Ultrafast structural dynamics at atomic resolution

想象一下，能够在原子水平上观察化学反应的过程，或者在相变过程中材料中的原子重排。人眼并不能提供多大帮助，光学显微镜也不能，因为原子的大小只有千万分之一毫米。更困难的是，在化学反应中，原子运动可能在万亿分之一秒内发生；速度太快了，肉眼或任何摄像机都捕捉不到。这种微观世界的视角需要一种特殊的“分子电影”相机，它可以看到原子，并且以比原子运动更快的帧速率运行（这样它们就不会变得模糊）。该提案旨在开发这种“分子电影摄像机”。该方法是基于将透射电子显微镜的工具和技术与超快激光光谱学的工具和技术相结合。将有许多技术应用，特别是在那些试图利用分子和材料中的原子运动进行电子和先进材料应用的领域。这是我们第一次能够真正看到原子在做什么。

Imagine being able to actually watch - at the atomic level - the progress of a chemical reaction, or the atomic rearrangements taking place in materials during a phase transition. The human eye won't be much help - nor will a light-microscope - since atoms are only one ten-millionth of a millimeter in size. To compound the difficulty, during a chemical reaction atomic motions can occur in one trillionth of a second; much too fast for the eye or any video camera to capture. Such a view of the microsocpic world requires a special 'molecular movie' camera that can see atoms and operate at frame-rates faster than the atomic motions (so that they don't become blurred). This proposal seeks to develope this 'molecular movie camera'. The approach is based on uniting the tools and techniques of transmission electron microscopy with those of ultrafast laser spectroscopy. There will be many technological applications, particularly in those fields that attempt to harness atomic motions in molecules and materials for electronic and advance materials applicaitons. For the first time we will be able to actually see what the atoms are doing.