MRI: Development of a 240 GHz Pulsed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectrometer with Nanosecond Time Resolution

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The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California-Santa Barbara will develop a 240 GHz pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer (EPR) with this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program. This high frequency EPR spectrometer will capitalize on the tunable terahertz excitation pulses generated at UC Santa Barbara's Free Electron Laser (FEL) facility. The instrument will push the frontier of EPR spectroscopy to more than twice the current frequency/field limitation. It will open up new areas of investigation of the structure and dynamics in biological, chemical and electronic systems. EPR spectroscopy detects changes in electron spin in materials that contain an unpaired electron. This provides information on the structure and motions of the material at an atomic level. The resultant data provides insight on the properties of materials such as proteins, enzymes and defects in solid materials. This new instrument will allow the study of proteins in biologically relevant environments that were heretofore impossible in many cases. After development, the new spectrometer is intended to become a multi-user facility because of its unique capabilities. Graduate and undergraduate students will be involved in this project learning skills in the design and construction of state-of-the-art instrumentation.