Laserbased infrared microscope with high spectral and spatial resolution

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To enable new research in nanophotonics and specifically for our endeavors in the area of mid-infrared molecular spectroscopy, we require a laser-based infrared microscopy system with high spectral and spatial resolution. The microscope will be leveraged in combination with novel surface-enhanced sensor geometries (so called metasurfaces) developed in our group to reveal the spatially resolved molecular composition of complex chemical and biological systems. One focus of our work will be on investigating ensembles of bacteria and their response to the immune system and relevant pharmaceuticals. Another application is the spectroscopic investigation of nanoantennas composed of dielectric and phononic materials and their interactions with two-dimensional excitonic systems such as graphene or hexagonal boron nitride. Through the unique synergy of surface-enhancement, intense laser-based illumination in the mid-infrared and high detector pixel resolution, these experiments can be carried out with unprecedented sensitivity and pushed to the ultimate limit of a single nanoantenna. Therefore, our approach opens up a new research direction in the field of nanophysics and light/matter interaction. The preferred laser system is characterized, in particular, by the brilliance of its laser source over the entire molecular fingerprinting spectral range and by the very high spatial resolution of its imaging microbolometer detector.