High Sensitivity Nanoprobe for Molecular Imaging

9361525 Bado这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）项目是在表面化学的一般领域以及次级离子质谱（SIMS）和多光子共振电离（MPRI）的子领域。本研究的目的是制造并测试一种高灵敏度的纳米探针，该探针能够直接确定原子和分子在非导电表面上的横向位置，具有高空间分辨率（100nm），在原子原子范围内具有很高的灵敏度。纳米探针将结合MPRI的亚皮秒激光技术和TOF-SIMS在表面成像应用中的聚焦离子束。在第一阶段，将重点发展后电离超短脉冲激光源。优化激光源参数以提高纳米探针的灵敏度。与具有相同空间分辨率的系统相比，预计灵敏度将提高两到三个数量级。具有亚微米分辨率和高化学灵敏度的成像工具在表面科学和生物学领域有明显的市场。提出的纳米探针补充了光学和电子显微镜的现有能力，提供了以高空间分辨率识别化学物种的能力，并有望提高我们对生物表面成像的能力。＊＊＊

9361525 Bado This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is in the general area of surface chemistry and in the subfields of Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) and Multiphoton Resonance Ionization (MPRI). The objective of the research is to fabricate and test a high- sensitivity nanoprobe with the capability of directly determining the lateral location of atoms and molecules on nonconducting surfaces with high spatial resolution (100nm) and very high sensitivity in the atomole range. The nanoprobe will combine sub-picosecond laser techniques in MPRI with focused ion beams from TOF-SIMS in surface imaging applications. During Phase I, the development of a post-ionization ultrashort pulse laser source will be emphasized. Laser source parameters will be optimized to boost nanoprobe sensitivity. A two to three order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity over systems with identical spatial resolution is anticipated. %%% There is a clear market in surface science and biology for imaging tools with sub-micron resolution and high chemical sensitivity. The proposed nanoprobe complements existing capabilities in optical and electron microscopy, provides the ability to identify chemical species with high spatial resolution, and promises to enhance our ability to image biological surfaces. ***