Research Data Infrastructure for High-Throughput Experimental Materials Science

TL;DR

This paper describes the development of a research data infrastructure and database for high-throughput inorganic materials experiments, facilitating data sharing and accelerating materials discovery.

Contribution

It introduces a custom data tool workflow that integrates experimental data collection with a centralized database, promoting data accessibility and collaboration.

Findings

Established a data communication pipeline between experimental and data science communities.

Demonstrated strategies for integrating data tools with experimental workflows.

Highlighted the potential for accelerating materials discovery through data infrastructure.

Abstract

The High-Throughput Experimental Materials Database (HTEM-DB) is the endpoint repository for inorganic thin-film materials data collected during combinatorial experiments at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This unique data asset is enabled by the Research Data Infrastructure (RDI) - a set of custom data tools that collect, process, and store experimental data and metadata. Here, we describe the experimental data-tool workflow from the RDI to the HTEM-DB to illustrate the strategies and best practices currently used for materials data at NREL. Integration of these data tools with the experimental processes establishes a data communication pipeline between experimental and data science communities. In doing so, this work motivates the creation of similar data workflows at other institutions to aggregate valuable data and increase its usefulness for future data studies. These types of investments can greatly accelerate the pace of learning and discovery in the materials science field, by making data accessible to new and rapidly evolving data methods.