Acquisition and Development of Fast Confocal Polarizing Microscope for Liquid Crystal Materials Research and Education

这笔赠款为肯特州立大学采购和开发用于液晶 (LC) 材料研究和教育的快速共焦偏光显微镜提供支持。该项目的目标是将最近开发的三维（3D）定向顺序无损成像技术扩展到实时扫描的时域，以研究毫秒时间尺度、空间分辨率为1微米的过程。 这种新型显微镜将极大地提高研究人员和教育工作者对现代材料中分子排列及其集体动力学的复杂性的洞察力，并且具有重大的基础和应用意义。借助高速成像，它对于表征新材料（如 LC 胶体和 LC 聚合物复合材料、光子晶体、生物传感器）以及复杂几何形状的传​​统材料（例如，具有 3D 指向矢缺陷的 LC）的结构、性质和性能是不可或缺的。由于其中许多材料都是新材料，尚未得到充分研究，因此该仪器将带来基本特性的发现。这对于液晶显示器、光束转向装置、光开关等实用器件的开发有很大帮助。使用这种显微镜开发实时细菌检测将为公众的安全和健康做出贡献。该仪器将安装在肯特州立大学 (KSU) 的液晶研究所 (LCI)，这是一个公认的中心，拥有发达的基础设施，将基础研究和应用研究与强大的工业合作伙伴计划以及各级强大的教育计划相结合。 物理、化学、生物学和跨学科项目的研究生和本科生、暑期本科生和参与外展项目的 K-12 学生都将从中受益。这种新功能将使教育工作者能够展示现代材料和设备中基本现象的物理本质。

This grant provides support for the acquisition and development of a fast confocal polarizing microscope for liquid crystal (LC) materials research and education at Kent State University. The goal of this project is to expand the recently developed technique of three-dimensional (3D) non-destructive imaging of orientational order into the time domain of real-time scanning to study processes at the millisecond time scale with spatial resolution of 1 micrometer. This new microscope will significantly sharpen the insight of researchers and educators into the complex word of molecular arrangements and their collective dynamics in modern materials and is of great fundamental and applied interest. With high speed imaging it will be indispensable in characterization of structure, properties, and performance of new materials such as LC-colloidal and LC-polymer composites, photonic crystals, biosensors, as well as the traditional materials in complex geometries (for example, LCs with 3D director defects). As many of these materials are new and not well studied, the instrument will bring discoveries of fundamental properties. It will be of great help in development of practical devices such as LC displays, beam steering devices and optical switches. Using this microscope in the development of real-time bacterial detection would be a contribution to the safety and health of the public. The instrument will be installed at the Liquid Crystal Institute (LCI), Kent State University (KSU), a recognized center with well-developed infrastructure combining fundamental and applied research with strong industrial partnership program and with strong educational programs at all levels. Graduate and undergraduate students in physics, chemistry, biology and interdisciplinary programs will benefit, as will undergraduate summer students and K-12 students involved in outreach programs. This new capability will allow the educators to demonstrate the physical essence of fundamental phenomena in modern materials and devices.