MRI: Acquisition of an Energy-Filtering, Direct Electron Detector for Advanced Soft and Hard Materials Research with In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy

该项目为电子显微镜提供了一种新的检测系统，使成像和光谱学在解决生物学、能源、环境科学和量子信息技术方面的基础科学问题方面取得了前所未有的进步。这些进步对理解原子在材料的自然状态和工作状态下如何排列和结合做出了巨大贡献，从而提供了全新的见解，增强了对化学、材料和生物系统的理解，提高了我们操纵和控制化学、材料和生物系统的能力。研究人员在他们的研究、推广和教育活动中坚定地致力于多样性和包容性。这个新颖的系统可供亚利桑那州立大学以外的研究人员使用，从而产生重大的区域影响。从这个系统中获得的材料/生物结构和功能的奇迹通过富尔顿工程学院和文理学院的完善项目传达给农村和贫困的K-12社区。此外，研究人员还在美国显微镜学会制定了与材料和显微镜相关的学生领导倡议和女性参与计划，以及在亚利桑那州立大学举办的年度电子显微镜冬季学校。该系统是一种新型的、高灵敏度的、能量过滤的、直接的电子探测器，安装在一个像差校正的原位FEI Titan环境透射电子显微镜上。这种新系统为成像和光谱学提供了前所未有的灵敏度，并减轻了长期困扰许多材料和生物系统分析的电子束引起的损伤问题。该项目使四个关键研究领域得以实现，这些领域已被确定为其科学重要性和对更广泛社区的影响：(1)了解软/生物材料的结构及其与硬材料的界面。(2)在原子分辨率上观察沸石和金属有机框架中功能重要的缺陷和结构非均质性。(3)催化剂中活性位点的原位、实时、原子级鉴定和动态表征。(4)从固态材料的点缺陷中开发单光子源（SPSs）对于许多可扩展的量子技术至关重要。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project provides a novel detection system for an electron microscope enabling unprecedented advances in imaging and spectroscopy to resolve fundamental scientific issues in biology, energy, environmental sciences and quantum information technologies. Such advances make enormous contributions toward understanding how atoms arrange and bond in materials in both their native and working states, thereby providing completely new insights that enhances understanding and increases our ability to manipulate and control chemical, material, and biological systems. The researchers have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion in their research, outreach, and educational activities. This novel system is accessible to researchers outside ASU and thus give significant regional impact. The wonders of materials/biological structures and functionalities obtained from this system are communicated to rural and underprivileged K-12 communities through the well-developed programs in the Fulton Schools of Engineering and the College of Liberal Arts and Science. In addition, the researchers have developed programs for student leadership initiatives and female participation related to materials and microscopy at the Microscopy Society of America, as well as in the annual Electron Microscopy Winter School hosted at ASU. This system is a novel, high-sensitivity, energy-filtering, direct electron detector to install on an aberration-corrected in situ FEI Titan environmental transmission electron microscope. This new system provides unprecedented sensitivity for imaging and spectroscopy, and mitigates the long-standing electron beam induced damage problems that has plagued analysis of many materials and biological systems. This project enables four key research areas that have been identified by their scientific importance and impact to the broader communities: (1) Understanding the structure of soft/biological materials and their interfaces with hard materials. (2) Observing functionally important defects and structural heterogeneities in zeolites and metal-organic frameworks at atomic resolution. (3) In situ, real-time, atomic-level identification and dynamic characterization of active sites in catalysts. (4) Developing single-photon sources (SPSs) from point defects in solid-state materials is critical for many scalable quantum technologiesThis 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.