. All listed test frames are servo-hydraulic type:

  • MTS 810 test frame, 100KN load capacity, 150mm actuator stroke, new (as of October 2005) MTS FlexTest Controller with latest generation of MTS control software for tensile, compression, fatique, and crack growth testing. Controller is equipped with two strain channel signal conditioners for use with a biaxial extensometer. Four different gage length mechanical extensometers, plus a non-contacting laser extensometer are also available on this machine. The crack growth software/hardware supports DC potential drop and mechanical clip gage measurement techniques. MTS 100KN hydraulic grips are installed with five available wedge assemblies that allow mounting of flat specimens (sheet metal) up to 0.75mm thickness, 50mm width and round specimens from 5mm to 30mm in diameter.
  • Instron 1322 test frame, 250 KN capacity, 250mm stroke, new (as of 10/05) MTS FlexTest Controller installed with latest generation of MTS control software for tensile, compression, fatique, and crack growth testing. Single strain channel signal conditioner, will support same extensometers as listed above with the exception of the biaxial. Two furnaces installed for elevated temperature testing in air(1200C max).
  • MTS 810 test frame, 100KN load capacity, 150mm stroke, new (as of 10/05) MTS FlexTest controller with the above mentioned software packages installed. Frame is equipped with an all metal vacuum/argon atmosphere furnace made by Oxy-Gon. Hot zone measures 60mm in diameter by 75mm length, temperature up to 1950C. This machine is used for elevated temperature tensile, compression, and fatique tests.
  • MTS 804 test frame, 500KN capacity, 150mm actuator stroke, new (as of 10/05) MTS FlexTest controller installed. Software same as above, one strain channel available. This machine is used for mechanical testing requiring high force levels.
  • MTS 831 test frame, 25KN load capacity, 100mm actuator stroke, new (as of 10/05) MTS FlexTest controller installed. This machine is used for high cycle fatique testing. Special servo valves allow precise control of load or stroke up to a frequency of 200hz. An air furnace capable of 1400C is installed on this frame for elevated temperature tests.
  • Mechanical Behavior Lab equipment also includes: Two Interlaken forming simulators with Interlaken software controls, these presses have clamp capacities of 300 Kip, punch force of 200 Kip. One machine is currently used for magnetic pulse forming tests, the other for standard die forming tests. An Interlaken 60 Kip press is used for lubricant and3?4formability testing, and an Interlaken hydraulic draw/bend test machine for sheet metal studies.

This general-use equipment is supported by a complete machine shop to prepare specimens and fixtures for testing. Several machine-mountable furnaces are available with capabilities up to 1300C. Mechanical forming equipment includes a rolling mill. Other standard facilities include Rockwell and Brinnel hardness, Vickers and Knoop microhardness, Charpy and Izod impact test, table-top tensile, and cam fatigue testing machines. A variety of specialized research equipment is also available for use. Many of these instruments were designed at Ohio State for research work supported by industrial, state, and federal grants. These unique machines include:

  • Thermal cycling testing
  • 227,000 kg hydraulic forming simulator, with complete computer control
  • 50,000 Joule electro-hydraulic capacitive discharge high-rate tester
  • 68,000 kg prototype sheet formability test system
  • 55,000 kg double-action press and forming machine

Solidification and Metal Casting Laboratories

The MSE Solidification and Metal Casting Laboratories include a 2,500 square foot high-bay Metal Casting Laboratory and a Solidification Laboratory.

The Metal Casting Laboratory is served by a five-ton crane system. The melting facilities include a 60kW Inductotherm electric induction generator with a lift-swing 40lb aluminum furnace as well as a 25kW electric induction furnace with a vacuum/inert-gas melting chamber. A cooling curve analysis system and an Electronite oxygen probe for ferrous alloys are also available. The sand preparation equipment consists of a muller for green sand.

The Solidification Laboratory is situated on the first floor in the Fontana building. The main equipment includes a free flight melt spinning system for the continuous casting of wire, a transparent organic metal analog directional solidification system for in-situ observation of solidification, a Mellon zone melting furnace, and an SR2 Prometal rapid casting system (rapid prototyping machine for making molds). In addition, casting simulation software is available. It consists of Magmasoft mold filling / solidification software and Ironcad solid modeling software.

Superconducting Materials Characterization Facilities

The Laboratories for Applied Superconductivity and Magnetism (LASM) in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at OSU is well equipped to perform superconductor property measurement and superconductor materials characterization. Equipment for materials study such as XRD, and electron microscopy is housed in the Campus Electron Optics Facility (CEOF) located within the MSE building. The electromagnetic test stands are all located in the LASM laboratories.

Magnetization Measurement

Magnetization may measured by vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) in three test stands; they are:

  • Low Field VSM-I, a LDJ Model 9300 instrument with a 1 T iron-core electromagnet.
  • Low Field VSM-II consisting of a PAR EG&G Model 4500 VSM associated with Janis Varitemp dewars (both liquid helium and liquid nitrogen) and an iron-core electromagnet energized to ? 1.7 T by a Tidewater ? 65A power supply.
  • High Field VSM also consisting of a PAR EG&G Model 4500 VSM associated with an Oxford cryostat housing a 6.4 cm (cold bore) 9 T superconducting solenoid.

