SBIR PHASE II: High-Definition Raman Imaging Microscope

这个小型企业创新研究第二阶段项目将建立在第一阶段展示的成功成像拉曼仪器的基础上，并生产第二代仪器和软件，充分利用这一新技术的潜力。在第一阶段中，化学物种成像使用窄带液晶可调谐滤波器（LCTF）和CCD相机集成到一个拉曼显微镜。在图像中的每个像素处获得具有完整（且空间独立）的拉曼光谱的衍射受限空间图像，从而产生具有两个空间轴和一个光谱轴的图像立方体。新的LCTF方法使得高清晰度拉曼成像首次成为可能，并将拉曼光谱分析中固有的功率和特异性带到化学物质的成像中。在第二阶段，将进行关键的改进：传输将在第一阶段确定的高效率设计的基础上增加一倍（或更多），长波长限制将从目前的700 nm扩展到1050 nm。这种LCTF似乎在某些应用中提供了近乎革命性的好处，包括半导体分析，生物医学成像和药物研究。这些领域的绩效将在第二阶段进行实验性评估。最后，将制定数据分析方法，从所涉大型空间分辨数据集中提取化学物种信息。 LCTF拉曼成像系统的商业销售额估计在未来5年内为2100万美元，用于研究、半导体、钻石、制药和发电行业。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will build on the successful imaging Raman instrument demonstrated in Phase I, and produce second-generation instruments and software which fully exploit the potential of this new technique. In Phase I, chemical species were imaged using a narrowband liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF) and CCD camera integrated into a Raman microscope. Diffraction-limited spatial images were obtained with complete (and spatially independent) Raman spectra at each pixel in the image, yielding an image cube with two spatial axes and one spectral axis. The novel LCTF approach renders high-definition Raman imaging feasible for the first time, and brings the power and specificity inherent in Raman spectral analysis to the imaging of chemical species. In Phase II, key improvements will be made: transmission will be doubled (or more) based on a high-efficiency design identified in Phase I, and the longwavelength limit will be extended from the present 700 nm to 1050 nm. Such an LCTF appears to offer near-revolutionary benefits in certain applications including semiconductor analysis, biomedical imaging, and pharmaceutical research. Performance in these areas will assessed experimentally in Phase II. Finally, data analysis methods will be developed to extract chemical species information from the large, spatially resolved datasets involved. Commercial sales of LCTF Raman imaging systems are estimated at $21M over the next 5 years, for research, semiconductor, diamond, pharmaceutical, and power generation industries.