C. Muratore¹, D. R. Austin², B. M. Everhart², N. R. Glavin^2
1University of Dayton, Dayton OH
²Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
The talk highlights automated experimental tools enabling synthesis and characterization of hundreds of samples per day. This approach, where experimentation is much faster than simulation has the potential to flip the traditional ‘order of operations’ for materials discovery where experiment feeds model during initial iterations. One high-throughput format relies on scanning lasers with broad ranges of power, scan rates, and focal positions to induce physical and chemical transformations within materials. Laser heating parameters may be set to approximate quasi-equilibrium heating as in a furnace, or induce extreme heating and cooling rates, thereby broadening the range of accessible compositions and crystal structures dictated by kinetics of both chemical reactions and crystallization. Deposition tools may also be used to create a broad range of compositions on the sample surface. Once a combinatorial sample with a desired range compositions and laser illumination conditions is processed, it can be manually or autonomously subjected to the combination of high-throughput characterization tools required for evaluation of the properties specified by the user. Autonomous systems enable users to specify a desired property and the system iterates processing and characterization data to ‘make decisions’ about optimization of conditions to realize the user-specified input. For example, an automated Raman spectroscopy system enables rapid collection of key data points (grain size, defect density, thickness, etc.) for technologically important optical, electronic, and energy materials. Some specific case studies include fundamental kinetics studies showing migration-limited crystallization kinetics amorphous materials can be directly observed. Pre-cursor materials for downstream processing can be converted directly into reaction intermediates with the appropriate non-equilibrium laser energy input to reduce process activation energy and process temperature required for high-quality materials. For photocatalysis materials rapid, non-equilibrium process conditions were identified demonstrating optimized performance with mixtures of phases.