Transport Measurement in Magnetic Fields

High-Current High-Field Jc Measurement is carried out with currents of up to 1,700 A provided by a stack of three HP6681A (0-8V, 0-580A) power supplies in the field of an Oxford hybrid NbTi/Nb3Sn solenoid excited by an Oxford Model PS120-10 magnet power supply. The maximum field available is 15 T at 4.2 K and 17 T at 2.2 K. We are using a high-current probe with a soldered ITER barrel mounting procedure and with monitored contact resistances.

Temperature Dependent Jc is measured at currents of up to 220 A in an exchange-gas can inserted in the bore of the above Oxford solenoid.

Resistive Critical Field (Hirr and Hc2) measurements are made at currents of about 10 mA in a dedicated exchange-gas can also able to be located in the bore of the Oxford solenoid.

All instruments are under computer control with programs written in LabView. An extensive inventory of ancillary equipment available in our Laboratory includes amplifiers, multimeters, gaussmeters, a metallographic microscope, and numerous computers and work stations.

Transport Measurements of the Self-Field Critical Current of Large Devices

Available for the measurement of self-field critical current in large coils can is a large open-mouth dewar from Cryofab Inc. This has an inside diameter of 25 in (635 mm) and a working height (below a 18 in, 460 mm, thick plug) of 35 in ((890 mm). Measurements are made as function of temperature above 4 K as the internal structures slowly warm up. Self-field is monitored with a Hall probe.

AC Loss Measurement

Two test stands are housed in a laboratory dedicated to AC loss measurement.

  • Self-Field (Transport-Current) Loss due to AC currents of up to 150 A (peak) at frequencies of up to 500 Hz is measured at 77 K (liquid nitrogen). A lock-up amplifier measures the voltage of the sample in-phase with transport current.
  • External-Field AC Loss is measured in the applied fields of copper wound solenoids and race-track coils of various sizes. A system of pick-up coils connected to a digital oscilloscope records the samples' M-H loops whose areas provide a measurement of the loss per cycle.

Additional cryogenic test equipment

  • Physical Property Measurement System. A Quantum Design PPMS allows measurements from 4 K to room temperature in fields up to 15 T of: (a) magnetization using vibrating sample magnetometry, (b) heat capacity (c) AC and DC susceptibility (d) AC transport and (e) thermal conductivity.
  • Large Coil Test Stand. This consists of an insulated vacuum vessel 48 in (1200 mm) in diameter and 25 in (630 mm) high from Cryomagnetics cooled by two Gifford-McMahon cryocoolers each capable of extracting 5 W at 10 K (1.5 W, 4 K). The system accomplishes the rapid cooling of large objects into the He-temperature range.
  • Room Temperature Bore Cryocooled Magnet. This cryocooled magnet with a field of 9 T in a 60 mm diameter room temperature bore of is be capable of accepting a furnace for magnetic field processing or a varitemp (presently on hand) for property measurement as function of field and temperature.

Inorganic Materials Science Experimental Facilities

The research program of the Inorganic Materials Science group focuses on materials, made by controlled consolidation of precursor particles, followed by thermal processing. These materials are applied in fuel cells for energy conversion, membranes for separation, and sensors for environmental application. Extensive facilities are maintained in support of the group's research.

  • Over 2700 square feet of lab space has been recently renovated to create an optimum work climate and to enable high-precision measurements.
  • Swagelok stainless steel network for high purity gases, needed for synthesis, characterization and operational tests.
  • Cat-6 wired Ethernet, >1 Gbs data exchange between various set ups. This will allow for ?hardware in the loop? studies for system integration purposes.
  • Monitored inorganic membrane reactors and SOFC.
  • High-definition colloidal processing of inorganic materials.
  • High-definition thermal processing of inorganic materials.
  • Membrane, particle, and porosity characterization.

Electrical and electrochemical measurement facility

Over the past several years, we have established dedicated laboratories at the Center for Industrial Sensors and Measurements (CISM) to support the development of solid-state electrochemical devices such as sensors and fuel cells. These facilities include thick film fabrication by screen printing and spin coating, wide range of electrical (dc and ac) measurement equipment, a setup suitable for photo-catalytic studies, a complete sensor measurement and testing facility with capability for controlled gas flow and mixing systems, computer-controlled data acquisition and analyses with specially written software, and a GC-MS for analysis of gas-solid reaction.

Particle size, pore size and sorption analysis facility

Under an NSF-IGERT grant, CISM has set up a facility for particle size (Brookhaven 90 Plus with a high sensitivity APD detector and zeta potential option), pore size (Autopore IV 9500, Micromeretics) and sorption analysis for surface area (ASAP 2020, Micromeretics).

Thin Film Preparation and Characterization Facilities

Thin film growth facilities are on-site for research on epitaxy, interfacial structure, and growth of novel materials. Ultra-high vacuum and high vacuum vapor deposition systems and a magnetron sputtering system are among the tools available to researchers. Further processing is done in associated facilities for rapid and conventional thermal annealing. Thin films are characterized in X-Ray diffraction and electron optics facilities as well as in central OSU facilities for surface analysis.

Thin-film and metallization facility

Recently added facilities include a multi-cathode dc/rf magnetron sputtering unit (Discovery 18 by Denton Vacuum), a bench-top sputtering unit for electrode preparation, a surface profilometer for roughness and morphology, and a bench-top tape casting unit for planar sensors, electrodes and substrates