Research
Facilities

Students and faculty of Northwestern's Department of Materials Science and Engineering have access to a variety of cutting-edge research facilities, including:

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Northwestern Center for Atom-Probe Tomography (NUCAPT)

Understanding the properties and performance of materials requires knowledge of their characteristic structures and local compositions, often at an atomic scale and in three dimensions. The Northwestern Center for Atom-Probe Tomography (NUCAPT) is a laboratory where such measurements can be performed with atom-probe tomography.

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Central Laboratory for Materials Mechanical Properties

The Central Laboratory for Materials Mechanical Properties (CLaMMP) facility provides testing equipment for studying the mechanical behavior of materials. We have the capability of conducting tension, compression, fatigue, creep, stress rupture, impact, and 3 or 4-point bend tests.

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Electron Probe Instrumentation Center (EPIC)

Various electron microscopes within the Materials and Life Sciences Building have been consolidated in the Electron Probe Instrumentation Center (EPIC), making for one of the world’s most complete arsenals of routine and state-of-the-art electron microscopes.

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High Resolution Electron Microscopy and Surface Structure

This High Resolution Electron Microscopy and Surface Structure facility provides unique equipment to investigate the atomic scale structure of both the surface and sub-surface region of a sample combined with in situ growth and chemical characterization.

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Impedance Spectroscopy Facility

This Impedance Spectroscopy Facility houses Agilent Technologies 4192A and Solartron 1260 impedance analyzers, fully computer-controlled, for performing frequency-dependent impedance/dielectric spectroscopy studies of materials.

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Materials Processing and Microfabrication Facility-(Cleanroom)

The Materials Processing and Microfabrication Facility (Cleanroom) is devoted to materials processing, growth, device fabrication, characterization and electronic & photonic materials.

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NUANCE

NUANCE, the Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization Experimental Center, integrates three existing complementary instrumentation facilities at Northwestern University:EPIC, NIFTI, and Keck-II. These facilities are consolidated into a contiguous space under a unified management umbrella.

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Materials Characterization and Imaging Facility (MatCI)

The Materials Characterization and Imaging Facility (MatCI) is equipped for the metallographic preparation of specimens by producing strain-free surfaces usually examined by optical microscopy.

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Surface Science

The Surface Science Facility allows students to scan Auger microprobes with submicron resolution, scan tunneling/atomic force microscopy (STM/AFM), and research nanoindentor.

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X-ray and Materials Deposition Facility

The primary function of the X-ray and Materials Deposition Facility is to provide general-purpose equipment for X-ray scattering and fluorescence studies. The facility can also provide equipment for non-routine experiments such as, special attachments for high temperatures, vacuum or protective atmospheres, monochromators, special linear and area detectors, etc.