MRI: Development of an infrared scanning nanoscope for research and education in ultra-small and ultra-fast properties of advanced materials

MRI：开发红外扫描纳米显微镜，用于先进材料超小和超快特性的研究和教育

• 批准号: 1337356
• 负责人: Dimitri Basov
• 金额: $ 45.1万
• 依托单位: University of California-San Diego
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-01 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1337356&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Development; infrared; scanning; nanoscope

Technical abstract: This Major Research Instrumentation award supports a team of investigators at the University of California San-Diego to develop a state of the art infrared (IR) nano-spectrosopy system for ultra-fast (10's of fs) spectroscopic pump-probe measurements in the setting of a near field nano-scope enabling imaging at ultra-small length scales down to 5-10 nm. This one-of-a-kind system is a hybrid of an amplified ultra-fast laser beamline and an atomic force microscope. The IR beamline is based on a Ti:Sapphire amplifier driving an optical parametric amplifier, difference frequency and optical rectification unit. This versatile system enables intense pump pulses and highly stable probe pulses over a broad frequency range from visible to far-IR frequencies. The tunable repetition rate of the proposed Ti:S amplifier will allow the investigators to optimize data acquisition conditions of near-field spectra and images. The apparatus will allow a broad group of researchers to address some of the problems at the forefront of contemporary physics, chemistry, materials science and biological physics. These issues include among others: a spectroscopic characterization of ultrafast electronic and plasmonic dynamics in graphene, photo-induced phase transitions in correlated electronic systems, phase separation and competition between many body effects in high-Tc superconductors and dynamics of confined water and lipid bilayers. A common aspect of these projects is that they all require ultra-fast pump-probe measurements with nanoscale spatial resolution. ****Non-technical abstract: Infrared (IR) light provides a universal means for probing the vibrational and electronic properties of matter. Near-field IR optics enable spatial resolution beyond the so-called diffraction limit, thus opening access to the world of the ultra-small (down to ~5-10 nm) and overcoming the limitations of commonly employed ultrafast experiments using conventional diffraction-limited optics. This Major Research Instrumentation award supports a multi-disciplinary team of researchers comprised of a physicist, a chemist and a neuroscientist to develop a state-of-the-art facility for IR nano-imaging and spectroscopy analysis of materials and life science specimens from across the sciences. Once built and commissioned, the nano-spectrometer will meet the research and pedagogical needs of the sciences at the University of California San Diego and facilitate greater exposure of advanced scientific instrumentation to faculty, students, partners in industry and government laboratories. The commercialization of the instrumentation will help to maintain US leadership in manufacturing state-of-the-art tools for probing matter at the nanoscale.

技术摘要：该主要研究仪器奖支持加州圣地亚哥大学的一组研究人员开发一种最先进的红外（IR）纳米光谱系统，用于在近场纳米范围内进行超快（10 fs）光谱泵浦探测测量，从而实现5-10 nm的超小长度尺度成像。这个独一无二的系统是放大超快激光束线和原子力显微镜的混合体。红外光束线是基于钛：蓝宝石放大器驱动的光学参量放大器，差频和光学整流单元。这种多功能系统能够在从可见光到远红外频率的宽频率范围内实现强泵浦脉冲和高度稳定的探测脉冲。建议的Ti：S放大器的可调重复率将允许研究人员优化近场光谱和图像的数据采集条件。该装置将允许一个广泛的研究小组来解决当代物理学，化学，材料科学和生物物理学前沿的一些问题。这些问题包括：超快的电子和等离子体动力学的石墨烯，光诱导的相变相关的电子系统，相分离和竞争之间的许多身体的影响，在高Tc超导体和动力学的承压水和脂质双层的光谱表征。这些项目的一个共同点是，它们都需要具有纳米级空间分辨率的超快泵浦探测测量。* 非技术摘要：红外（IR）光为探测物质的振动和电子特性提供了一种通用手段。近场红外光学器件的空间分辨率超过了所谓的衍射极限，从而打开了进入超小（低至~5-10 nm）世界的大门，并克服了使用传统衍射极限光学器件的常用超快实验的局限性。该主要研究仪器奖支持由物理学家，化学家和神经科学家组成的多学科研究人员团队，以开发最先进的设施，用于对来自各个科学领域的材料和生命科学标本进行红外纳米成像和光谱分析。一旦建成并投入使用，纳米光谱仪将满足加州圣地亚哥大学的科学研究和教学需求，并促进教师，学生，工业和政府实验室的合作伙伴更多地接触先进的科学仪器。该仪器的商业化将有助于保持美国在制造最先进的纳米级探测工具方面的领导地位。