MRI Consortium: Development of Dynamic PicoProbe for Multi-Modal, Multi-Dimensional HyperSpectral Imaging of Soft/Hard Matter and Interfaces in Environmental Media

这一重大研究仪器奖由数学和物理科学局(MPS)的材料研究部(DMR)和工程局(ENG)的土木、机械和制造创新部(CMMI)颁发，支持开发纳米级计量资源--动态PicoProbe，以便使用先进的分析电子显微镜对液/固/硬/软物质界面进行定量研究，以进行时间分辨的高分辨率现场环境观测。通过资助这种仪器的开发，可以在与工程和材料研究相关的几个领域取得进展，应用于水-能关系、催化、量子电子学、生物电子学、癌症治疗和蛋白质工程。该项目创建了一个国家用户可访问的资源，并提供了通过合作调查培训学生、博士后、新手和有经验的研究人员的独特机会。这一乐器开发项目的核心是培训具有针对性的技术和专业技能的下一代乐器演奏家，这些技能对他们的职业发展至关重要。动态PicoProbe仪器具有新的结构照明光学和机器学习/人工智能分析软件，用于实时数据处理，将环境介质中纳米级的时间测量能力提高一个数量级。光学和软件都与最先进的探测器集成在一起，形成了现有的最好的分析显微镜。该项目导致了一条具有元素灵敏度(1%最小质量分数)和图像分辨率(0.1 nm)的电子-光束线，以捕获固-液或固-气界面上的局部和单独的动态事件(3ms)。这样的测量对于推进科学和工程领域的多个前沿领域至关重要，例如工程纳米材料、有机/无机异质结构、生物界面、高分子化合物和量子电子学。这一奖项反映了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 Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award by both the Division of Materials Research (DMR) in the Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS) and the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) in the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) supports the development of a nanoscale metrological resource, the Dynamic PicoProbe, to enable quantitative investigations of liquid/solid/hard/soft matter interfaces for time-resolved high-resolution in-situ environmental observations using advanced analytical electron microscopy. Funding this instrument development allows advancement in several areas relevant to engineering and materials research with applications in the water-energy nexus, catalysis, quantum electronics, bioelectronics, cancer therapy, and protein engineering. The project creates a national user-accessible resource and offers unique opportunities to train students, postdocs, novice and experienced researchers through collaborative investigations. Central to this instrument-development project is training next-generation instrumentalists with targeted technical and professional skillsets critical to their career advancements. The Dynamic PicoProbe instrument features new structured illumination optics and machine learning/artificial intelligence analysis software for real-time data processing to improve temporal measurement capabilities at the nanoscale in environmental media by one order of magnitude. Both optics and software are integrated with state-of-the-art detectors into an existing best-of-class analytical microscope. The project leads to an electron-optical beam line having the elemental sensitivity ( 1% minimum mass fraction) and image resolution ( 0.1 nm) required to capture localized and individual dynamic events ( 3 ms) at solid-liquid or solid-gas interfaces. Such measurements are critical to advance multiple frontiers in science and engineering, such as engineered nanomaterials, organic/inorganic heterostructures, biointerfaces, macromolecular complexes, and quantum electronics.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.