Ultrahigh-Vacuum-System

• Subject Area: Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: Funded in 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 263295881

This ultrahigh vacuum system is a major instrument and part of my start-up package (Neuberufung) at the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB). It duplicates a similar system I designed and a company built for me while I was a Professor at the University of Central Florida (USA, 2004-2013). I moved to Germany (RUB) in October of 2013 and this system is one of two major machines I intend to acquire (start-up commitment from RUB) in order to be able to continue my research program in the areas of surface science and nano-catalysis at RUB. This system will allow the synthesis and in situ characterization of the structure, electronic/chemical properties and reactivity of nanostructured materials. It is made of several different interconnected chambers that can be operated separately by different persons in order to maximize scientific output: sample transfer chamber, preparation chamber (molecular beam epitaxy growth by electron beam evaporation, in situ ligand removal of ex situ prepared colloidal materials by plasma treatments), characterization chamber (XPS, UPS, TPD), high pressure reaction chamber, and microscopy chamber (AFM/STM). The preparation chamber will be used for the generation of samples to be studied in situ within the other two systems, as well as to prepare samples to be investigated ex situ at different national and international synchrotron facilities with techniques such as grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS), X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy (XAFS) and nuclear resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (NRIXS).

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Ultrahigh-Vacuum-System
• Instrumentation Group: 8320 Ultrahochvakuumanlagen
• Applicant Institution: Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Leader: Professorin Dr. Beatriz Roldan Cuenya, until 9/2017