MRI: Development of a Sub-diffraction Limited Microscope for Imaging Ultrafast Dynamics from the Visible to Mid-infrared Spectral Range

MRI：开发亚衍射有限显微镜，用于对可见光到中红外光谱范围的超快动态成像

• 批准号: 2019083
• 负责人: Sean Roberts
• 金额: $ 100.56万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2019083&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Development; Sub; diffraction; Limited; MRI; Development; Sub; diffraction; Limited

This award is jointly supported by the Major Research Instrumentation, the Chemistry Research Instrumentation program, and the Chemical Measurement and Imaging program in the Division of Chemistry, and the Major Research Instrumentation in the Division of Materials Research. With this award, Professors Sean Roberts and Carlos Baiz at the University of Texas Austin and Professor James Batteas at Texas A&M University are developing a sub-diffraction Time-resolved Super-resolution Microscope (TSM). This instrument enables measurement of dynamics unfolding over femtosecond-to-millisecond timescales with spatial resolution approaching 10 nanometers. The super resolution approach can be used to view fast processes such as electron motion in semiconductor nanostructures or dynamic restructuring of biological membranes. The TSM is designed to achieve three demanding needs, sub-diffraction spatial resolution, femtosecond time resolution and spectral resolution, from the near-UV to mid-IR. This can critically enable key insights into the inner workings of biological systems and creation of new materials for energy conversion and quantum information science. The microscope construction provides training of student researchers who work with the faculty. After commissioning, the instrument is to be made available via its integration into the Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials (CDCM), a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) based at the University of Texas at Austin. The project provides graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who use the instrument in their research the opportunity to develop a background in both ultrafast science and super-resolution microscopy.The TSM is configured to employ laser pulses tunable from the near-UV to mid-IR to follow dynamics involving electronic, nuclear, and molecular motions. An integrated atomic force microscope (AFM) allows in situ mapping of sample topography and near-field tip enhancement of signals produced in the region beneath the tip. The research enabled with the microscope will be directed by the principal investigators at studies of electronic dynamics at junctions formed between low-dimensional semiconductors and structural fluctuations within heterogeneous soft matter such as lipid membranes and polymer blends. Other research directions to be explored with the new TSM instrument include energy and charge migration in solar energy materials, exciton dynamics in van der Waals heterostructures, energy and phonon conduction in thermoelectric and mid-IR photonic materials, ion migration in batteries and smart windows, biomolecule motion in cell membranes, nonequilibrium dynamics of photoactive polymers, and nanoscopic control of materials under intense electric fields.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.

该奖项由主要的研究工具，化学研究工具计划以及化学测量和成像计划共同支持，化学测量和成像计划以及材料研究部的主要研究工具。 获得该奖项，德克萨斯大学奥斯汀大学的肖恩·罗伯茨（Sean Roberts）和卡洛斯·巴兹（Carlos Baiz）和德克萨斯农工大学（Dexas A＆M University）的詹姆斯·巴蒂斯（James Batteas）教授正在开发一个子分解时间分辨的超分辨率显微镜（TSM）。该仪器可以通过空间分辨率接近10纳米的空间分辨率来测量在飞秒到毫秒时尺度上展开的动力学的测量。超级分辨率方法可用于查看快速过程，例如半导体纳米结构中的电子运动或生物膜的动态重组。 TSM旨在达到三个苛刻的需求，分类的空间分辨率，飞秒时间分辨率和光谱分辨率，从近紫外线到IR。这可以对生物系统的内部运作以及创建新材料进行能源转换和量子信息科学的新材料的关键见解。显微镜结构提供了与教师合作的学生研究人员的培训。 调试后，该工具将通过其集成到材料和控制中心（CDCM），该材料研究科学与工程中心（MRSEC）位于德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校。该项目为研究生和博士后研究人员提供了在研究中使用该乐器的机会，这是开发超快科学和超分辨率显微镜背景的机会。TSM配置为使用近紫外线到中期IR的激光脉冲可调节，以遵循涉及电子，核和分子运动的动力学。 综合的原子力显微镜（AFM）允许原位映射样品地形和近场尖端增强尖端下方产生的信号。该研究将由显微镜启用，主要研究人员将针对低维半导体和异质软物质（例如脂质膜和聚合物混合物）内形成的电子动力学研究和结构波动。 Other research directions to be explored with the new TSM instrument include energy and charge migration in solar energy materials, exciton dynamics in van der Waals heterostructures, energy and phonon conduction in thermoelectric and mid-IR photonic materials, ion migration in batteries and smart windows, biomolecule motion in cell membranes, nonequilibrium dynamics of photoactive polymers, and nanoscopic control of materials under intense electric该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准被认为值得支持。