Past Events

This group training event will focus on the basic imaging and operation of the Jupiter XR AFM available at the MIT.nano cleanroom. Users will learn about specifics of the tool configuration, different imaging modes available and strategies for image quality improvement. Users can bring their own samples for this training. Full independent tool access will be granted upon completion of an additional one-on-one supervised use session that will be coordinated with the staff member during this small group training.

Active MIT.nano user account is required to participate in this training. Please setup an account prior to registering for the training event.

This group training event will focus on the basic imaging and operation of the Zeiss SIGMA 300 SEM available at the MIT.nano cleanroom. Users will learn about specifics of the tool configuration, different imaging detectors available and strategies for image quality improvement. Users can bring their own samples for this training. Full independent tool access will be granted upon completion of an additional one-on-one supervised use session that will be coordinated with the staff member during this small group training. 

Active MIT.nano user account is required to participate in this training. Please setup an account prior to registering for the training event. 

This group training event will focus on the basic imaging and operation of the Zeiss SIGMA 300 SEM available at the MIT.nano cleanroom. Users will learn about specifics of the tool configuration, different imaging detectors available and strategies for image quality improvement. Users can bring their own samples for this training. Full independent tool access will be granted upon completion of an additional one-on-one supervised use session that will be coordinated with the staff member during this small group training. 

Active MIT.nano user account is required to participate in this training. Please setup an account prior to registering for the training event. 

This group training event will focus on the basic imaging and operation of the Zeiss SIGMA 300 SEM available at the MIT.nano cleanroom. Users will learn about specifics of the tool configuration, different imaging detectors available and strategies for image quality improvement. Users can bring their own samples for this training. Full independent tool access will be granted upon completion of an additional one-on-one supervised use session that will be coordinated with the staff member during this small group training. 

Active MIT.nano user account is required to participate in this training. Please setup an account prior to registering for the training event. 

* If you are a qualified user of the  Zeiss GEMINI 450 SEM at MIT.nano, you are not required to attend this training and can proceed to coordinating a 1hr supervised use session with the staff.

Electrical probing and manipulation at the nanoscale

Over the years, Imina Technologies SA has specialized in the characterization and manipulation of samples under optical and electron microscopes. The unique motion technology offered by the miBot, Imina's tiny mobile robot, allows sub-nanometric positioning resolution over large traveling ranges, unmatched ease of use and high mechanical stability.

Thanks to its versatility, the miBot can cover a large range of applications: failure analysis (EBIC/EBAC/EBIRCH), electrical probing, light collection/injection and micro/nano manipulation, among others.

After a short introduction about the technology, attendees will experience a live demonstration inside an SEM. It will demonstrate the dexterity of the robot and its ability to manipulate and electrically characterize structures at micro- and nanoscales.

>>Register.

Nano Explorations: Tuning nanoscale phase transitions to expand transformation-induced plasticity

>>Join via Zoom.

Shaolou Wei, PhD Candidate
Materials Science & Engineering

Metals and alloys have been mankind’s most essential structural materials since the Bronze Age. To seek optimal strength-ductility balance in metallic alloys, athermic phase transformations during plastic deformation are regarded as one of the most effective approaches to promote strength while impeding plastic instability incipience. Decades of efforts in ferrous alloy design have documented the significant role of strain-induced martensitic transformation in mechanical performance improvement (namely, the transformation-induced plasticity effect, TRIP).

Although it has a mechanical benefit, the resulting transformation product of the TRIP-effect, martensite, can be detrimental. The extensive defect density within the martensitic phase and the hardenability discrepancy with its adjacency can lead to local embrittlement and eventual fracture. Wei’s talk will reveal two potential solutions: a sequential martensitic transformation mechanism and a mechanical faulting response. Further insights into mechanistically-guided alloy design will also be discussed.

>>Read the full abstract.

Ultim Max 100, for Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) system was recently installed on the Gemini 450 SEM at MIT.nano.

The Ultim Max system features Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) with a 100 mm² window and is designed to maximise sensitivity and spatial resolution. 

Main specifications of Oxford Ultim Max 100 EDS and AZtecLive:

• High speed SDD Dectector (No LN2 required)
• Energy resolution: Less than 127 eV (at Mn Ka)
• Detector area: 100 mm² 
• Element detection range: Be(4) – Am(95)
• Maximum input count rate: > 150 kcps
• Software: Qualitative or Quantitative Analysis
• Analysis Modes:  Point, Circle, Polygon, Line Scan, Mapping
• Live data processing

In this workshop, Warren Moberlychan from Oxford Instruments will cover the basic AZtec and AZtecLive software capabilities.

Zoom details will be shared with the registered users. 

Nano Explorations: Nanofabrication of diffractive optics for X-ray wavefront shaping and imaging

>>Join via Zoom.

Kahraman Keskinbora, Research Scientist
Department of Physics

In this talk, Keskinbora will focus on the advantages of using ion beam lithography (IBL) to fabricate incredibly intricate diffractive optic patterns in a single fabrication step. Keskinbora will talk about the benefits of the dedicated IBL instrument with a multi-species ion beam source that is part of the toolset at MIT.nano, and its applications to diffractive X-ray optics fabrication. Finally, Keskinbora will briefly touch upon the soft X-ray beam-shaping applications of these fascinating X-ray optic devices.

>>Read the full abstract.

Low-dimensional perovskites for light-emitting applications: What do we need and how to make it?

>>Join via Zoom.

Jawaher Almutlaq, Postdoctoral Fellow
Research Laboratory of Electronics

The first part of this talk covers the controversy regarding the origin of emission in zero-dimensional perovskites (0D), Cs₄PbBr₆ and Cs₄PbI₆, through a comparative analysis between 0D and three-dimensional (3D) perovskites.

Then, Almutlaq will address the shortcoming of lead-based perovskites in terms of toxicity and stability, motivated by the high demand for sustainable materials with analogous electrical and structural properties. Finally, Almutlaq will share the recent work on CsMnBr₃ NCs, which reveals an intense red PL peak, a high PLQY with a remarkable excitation spectrum and surprisingly short lifetime. This work paves the way for finding sustainable materials for the next generation of light-emitting applications.

>>Read the full abstract.

Waveguide quantum electrodynamics with artificial superconducting giant atoms

>>Join via Zoom.

Bharath Kannan, PhD Candidate
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Models of light-matter interactions typically invoke the dipole approximation, within which atoms are treated as point-like objects when compared to the wavelength of the electromagnetic modes with which they interact. However, when the ratio between the size of the atom and the mode wavelength is increased, the dipole approximation no longer holds and the atom is referred to as a "giant atom".

Thus far, experimental studies with solid-state devices in the giant-atom regime have been limited to superconducting qubits that couple to short-wavelength surface acoustic waves, only probing the properties of the atom at a single frequency. Here, Kannan and others employ an alternative architecture that realizes a giant atom by coupling small atoms to a waveguide at multiple, but well separated, discrete locations.

Their realization of giant atoms enables tunable atom-waveguide couplings with large on-off ratios and a coupling spectrum that can be engineered by device design. They also demonstrate decoherence-free interactions between multiple giant atoms that are mediated by the quasi-continuous spectrum of modes in the waveguide—an effect that is not possible to achieve with small atoms. These features allow qubits in this architecture to switch between protected and emissive configurations in situ while retaining qubit-qubit interactions, opening new possibilities for high-fidelity quantum simulations and non-classical itinerant photon generation.