SBIR Phase I: Providing Microscopy at the Ultimate Resolution: Position, Identity, of Every Atom, in 3D

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段的项目解决了当前纳米技术蓬勃发展中的一个主要障碍和机遇，即对改进显微镜功能的需求。纳米技术的公共投资从2000年的零增长到2012年的680亿美元，反映了将结构和化学工程小型化到纳米级的技术和商业优势。目前还没有能够以足够的精度分辨这些结构和化学成分的显微镜，即三维（3D）原子尺度的分辨率。如果成功，这个项目将展示一种新的显微镜，弥合这一差距。基于投影原子显微镜（AMP）技术，新型AMP显微镜将对每个原子的位置和身份进行三维成像。完整的原子分辨率将为研究科学家提供关键的缺失信息，并为制造质量保证提供更准确的检测技术。AMP显微镜揭示了属性的原子起源，将加速从试错实验到基于计算机的设计的过渡，从而大大节省了研究和开发的时间和金钱。这个项目的智力价值集中在研究创造第一台能够在三维空间中分辨每个原子的位置和身份的显微镜的可行性，每次分析数十亿个原子。这意味着空间分辨率提高了100倍，化学分辨率提高了2倍。AMP结合了场离子显微镜和场蒸发飞行时间质谱法。原型AMP实验以三维亚埃分辨率对100%的原子进行了空间成像，但仅识别了57%的原子。这是使用空间和化学分辨率的多用途检测器的检测极限。为了达到100%的原子空间和化学分辨率，该项目将建模、模拟和实验测试新型离子光学的可行性，以分离空间分辨率信息和化学分辨率信息，使每种探测器都能使用单一用途，并提高质量。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses a major obstacle and opportunity in the present nanotechnology boom, the need for improved microscope capabilities. The growth of public investment in nanotechnology, from zero in 2000 to $68 billion in 2012, reflects the technical and commercial advantages of miniaturizing structural and chemical engineering to the nanoscale. Missing are microscopes capable of resolving such structures and chemistries with sufficient accuracy: atomic-scale resolution in three dimensions (3D). If successful, this project will demonstrate a new microscope that bridges this gap. Based on atom microscope by projection (AMP) technology, the new AMP microscope will image the position and identity of every atom in 3D. Complete atomic resolution will provide critical missing information to research scientists and more accurate inspection technology for manufacturing quality assurance. Revealing atomic origins of properties, AMP microscopes will accelerate transition from trial-and-error experimentation to computer-based design, allowing significant savings of time and money in research and development.The intellectual merit of this project focuses on investigating feasibility of creating the first microscope capable of resolving the position and identity of every atom, in three dimensions, for billions of atoms per analysis. This represents a 100-fold spatial resolution improvement and a 2-fold chemical resolution improvement. AMP combines field-ion microscopy and field-evaporation time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Prototype AMP experiments spatially imaged 100% of atoms with 3D sub-angstrom resolution but only chemically identified 57%. This is the detection limit of using a multi-purpose detector for both spatial and chemical resolution. To reach 100% atomic spatial and chemical resolution, this project will model, simulate, and experimentally test feasibility of novel ion optics to separate the spatial resolution information from the chemical resolution information, enabling use of single-purpose detectors for each and improving quality.