Nanoscale imaging facility

材料科学领域不仅需要新化合物和分子的合成和表征，还需要研究这些成分如何组装以产生新的结构和材料。核磁共振、质谱、FTIR等标准分析工具箱不能为研究人员提供生产未来材料所需的信息。材料科学家压倒性地采用原子力显微镜（AFM）作为研究纳米尺度材料的首选工具。这个工具可以让研究人员“感觉”和“看到”他们创造的系统，其分辨率是传统光学显微镜的数千倍。在某些情况下，亚纳米成像可以可视化单个分子和原子。这项提案的支持将提供资金来替换破损和过时的原子力显微镜，并为维多利亚大学超过25个材料科学研究小组提供必要的工具。除了使如此多的研究人员，该仪器将集成到一个已建立的激光设施。这种设备组合将能够同时进行光学和表面表征，这在加拿大是独一无二的，在世界上是罕见的。

The field of Materials Science requires not only the synthesis and characterization of new compounds and molecules, but also the study of how these components are assembled to produce novel structures and materials. The standard analytical toolbox of NMR, Mass-Spec, FTIR, etc. does not provide the requisite information for researchers to produce the materials of tomorrow. Materials scientists have overwhelmingly adopted the atomic force microscope (AFM) as the instrument of choice to study materials at the nanometer scale. This tool lets researchers "feel" and "see" the systems they create with resolution thousands of times greater than a traditional optical microscope. In some cases, sub-nanometer imaging can visualize individual molecules and atoms. Support of this proposal will provide the funds to replace an AFM that is broken and obsolete, and provide an essential tool to the more than 25 materials science research groups at UVic. In addition to enabling so many researchers, the instrument will be integrated into an established laser-facility. This combination of equipment will be capable of simultaneous optical and surface characterization, a hybridization of tools unique in Canada and uncommon throughout the world.