SBIR Phase I: Optical Delivery System for In Situ Heating and Excitation in the Transmission Electron Microscope

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发一个与透射电子显微镜（TEM）兼容的光学传输系统，该系统将促进高温和激发态下的原子级成像和表征。拟议系统最关键和最深远的广泛影响是它将实现的新科学/发现。纳米和原子尺度的成像和表征对于推进新材料和新技术至关重要，而新材料和新技术又对研究和工业实验室至关重要。该仪器将使研究人员能够在以前无法达到的独特温度和时间制度中发现高温和激发态材料现象。拟议仪器的成功开发将产生收入，并孵化几个后续产品，这反过来又将创造就业机会。第5年将专注于工业和研究实验室以及现有和新TEM销售的市场目标。方便的是，该系统可以适用于其他材料表征技术，以扩大创新的影响。 该项目的智力价值是设计，组装和测试的光学传输系统，特别适合在TEM纳米和原子尺度的表征。 该创新提供了一个具有前所未有的能力的系统，通过局部光热和光激发模式在TEM中操纵材料。光热模式将使敏捷，非侵入性和无处不在的TEM标本的访问，并使独特的温度和时间制度无法与标准的电阻加热系统。激发模式将使研究人员能够在纳米尺度上对材料的光激发态进行成像和表征。拟议的仪器包括双光纤耦合的光学加热和激发通道，安装在一个专门设计的nanomanipulator上，用于精确的x-y-z定位。除了硬件开发外，还将为光源和纳米操纵器系统开发适当的软件控制。最后，在显微镜测试的原位加热和激发将在田纳西大学进行。具体而言，提出了用于显微镜内测试/验证的三个任务：（1）原位高温成像，（2）来自石墨烯的光热外来碳净化，以及（3）在电子能量损失/增益光谱期间等离子体纳米颗粒的原位光学激发。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an optical delivery system compatible with a transmission electron microscope (TEM) that will facilitate atomic-scale imaging and characterization at high-temperatures and excited states. The most critical and far-reaching broader impact of the proposed system is the new science/discovery that it will enable. Imaging and characterization at the nano- and atomic-scale are critical to advancing new materials and technologies, which are in turn critical to research and industry laboratories. The instrumentation will enable researchers to uncover high-temperature and excited-state materials phenomena in unique temperature and temporal regimes previously inaccessible. The successful development of the proposed instrumentation will generate revenue and incubate several follow-on products, which in turn will create jobs. Year 5 will focus on both industry and research laboratories and market targets for both existing and new TEM sales. Conveniently, the system can be adapted for other materials characterization techniques to broaden the impact of the innovation. The intellectual merit of this project is the design, assembly, and testing of an optical delivery system specifically suitable for nano-and atomic-scale characterization in the TEM. The innovation delivers a system with unprecedented ability to manipulate materials in the TEM via the localized photothermal and photoexcited modalities. The photothermal modality will enable agile, non-invasive, and ubiquitous access to TEM specimens and enable unique temperature and temporal regimes not accessible with standard resistive heating systems. The excitation modality will enable researchers to image and characterize optical-excited states of materials at the nanoscale. The proposed instrumentation consists of dual fiber-coupled optical heating and excitation channels housed on a specially designed nanomanipulator for accurate x-y-z positioning. In addition to the hardware development, appropriate software controls will be developed for the optical sources and the nanomanipulator system. Finally, in-microscope testing of the in situ heating and excitation will be performed at the University of Tennessee. Specifically, three tasks are proposed for the in-microscope testing/validation: (1) in situ high-temperature imaging, (2) photothermal adventitious carbon decontamination from graphene, and (3) in situ optical excitation of plasmonic nanoparticles during electron energy loss/gain spectroscopy.