SBIR Phase II: NanoIR: Infrared Chemical Spectroscopy at the sub-20 nm Scale

SBIR 第二阶段：NanoIR：亚 20 nm 尺度的红外化学光谱

• 批准号: 1126871
• 负责人: Craig Prater
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: Anasys Instruments Corp.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-10-01 至 2014-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1126871&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; NanoIR; Infrared

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will involve research and development of infrared nanospectroscopy, leading to the first commercial instrument capable of infrared spectroscopy and chemical imaging at the sub-20 nm scale on a broad range of samples. We will develop and demonstrate key technologies to dramatically improve the resolution and sensitivity of atomic force microscope-based infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR). Conventional infrared spectroscopy is the most widely used technique for chemical characterization, but fundamental limits prevent it from being applied at the nanoscale. The AFM has excellent spatial resolution, but until recently had no ability to perform chemical spectroscopy. AFM-IR has demonstrated infrared spectroscopy at well below conventional diffraction limits, but the current spatial resolution and sensitivity are on the order of 100-200 nm, and the method requires specialized sample preparation. This effort will expand on successful Phase I research to develop a robust instrument for obtaining high-resolution chemical spectra on a wide variety of samples with minimal sample preparation. This project will combine simulations with development of experimental techniques and prototype instrumentation to enable commercialization of infrared spectroscopy and chemical imaging down to the scale of single monolayers and individual molecules.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to give researchers a robust capability to leverage the power of infrared spectroscopy over broad wavelength ranges and at resolution scales well below current limits. Infrared spectroscopy is arguably the most widely used technique for chemical characterization, but spatial resolution limits have prevented it from being widely applied at the nanoscale. With billions of dollars of global investments in nanoscience and nanotechnology, the lack of IR nanospectroscopy technology leaves an enormous gap in needed characterization capabilities. The novel AFM-IR platform will enable a wide range of high-resolution characterization methodologies in materials science and life sciences including correlation of morphological, chemical, mechanical and optical properties. Based on specific early customer measurement requests, we anticipate significant downstream benefits in areas including the development of block co-polymers, advanced polymer nanocomposites, functional nanostructures, catalysts, materials for energy generation and storage, and many other areas.

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目将涉及红外纳米光谱的研究和开发，从而导致第一台能够在广泛样本范围内进行20 nm以下尺度的红外光谱和化学成像的商用仪器。我们将开发和展示显著提高原子力显微镜红外光谱(AFM-IR)分辨率和灵敏度的关键技术。传统的红外光谱是最广泛使用的化学表征技术，但基本限制使其无法应用于纳米级。原子力显微镜具有出色的空间分辨率，但直到最近才有能力进行化学光谱分析。AFM-IR显示红外光谱远低于常规的衍射限，但目前的空间分辨率和灵敏度在100-200 nm量级，而且该方法需要专门的样品制备。这项工作将在成功的第一阶段研究的基础上扩大，以开发一种强大的仪器，以最少的样品制备获得各种样品的高分辨率化学光谱。该项目将把模拟与实验技术和原型仪器的开发相结合，使红外光谱和化学成像能够商业化到单分子层和单个分子的规模。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将使研究人员有强大的能力在广泛的波长范围和远低于当前限制的分辨率尺度上利用红外光谱的力量。红外光谱可以说是最广泛使用的化学表征技术，但空间分辨率的限制阻碍了它在纳米尺度上的广泛应用。随着全球数十亿美元的纳米科学和纳米技术投资，红外纳米光谱技术的缺乏在所需的表征能力方面留下了巨大的缺口。新的AFM-IR平台将在材料科学和生命科学中实现广泛的高分辨率表征方法，包括形态、化学、机械和光学性质的关联。根据特定的早期客户测量要求，我们预计在嵌段共聚聚合物、先进聚合物纳米复合材料、功能纳米结构、催化剂、能源生成和储存材料等许多领域的开发将带来显著的下游效益。