4Wind Science and Engineering (4Wind SE)

Organization
4Wind Science and Engineering

Project Leader
Cattien Nguyen

Summary
The 4Wind Science and Engineering project will build a chemical vapor deposition chamber for the purpose of testing and characterizing tools and processes for the large-scale deposition of thin films containing nanostructures. The controlled fabrication of these thin films is a crucial step in the process of moving forward with many advanced technologies, as already clearly demonstrated in the semiconductor and magnetic storage industries. The creation, testing and characterization of such thin-film deposition tools are also essential to the further development of advanced energy and information technologies, among others. It is anticipated that the resulting chemical vapor deposition tools will enhance existing research projects in the Advanced Studies Laboratory, find commercial application, and serve as an enabling device to further the missions of Ames Research Center and NASA.

Project Description
The 4Wind SE project is currently funded for an initial two-year period. The project will build a deposition tool with a 3-4-square-foot footprint in a 300-square-foot lab in the shared-space Advanced Studies Laboratory. There project personnel will research, develop, fabricate and test thin-film materials containing nanostructures or nanoscale domains.

The project will be conducted by technical lead Dr. Cattien V. Nguyen with two to three students and/or post-doctoral fellows working under his direct supervision. In addition, Ali Kashani and Yang Zhao, working in the role of staff scientists, will support the project by testing the nanostructures derived from the deposition tool, primarily at an external facility.

The project compliments the work of another ASL affiliate, the center for Advanced Materials and Devices (AAMD). 4Wind SE personnel also have initiated plans to work in a mutually collaborative and beneficial manner with another current ASL affiliate, the Bio-Info-Nano Research and Development Institute (BIN-RDI). The new 4Wind SE project will ensure that the potential of chemical deposition tools and technologies will be realized in a timely manner. Once these tools are fully developed and tested, they will be made available to be shared and used by other ASL affiliate members, notably the Thermal Characterization Laboratory (TCL), the Nanostructured Energy Conversion Technology and Research (NECTAR) laboratory, and the Solar Energy and Renewable Fuels (SERF) project. Each of these affiliates may benefit, among other ways, from using the new tools, once functioning, to deposit carbon nanotubes on 4-inch substrates or larger with a high degree of uniformity.

The desired outcome of this research is to eliminate some of the existing roadblocks for the practical applications related to energy, energy efficient devices and energy storage. This in turn will impact many aspects of human lives, ranging from medicine and national security to food safety and to chemical and environmental industries.

To learn more about the 4Wind SE, visit: http://4windse.com

4Wind Science and Engineering (4Wind SE) lead is Cattien Nguyen.

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