The Ultrafast electron Imaging Lab of Waterloo

NSERC Discovery计划建立在NSERC-DG、NSERC-CRD、NSERC-I2I、OCE-VIP2和其他资助计划支持的五年基础研究和技术开发的基础上。 我的研究计划的长期目标在于研究与凝聚态物理、溶液化学和分子生物学领域相关的动力学现象和结构-功能相关性。为了实现这一目标，我的团队实施了自制的飞秒(Fs)光谱和电子成像方法，这些方法能够为我们提供观察原子运动所必需的时间和空间分辨率；即亚皮秒的时间和ngstrom空间分辨率。 我领导超快电子成像实验室(UeIL)；我是一支干劲十足的跨学科团队，研究课题广泛，从载流子动力学、电子-声子和声子-声子相互作用、激子和激光诱导的低维晶体材料相变，到激发态动力学和液体中分子物种之间的电子转移反应。我的团队还利用分子动力学模拟和电子结构计算来帮助我们的实验观察。 UEIL拥有独特的自制基础设施，用于动态表征分子结构和材料性能。这项发现计划的目标是我研究的合乎逻辑的延续，重点是时间分辨技术在纳米材料、薄膜和分子物种研究中的应用；将特别关注二维范德瓦尔斯模型--堆叠的材料显示出奇异的行为，如电荷密度波、拓扑绝缘、铁磁性和魏尔半金属性质。 除了上述时间分辨实验外，UeIL的一个新的、快速增长的研究方向涉及利用液体中透射电子显微镜(In-Liquid TEM)和低温电子显微镜(Cryo-TEM)研究纳米颗粒和生物样品。我的团队已经开发了我们自己的专门的侧入瞬变电磁波夹持器，并与这些研究领域的世界领先专家建立了合作关系。我们的三项技术已经通过滑铁卢商业化办公室获得了专利，预计将在2021年左右由集团高级成员创建一个分支。我的意图是双重的：通过技术创新获得独特的、有影响力的研究成果，并将最先进的设备推向市场，推动初创公司和我自己的实验室进一步扩张。 我的团队即将进入一个非常令人兴奋和富有成效的阶段，在这个阶段，UeIL最先进的仪器将推动这一代人取得有影响力的研究成果，建立多种跨学科合作，并为新发现打开大门。

This NSERC Discovery program builds on five years of fundamental research and technological developments supported by NSERC-DG, NSERC-CRD, NSERC-I2I, OCE-VIP2 and other funding programs. The long-term goal of my research program lies in the investigation of dynamical phenomena and structure-function correlations relevant to the fields of condensed matter physics, solution chemistry, and molecular biology. To achieve this goal, my team implements homebuilt femtosecond (fs) spectroscopic and electron imaging methods that are capable of providing us with the prerequisite temporal and spatial resolutions to observe atoms in motion; i.e. sub-picosecond temporal and ngstrom spatial resolutions. I lead the Ultrafast electron Imaging Lab (UeIL); I highly motivated and interdisciplinary team with research topics ranging from the study of carrier dynamics, electron-phonon and phonon-phonon interactions, excitons, and laser-induced phase transformations in crystalline low dimensional materials to excited state dynamics and electron transfer reactions between molecular species in the liquid phase. My group also utilizes molecular dynamics simulations and electronic structure calculations to assist our experimental observations. UeIL hosts unique homebuilt infrastructure for the dynamic characterization of molecular structure and materials properties. The objectives of this Discovery proposal are a logical continuation of my research with a focus on the application of time-resolved techniques to the investigation of nanomaterials, thin films and molecular species; special attention will be paid to model two-dimensional van der Waals-stacked materials exhibiting exotic behaviours such as charge density wave, topological insulation, ferromagnetism and Weyl semi-metallicity. In addition to the aforementioned time-resolved experiments, a new and quickly growing research direction at UeIL involves the study of nanoparticles and biospecimens by in-liquid transmission electron microscopy (in-liquid TEM) and cryogenic-TEM (cryo-TEM). My team has developed our own specialized side-entry TEM holders and established collaborations with world leading experts in these research areas. Three of our technologies have been patented via Waterloo Commercialization Office and the creation of a spinoff by senior group member is anticipated, ca. 2021. My intention is two-fold; to enable unique impactful research results through technology innovation and to bring to the market state-of-the-art devices that will drive further expansion of both, the startup and my own laboratory. My team is about to enter a very exciting and productive phase in which UeIL's state-of-the-art instrumentation will drive the generation impactful research results, the establishment of a multitude of interdisciplinary collaborations, and open the doors to new discoveries.