THE LABS

FAME Laboratories at Harry Reid Center-UNLV (Head: Prof. Kris Lipinska) include:
1. Materials at Extreme Environments Laboratory
2. Materials Synthesis Laboratory
3. Laser Spectroscopy Laboratory
The above materials science laboratories have state-of the-art research grade equipment base of over $600,000 in brand new instrumentation purchased during the last 18 months and we will soon be adding another $200,000 to expand the capabilities. The facilities in these Labs offer unique research opportunities for faculty and students of NSHE interested in materials sciences.

LASER SPECTROSCOPY LAB !

The Laser Spectroscopy Lab. is equipped with:

1. Jobin-Yvon Horiba T-64000 Raman Spectrometer with Confocal Raman Microscope.
The Laser Laboratory has a research grade, triple-grating T 64000 Raman spectrometer that is coupled with the confocal Raman microscope and equipped with a back-illuminated liquid nitrogen cooled CCD detector, 4 microscope objectives and a video camera.
The HORIBA Jobin Yvon Raman system utilizes state of-the-art design technology and optics software to enable the T-64000 to offer the very highest performance, flexibility and sampling capabilities. T-64000 has an integrated triple spectrometer design for unprecedented optical stability with three stage monochromator, with optics, aperture and coupling optimized for performance and stability and with multiple motorized switching mirrors for ease of operation. One of the key features of the T-64000 is its very high level of laser (stray light) rejection. The Raman spectrometer has ultra-high spectral resolution (0.1 cm-1), unique stray light rejection and tunable laser filtering. This Raman system can work in 3 different configurations including direct single spectrometer (very fast data collection, the highest optical throughput on weak scattering samples, also fluorescence studies), double subtractive stage (for very low frequency Raman bands typically down to 2 to 5 cm-1 over a broad wavelength range) as well as triple-grating additive mode (extremely high spectral resolution). In addition to standard Raman spectroscopy, the T-64000 system is also equipped with a confocal Raman Microscope (Olympus) that allows for confocal Raman mapping with high spatial resolution of structural variations and generation of distribution maps on samples. Detailed surface analysis of a wide range of materials in a process called Raman Mapping or Raman/Luminescence Imaging can be performed. A motorized microscope Translation Stage coupled to the Raman Microscope allows for very high spatial resolution (sub-micron scale down to nano-scale) analysis (surface scanning) of small particles or thin films, as well as studying, in real time, the progress of chemical reactions such as polymer synthesis or nanocrystallization, all occurring on minute/hour timescales.

T-64000 is a comprehensive Raman system that is a very powerful tool for nano-destructive,micro-structural characterization of diverse type of materials (liquids, solids, gases) and can be used in many wide-ranging fields, from fundamental research through to applied solutions. The T-64000 Raman combined with long working distance Olympus objective can be coupled with a DAC (Diamond Anvil Cell) to study, in situ, Raman spectra in a function of elevated pressure.

2. Argon/Krypton Stabilite 2018 Spectra Physics Gas Laser with a maximum output power of 2.5 W (see below)

3. Newport SMART ST-UT2 HoneyComb, research grade Optical Table with an actively damped vibration-controlled system.
(see below)

A NEW Ar/Kr Laser from Spectra Physics was installed in the LASER LAB on December 22, 2010.

Argon/Krypton Stabilite 2018 Spectra Physics Gas Laser with a maximum output power of 2.5 W (Spectra Physics),
The Laser Laboratory has a multi-wavelength Stabilite 2018 Spectra Physics gas laser which can generate laser light in a variety of visible lines ranging from deep violet through green, blue and up to red (454.5; 457.9;476.5; 488; 514.5; 520.8; 530.9; 568.2; 647.1; and 676.4 nm) that allows to investigate a diversity of materials and excite a variety of physico-chemical phenomena.

13 December 2010: the Newport optical tables were connected with the doubler and installed in the LASER LAB.

Newport SMART ST-UT2 HoneyComb, research grade Optical Table with an actively damped vibration-controlled system.
The Laser Laboratory has a high-tech optical table Newport SMART ST-UT2 doubler system which provides exceptional stability for hosting lasers, spectrometers and other optical instrumentation where stability and isolation from external vibrations (from earth to mechanical to human-produced) are needed.

January 2012: we finally got the 15-ton Hydraulic Press for making pellets for solid state synthesis (or for spectrsocopy) as well as the Diamond Wheel cutting setup and polishing setup from Southbay Tech which allows us to cut and polish glass and ceramic slices of precise thickness down to a millimeter.

NEW LAB !

The Laser Spectroscopy Lab. will be equipped with recently purchased, waiting for installation:

Jobin-Yvon Horiba T64000 - a state-of-the art, high-resolution Raman system, combined with a confocal Raman microscope and equipped with a motorized stage for Raman mapping.

Ar-Kr multiwavelength laser (Spectra Physics),

This is how our Laser Lab will look like soon (courtesy of Prof. G. Mariotto U. of Verona)

The Materials at Extreme Environments Lab is equipped with: high-pressure capabilities, including: DAC's - Diamond Anvil Cells, a LEICA stereomicroscope, Leica MZ16A, which has a motorized zoom and currently a magnification of 180X, and a variety of tools for high-pressure work. Leica MZ16A will be complemented with Video-Camera to acquire live images.

We use Diamond Anvil Cells (DACs) to study microscopic amounts of materials subjected to extremely high pressures (up to 100 GPa, or more). The DAC allows to simultaneously compress the sample while probing it structure using synchrotron x-rays or laser light (Raman spectroscopy).

Brand new Materials at Extreme Environments Lab. is combined with Growth and Advanced Treatment of Materials Lab. at Hary Reid Center of UNLV is equipped with:
--High-Temperature furnace (1700C)
--Mid-Temperature furnace (1200C)
--Low-Temperature furnace (up to 200C), also with:

-- Analytical balances, mortars, ceramic crucibles, and a variety of equipment and tools for materials synthesis.

X-Ray Difffractometer D8 Advance, Bruker for powder XRD applications (avaliable UNLV-Hary Reid Center) enables a quick switch between the para-focusing Bragg-Brentano geometry to parallel beam geometry without realignment of the system. It has a Vario1 Johansson focusing monochromator with high-flux monochromatic K-alpha-1 radiation. We use the D8 ADVANCE for qualitative and quantitative phase identification for crystal structure solution from powder samples, crystallite size determination, micro strain analysis, residual stress analysis, and preferred orientation.

To study nano-sized structures requires an array of dedicated equipment is required. Our Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) from Veeco Instruments(avaliable UNLV-Science and Technology Bldg.) is a versatile, high-resolution metrology and imaging tool which performs a complete range of AFM techniques for surface characterization of properties like topography, elasticity, friction, adhesion, and electrical/magnetic fields.

A Large portion of our experiments is carried out at national sycnhrotron light sources: Sector 16 (HPCAT), Sector 9 (MRCAT) at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, APS-ANL (Chicago, IL) and the Advanced Light Source of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CALYPSO beamline(Berkeley, CA)