Tom Vandervelde, a John A. and Dorothy M. Adams faculty development professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, recently received a $1.5 million Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant will allow Vandervelde to build a multi-chamber molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system, used to produce semiconductors.
According to Scott Sahagian, executive associate dean of the School of Engineering, the grant is an indication of the university's commitment to research and reflects Tufts' rising academic status and reputation.
"I think that when a university achieves these kinds of levels of equipment grants, it really helps position and attract other - not only faculty - but students," Sahagian said. "We are no longer seen as being a wannabe, but as a defined institution that has a considerable amount of clout."
Vandervelde's work, he explained, involves semiconductors - a material with a degree of electrical conductivity between that of a metal and an insulator - formed through crystal growth. MBE, which takes place in an ultra-high vacuum, is required to create very pure semiconductor materials.
"In terms of the crystal growth, we need incredible levels of purity in terms of the materials, so the only way to achieve that purity is to grow these materials in a really, really, really good vacuum," Vandervelde said.
A variety of ordinary appliances, such as cell phones and wireless routers, require chips formed through MBE. Vandervelde plans to use the new MBE system to conduct research.
"There is a lot of stuff that can be made better," he said. "Solar cells can be higher efficiency than they are now. Infrared cameras can work at wavelengths that presently we can't use them at."
According to Vandervelde, the new MBE system will be particularly suited to making semiconductors for "photonic-based materials," which interact with light. These materials exist in infrared cameras, LEDs and solar cells among other appliances.
According to the NSF website, the MRI grant, which can offer up to $4 million, functions to increase access to shared scientific and engineering instruments.
Vandervalde affirmed that the new MBE machine will be open to other potential users outside of the Tufts community, such as startup company workers unable to afford their own equipment. He believes that affiliates of other Boston-area schools will also want to take advantage of the device.
Eric Miller, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, echoed Vandervelde's hope that the MBE system will be a useful tool for other scientists.
"It's not like there are a ton of MBE machines in the greater Boston area to support other people's research, so one of the intentions here is that this particular piece of equipment will be of use to researchers regionally, who need to access this type of equipment," Miller said.
Vandervelde explained that only about $1.1 million of the $1.5 million grant was provided by the NSF, as Tufts was required to cost-share 30 percent of the expenses.
With help from the new machine, Vandervelde sees his future research as extremely promising.
"For the last five years I feel like I've been researching with one arm tied behind my back, because [the MBE machine] is a crucial piece of equipment for the kind of research that I do." he said. "So, it will really help a lot in my research, and it will enable me to develop these new devices and structures which I wasn't able to even conceive of before."
