MRI: Acquisition of a Tip-Enhanced Nano Raman Spectroscopy (TERS) Microscope for Soft Matter Research and Education

该项目由重大研究仪器（MRI）和刺激竞争性研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。非技术描述：在佛蒙特大学（UVM）获得尖端增强纳米拉曼光谱仪器将为聚合材料研究创造一个纽带，解决从大生物分子和有机小分子半导体到地质构造和矿物的材料中与化学行为和结构-性能关系相关的基本跨学科问题。UVM最近在科学，技术，工程和数学建筑群的投资，包括共享显微镜研究实验室空间，为仪器创造了一个有效的位置，作为用户研究设施的一部分。UVM拥有一批具有专业知识和科学兴趣的跨学科研究人员，他们充分利用该仪器，同时吸引区域合作者。显微镜被纳入一个先进的两学期仪器材料科学（MATS）课程的研究生和本科生。高中和初中学生通过与材料研究学会学生领导的当地分会合作组织的活动了解该仪器所能实现的研究。技术描述：尖端增强拉曼光谱是一种新技术，它可以实现高空间分辨率的同时多成像技术，有助于探索复杂的软、硬材料系统。该仪器的特点包括小于10 nm的空间分辨率和测量超低频拉曼位移的能力。使用这种显微镜，UVM研究人员解决了软物质研究的最大挑战之一：可靠有效地映射小尺度的结构-性能关系，最终可以预测，控制和定制用于特定用途的先进碳基材料。从该仪器中显著受益的研究方向包括：a）探测和控制有机半导体中集体动力学（声子）和电子输运之间的耦合，B）对软物质系统中振动和相干现象之间耦合的基本理解，以及c）在纳米尺度上绘制薄膜的应变和无序。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过评估被认为值得支持使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

This project is jointly funded by the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).Non-Technical Description:The acquisition of a tip-enhanced nano-Raman spectroscopy instrument at the University of Vermont (UVM) will create a nexus for convergent materials research, addressing fundamental cross-disciplinary questions related to chemical behavior and structure-properties relationships in materials ranging from large biomolecules and organic small-molecule semiconductors to geological formations and minerals. Recent investments by UVM in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics building complex, including a shared microscopy research laboratory space, have created an effective location for the instrument, which is operated as part of a user research facility. UVM has a group of cross-disciplinary researchers with expertise and scientific interests that make full use of the instrument, while simultaneously attracting regional collaborators. The microscope is incorporated into an advanced two-semester instrumentation Materials Science (MATS) course for graduate and undergraduate students. High school and middle school students learn about the research enabled by this instrument through events organized in collaboration with the student-led local chapter of the Materials Research Society.Technical Description:Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is a new technique that facilitates rapid advances in exploring complex soft and hard materials systems because it enables simultaneous multi-imaging techniques with high spatial resolution. The characteristics of the instrument include less than 10 nm spatial resolution and the ability to measure ultra-low frequency Raman shifts. Using this microscope, UVM researchers address one of the greatest challenges of soft matter research: reliably and efficiently mapping the structure-property relationships at small scales, which can ultimately lead to predicting, controlling and tailoring advanced carbon-based materials for specific uses. Research thrusts significantly benefiting from this instrument include a) probing and controlling the coupling between collective dynamics (phonons) and electronic transport in organic semiconductors, b) fundamental understanding of the coupling between vibrations and coherence phenomena in soft matter systems, and c) mapping strain and disorder of thin films on the nanoscale.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.