SBIR Phase I: Providing Microscopy at the Ultimate Resolution: Position, Identity, of Every Atom, in 3D

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目解决了当前纳米技术繁荣中的一个主要障碍和机会，即对改进显微镜能力的需求。对纳米技术的公共投资从2000年的零增长到2012年的680亿美元，反映了将结构和化学工程微型化到纳米级的技术和商业优势。缺少的是能够以足够的精度解析这种结构和化学物质的显微镜：原子尺度的三维分辨率(3D)。如果成功，该项目将展示一种弥合这一差距的新型显微镜。基于投影原子显微镜(AMP)技术，新的AMP显微镜将在3D中成像每个原子的位置和身份。完整的原子分辨率将为研究科学家提供关键的缺失信息，并为制造质量保证提供更准确的检测技术。AMP显微镜揭示了原子性质的起源，将加速从反复试验的实验向基于计算机的设计的过渡，从而大大节省研究和开发的时间和资金。该项目的智力优势集中在研究创造第一个显微镜的可行性，该显微镜能够在三个维度上分辨每个原子的位置和身份，每次分析数十亿个原子。这意味着空间分辨率提高了100倍，化学分辨率提高了2倍。AMP结合了场离子显微镜和场蒸发飞行时间质谱仪。原型AMP实验以3D亚埃分辨率对100%的原子进行了空间成像，但只在化学上识别了57%。这是使用多用途探测器进行空间分辨率和化学分辨率的检测极限。为了达到100%的原子空间和化学分辨率，该项目将对新型离子光学进行建模、模拟和实验测试，以将空间分辨率信息从化学分辨率信息中分离出来，使每个探测器都能使用单一用途的探测器，并提高质量。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses a major obstacle and opportunity in the present nanotechnology boom, the need for improved microscope capabilities. The growth of public investment in nanotechnology, from zero in 2000 to $68 billion in 2012, reflects the technical and commercial advantages of miniaturizing structural and chemical engineering to the nanoscale. Missing are microscopes capable of resolving such structures and chemistries with sufficient accuracy: atomic-scale resolution in three dimensions (3D). If successful, this project will demonstrate a new microscope that bridges this gap. Based on atom microscope by projection (AMP) technology, the new AMP microscope will image the position and identity of every atom in 3D. Complete atomic resolution will provide critical missing information to research scientists and more accurate inspection technology for manufacturing quality assurance. Revealing atomic origins of properties, AMP microscopes will accelerate transition from trial-and-error experimentation to computer-based design, allowing significant savings of time and money in research and development.The intellectual merit of this project focuses on investigating feasibility of creating the first microscope capable of resolving the position and identity of every atom, in three dimensions, for billions of atoms per analysis. This represents a 100-fold spatial resolution improvement and a 2-fold chemical resolution improvement. AMP combines field-ion microscopy and field-evaporation time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Prototype AMP experiments spatially imaged 100% of atoms with 3D sub-angstrom resolution but only chemically identified 57%. This is the detection limit of using a multi-purpose detector for both spatial and chemical resolution. To reach 100% atomic spatial and chemical resolution, this project will model, simulate, and experimentally test feasibility of novel ion optics to separate the spatial resolution information from the chemical resolution information, enabling use of single-purpose detectors for each and improving quality.