MRI: Acquisition of a Tip-Enhanced Nano Raman Spectroscopy (TERS) Microscope for Soft Matter Research and Education

该项目由重大研究仪器(MRI)和既定的刺激竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)联合资助。非技术描述：收购佛蒙特州大学(UVM)的尖端增强型纳米拉曼光谱仪器将为聚合材料研究建立联系，解决与从生物大分子和有机小分子半导体到地质构造和矿物等材料中的化学行为和结构-性质关系有关的基本跨学科问题。UVM最近在科学、技术、工程和数学综合大楼的投资，包括一个共享的显微镜研究实验室空间，为该仪器创造了一个有效的位置，该仪器作为用户研究设施的一部分进行操作。密歇根州立大学拥有一批具有专业知识和科学兴趣的跨学科研究人员，他们充分利用该仪器，同时吸引区域合作者。该显微镜被纳入了一门为研究生和本科生开设的为期两学期的高级仪器材料科学(MATS)课程。高中生和中学生通过与学生主导的材料研究学会当地分会合作组织的活动，了解由该仪器实现的研究。技术描述：尖端增强拉曼光谱是一种新技术，它促进了在探索复杂的软和硬材料系统方面的快速发展，因为它能够以高空间分辨率同时使用多种成像技术。该仪器的特点包括空间分辨率低于10 nm，能够测量超低频拉曼频移。使用这种显微镜，UVM的研究人员解决了软物质研究的最大挑战之一：在小范围内可靠而高效地绘制结构-性质关系图，这最终可以导致预测、控制和定制特定用途的先进碳基材料。该仪器显著受益的研究包括a)探测和控制有机半导体中集体动力学(声子)和电子传输之间的耦合，b)对软物质系统中振动和相干现象之间的耦合的基本了解，以及c)在纳米尺度上映射薄膜的应变和无序。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project is jointly funded by the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).Non-Technical Description:The acquisition of a tip-enhanced nano-Raman spectroscopy instrument at the University of Vermont (UVM) will create a nexus for convergent materials research, addressing fundamental cross-disciplinary questions related to chemical behavior and structure-properties relationships in materials ranging from large biomolecules and organic small-molecule semiconductors to geological formations and minerals. Recent investments by UVM in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics building complex, including a shared microscopy research laboratory space, have created an effective location for the instrument, which is operated as part of a user research facility. UVM has a group of cross-disciplinary researchers with expertise and scientific interests that make full use of the instrument, while simultaneously attracting regional collaborators. The microscope is incorporated into an advanced two-semester instrumentation Materials Science (MATS) course for graduate and undergraduate students. High school and middle school students learn about the research enabled by this instrument through events organized in collaboration with the student-led local chapter of the Materials Research Society.Technical Description:Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is a new technique that facilitates rapid advances in exploring complex soft and hard materials systems because it enables simultaneous multi-imaging techniques with high spatial resolution. The characteristics of the instrument include less than 10 nm spatial resolution and the ability to measure ultra-low frequency Raman shifts. Using this microscope, UVM researchers address one of the greatest challenges of soft matter research: reliably and efficiently mapping the structure-property relationships at small scales, which can ultimately lead to predicting, controlling and tailoring advanced carbon-based materials for specific uses. Research thrusts significantly benefiting from this instrument include a) probing and controlling the coupling between collective dynamics (phonons) and electronic transport in organic semiconductors, b) fundamental understanding of the coupling between vibrations and coherence phenomena in soft matter systems, and c) mapping strain and disorder of thin films on the nanoscale.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.