PFI-TT: Development of a novel infrared light source for the identification and study of the chemical constituents of materials

这个PFI项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是在不需要大型和昂贵的红外光源的情况下，显著提高了高灵敏度化学鉴定的能力和可行性。该项目的目的是开发一种商业上可行的，紧凑的，桌面光源，提供合适的强度和波长，以提高灵敏度表征材料和化学品。这将补充半导体和生物医药行业在纳米技术和生物技术方面的创新能力，使他们能够以具有成本效益的方式全面了解他们的材料和系统。此计划亦有助教育及训练有意从事物理应用及商业研究的研究生及本科生。与红外光源组件供应商和潜在客户的联系是该项目的进一步广泛影响。该项目有潜力通过预期建立的初创公司为弗吉尼亚州和美国的经济做出贡献，这将创造就业机会，收入和知识产权。该计划将解决在远红外到近红外光谱范围内缺乏超宽带和高亮度商用光源的问题。目标是通过将其稳定光输出寿命增加到数百小时来优化氩等离子体光源原型。优化后的产品将提高光谱学应用特别是工业应用中的数据采集效率。我们的计划是通过优化热性能、内腔设计和组件更换过程，重新设计该设备，从而使日常操作和维护变得简单、高效和可重复。高温等离子体在100 cm-1 ~ 2500 cm-1频率范围内的红外辐射特性，以往没有研究过。这是因为商用氙气等离子灯中的石英灯泡对上述频率范围内的红外辐射不透明。提出的光源在100 cm-1和2500 cm-1以及更高频率之间的红外发射特性将使用类似于工业中广泛使用的光谱仪和显微镜进行测量，从而证明该光源与现有光谱设备的兼容性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this PFI project is the significant increase in the capability and viability of high sensitivity chemical identification without the need for large and expensive infrared light sources. The aim of this project is to develop a commercially viable, compact, table-top light source that provides suitable intensities and wavelengths to characterize materials and chemicals with increased sensitivity. This will complement the capabilities of the semiconductor and bio-medical industries to innovate in nanotechnology and biotechnology by allowing them to obtain a thorough understanding of their materials and systems in a cost-effective manner. This project will also enable the education and training of graduate and undergraduate students who are inclined towards the applied and commercial aspects of physics research. Contacts with suppliers of components for the infrared light source and with potential customers are further broad impacts of this project. This project has the potential to contribute to the economy of Virginia and the USA via the expected establishment of a start-up company that will create jobs, revenue, and intellectual property.The proposed project will tackle the lack of commercially available light sources that are ultra-broadband and highly brilliant in the far- to near-infrared spectral range. The objective is to optimize the argon plasma light source prototype by increasing its lifetime of stable light output to hundreds of hours. The optimized product will improve data acquisition efficiency in spectroscopy applications especially in industry. The plan is to redesign this device improving on what has been learned from the previous iteration by optimizing the thermal properties, inner chamber design, and component replacement process allowing routine operation and maintenance to be simple, efficient, and reproducible. The characteristics of infrared radiation from a high temperature plasma in the frequency range between 100 cm-1 and 2500 cm-1 have not been studied in the past. This is because the quartz bulb in commercial xenon plasma lamps is opaque to infrared radiation in the above frequency range. The infrared emission characteristics of the proposed light source between 100 cm-1 and 2500 cm-1 and even higher frequencies will be measured using spectrometers and microscopes similar to the ones used extensively in industry, thus demonstrating the source's compatibility with existing spectroscopy equipment.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.