MRI: Development of a frequency-comb nearfield infrared spectrometer

ECCS-0723055S。Mookherjea，加州大学圣地亚哥分校的智力价值拟议计划的目标是通过开发散射扫描近场红外显微镜(S-SNIM)来推进用于纳米级实验的红外近场光谱显微镜。由于物质的许多基本性质的特征能量尺度落在近红外和中红外“指纹”能量范围内，红外光谱显微镜是最广泛的分析技术之一，经常用于国家安全、法医学、大多数自然科学、艺术史、材料科学和工程等不同领域。因此，能够在纳米尺度上进行精确的中红外光谱和显微测量的仪器将为检测分子物质提供几乎通用的手段，并对固体中的元素激发提供独特的见解。建议的S-SNIM将使近/中红外区域的光谱和成像能够在低温下进行，空间分辨率低至10纳米。更广泛的影响：拟议的工具将对地方、地区和国家层面的研究基础设施产生重大影响。在当地，加州大学圣迭戈分校9个研究小组的25多名研究生和研究人员将加强他们的培训和研究。在区域范围内，一些工业伙伴将能够使用显微光谱分析仪器。在全国范围内，拟议的仪器将减轻国家实验室超额订阅的同步加速器光束线的负担，而与安捷伦和工业合作伙伴合作将这些仪器商业化，将有助于保持美国在制造用于纳米级物质探测的最先进仪器方面的领先地位。教育活动包括开发新的专题课程、提供跨学科教育的机会以及对代表性不足的群体进行培训。后者包括与加州大学普赖斯分校的初中生和高中生进行接触，招聘和指导研究生和博士后学者，以及与CAMP：加州少数群体参与联盟一起对本科生进行培训。

ECCS-0723055S. Mookherjea, University of California, San Diego Intellectual meritThe goal of the proposed program is to advance IR near-field spectro-microscopy for experiments at the nanoscale through the development of a Scattering Scanning Nearfield Infrared Microscope (S-SNIM). Since many fundamental properties of matter have characteristic energy scales falling in the near and mid-infrared "fingerprint" energy range, infrared spectro-microscopy is one of the most widespread analytical techniques and is routinely employed in such diverse areas as national security, forensics, most of the natural sciences, art history, materials science and engineering. Therefore, an instrument that permits accurate mid-IR spectroscopic and microscopic measurements at the nanoscale will offer nearly universal means for detection of molecular substances and provide unique insights into elementary excitations in solids. The proposed S-SNIM will enable spectroscopy and imaging in the near/mid-IR region at cryogenic temperatures with spatial resolution down to 10 nanometers. Broader impact: The proposed instrumentation will significantly impact the research infrastructures at the local, regional, and national levels. Locally, more than 25 grad students and researchers affiliated with 9 research groups at UCSD will enhance their training and research. Regionally, a number of industrial partners will gain access to the micro-spectroscopy instrument. Nationally, the proposed instrumentation will reduce burden on oversubscribed synchrotron beamlines at national laboratories, whereas the commercialization of these instruments in collaboration with Agilent and industrial partners will help to maintain the US leadership in manufacturing state-of-the-art instrumentation for probing matter at the nanoscale. Educational activities include development of a new special-topics course, opportunities for interdisciplinary education and training of underrepresented groups. This latter involves outreach to middle and high school students at the UCSD Preuss School, recruitment and mentoring of graduate students and post-doctoral scholars, as well as of undergraduates in conjunction with CAMP: California Alliance for Minority Participation.