MRI: Acquisition of a Time-of-Fight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer

非技术描述：这一重大研究仪器奖为获得飞行时间二次离子质谱仪(ToF-SIMS)的最先进仪器提供支持。这是了解化学、材料科学、环境科学、化学工程、保护科学和物理中的表面组成和反应性所需的关键技术。TOF-SIMS方法是一种极其灵敏的表面分析技术，它使用脉冲离子束来去除样品的最外层。从这些原子单层(二次离子)中移除的物种被加速，它们的质量(或者更准确地说，质荷比)由它们到达探测器的确切时间(因此飞行时间)确定。在更广泛的意义上，该仪器的收购支持了特拉华大学不同学院、特拉华州的工业公司和温特图尔博物馆之间的合作努力。该仪器用于研究生和高级本科生研究、研究生课程、艺术保护计划，以及特拉华大学本科生项目的几项研究经验，包括专门为残疾学生设计的研究经验。技术描述：通常有三种TOF-SIMS操作模式：分辨率高于0.0001 Amu的表面光谱，使分子鉴定和同位素含量在百万分之几的范围内；表面成像，高于100 nm的空间分辨率，约小于人类头发直径的3000倍；和深度剖析--当与第二束烧蚀(通常是氧离子和铯离子)结合使用时，垂直分辨率低于1纳米。所获得的仪器满足所有这些标准。这些能力直接影响到特拉华大学当前和未来的大量研究方向。研究领域包括原子精密沉积和蚀刻、纳米技术和纳米材料、高效太阳能电池设计、异质、热和电催化、文化遗产调查、微塑料和生物医学接口研究，以及许多其他努力。TOF-SIMS提供了一种强大的方法，具有原子精度、表面敏感性、高深度分辨率和成像能力，可以回答关键问题并定义进一步的研究和发现方向。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Non-Technical Description:This Major Research Instrumentation award provides support for the acquisition of a state-of-the-art instrument for time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). This is a critical technique needed to understand surface composition and reactivity across chemistry, materials science, environmental science, chemical engineering, conservation science, and physics. The ToF-SIMS method is an extremely sensitive surface analytical technique that uses a pulsed ion beam to remove the outmost monolayers of the sample. The species that are removed from these atomic monolayers (secondary ions) are accelerated and their masses (or more precisely mass-to-charge ratios) are determined by the exact time at which they reach the detector (hence time-of-flight). In a broader sense, the acquisition of this instrument supports collaboration efforts among the different colleges at the University of Delaware, industrial companies in the state of Delaware, and the Winterthur Museum. The instrument is used by students in graduate and advanced undergraduate research, graduate courses, the Art Conservation Program, and students in several research experience for undergraduate programs at the University of Delaware, including research experience specifically designed for students with disabilities.Technical Description:In general, there are three ToF-SIMS operational modes: surface spectroscopy with better than 0.0001 amu resolution that enables molecular identification and isotopic content in the parts-per-million range; surface imaging with better than 100 nm spatial resolution, ~3000x smaller than the diameter of a human hair; and depth profiling - when combined with a second ablation beam (generally, ions of oxygen and cesium) to achieve vertical resolution of less than 1 nanometer. The acquired instrument satisfies all these criteria. These capabilities directly affect a large number of current and future research directions at the University of Delaware. The research areas include atomic-precision deposition and etching, nanotechnology and nanomaterials, efficient solar-cell design, heterogeneous, thermal, and electrocatalysis, cultural heritage investigations, research in microplastics and biomedical interfaces, and many other efforts. ToF-SIMS provides a powerful method with atomic precision, surface-sensitivity, high depth resolution, and imaging capabilities to answer critical questions and to define further research and discovery directions.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.