Equipment: MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a Tunable Ultrafast Spectroscopy System at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution to Enhance Undergraduate Training

非技术描述：为了促进对增强现实、量子传感、基于纳米材料的生物传感、人工光合作用和光遗传学等新兴技术必不可少的材料的利用，对其光学和电学特性的透彻理解至关重要。这些材料的许多特性是由非常快速地发生的过程产生的，大约在皮秒量级，并且不会导致光发射。因此，不能使用传统的基于发射的光谱技术，例如光致发光。超快瞬态吸收光谱仪允许以亚皮秒分辨率精确测量材料光吸收的时间变化。这项主要的研究仪器补助金增加了一个瞬态吸收光谱仪，以现有的光谱测量设备在宾夕法尼亚州西切斯特大学（WCU）。该仪器为WCU的本科生提供了先进的实践培训机会，使他们为物理学，生物医学工程，材料工程，化学和分子生物学等各个领域的STEM劳动力做好准备。此外，该工具纳入WCU的高中外展计划。最后，它促进了广泛的合作，并通过提供大费城地区其他机构的访问，提高学生接触研究专业知识。技术描述：这款高度通用的超快瞬态吸收光谱仪系统，可分别提供258 nm - 1400 nm和350 nm - 1000 nm的泵浦和探测范围，为跨学科的研究项目提供便利。这一广泛的范围使调查不同的凝聚态物质和生物系统。该仪器集成到现有的光谱测量系统中，可以进行亚皮秒分辨率的测量，包括瞬态吸收、光致发光和时间相关单光子计数。WCU的研究人员利用这一工具来探索：用于微显示和量子信息应用的稀土掺杂半导体的载流子动力学、用于生物传感的纳米多孔硅粉末的激发/衰减动力学、涉及金纳米团簇的光诱导电子转移、用于量子传感的纳米金刚石气凝胶复合材料中的氮空位中心等。此外，外部研究人员使用该仪器探测红荧烯中的激子动力学，并研究用于光化学的新材料。该奖项反映了NSF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进行评估，被认为值得支持的搜索.

Non-Technical Description:To advance the utilization of materials essential for emerging technologies such as augmented reality, quantum sensing, nanomaterial-based biosensing, artificial photosynthesis, and optogenetics, a thorough understanding of their optical and electrical properties is critical. Many of these materials properties result from processes that occur very quickly, on the order of picoseconds, and do not result in light emission. Thus, conventional emission-based spectroscopic techniques, such as photoluminescence, cannot be used. An ultra-fast transient absorption spectrometer allows for the precise measurement of the temporal variation in a material's light absorption with sub-picosecond resolution. This major research instrumentation grant adds a transient absorption spectrometer to the existing spectroscopic measurement equipment at West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCU). The instrument provides advanced hands-on training opportunities for undergraduate students at WCU to prepare them for the STEM workforce in a variety of areas, such as physics, biomedical engineering, materials engineering, chemistry, and molecular biology. Additionally, the instrument integrates into WCU's high school outreach programs. Lastly, it fosters broad collaboration and enhances student exposure to research expertise by providing access to other institutions in the greater Philadelphia area.Technical Description:This highly versatile ultrafast transient absorption spectrometer system facilitates research projects across various disciplines, offering pump and probe ranges of 258 nm - 1400 nm and 350 nm - 1000 nm, respectively. This broad range enables investigations into diverse condensed matter and biological systems. Integrated into an existing spectroscopic measurement system, the instrument allows for sub-picosecond resolution measurements, including transient absorption, photoluminescence, and time-correlated single photon counting. Researchers at WCU utilize this instrument to explore: the carrier dynamics of rare-earth-doped semiconductors for micro-display and quantum information applications, the excitation/decay dynamics of nanoporous silicon powders for biosensing, the photoinduced electron transfer involving gold nanoclusters, nitrogen-vacancy centers in nanodiamond aerogel composites for quantum sensing, etc. Furthermore, external investigators employ the instrument to probe the exciton dynamics in Rubrene and to investigate new materials for photovoltaics.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.