| NSF Org: |
DMR Division Of Materials Research |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 28, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | September 7, 2022 |
| Award Number: | 2018326 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Z. Ying
cying@nsf.gov (703)292-8428 DMR Division Of Materials Research MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2020 |
| End Date: | February 29, 2024 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $568,262.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $568,262.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
100 INSTITUTE RD WORCESTER MA US 01609-2280 (508)831-5000 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
100 Institute Rd Worcester MA US 01609-2247 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Major Research Instrumentation |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
Non-Technical Description:
A broadband time-resolved laser spectrometer supports a wide range of research and educational activities in materials science, photonics, optoelectronics and functional biomaterials for therapeutic applications. It enables multiple cross-disciplinary research by providing a window into light-matter interactions across the spectral range that spans the ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and terahertz. These research activities drive innovative technologies that rely on harnessing and engineering optical processes in materials: from lasers and light emitting diodes, to solar energy, optical sensing and communications, to new biocompatible materials. The spectrometer is located at WPI Laboratory for Education & Application Prototypes, which is a part of the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics and operates in collaboration with Quinsigamond Community College. It supports photonics and related technology sectors in central Massachusetts through an open-access-facility and service-center model and by training a diverse workforce. The instrument enhances education of graduate, undergraduate and community college students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and partner institutions by strengthening the research infrastructure and enabling new and previously unmet research directions.
Technical Description:
The broadband, time-resolved spectrometer facilitates, in a single system, investigations of phenomena that occur in a variety of materials upon their interaction with light in the spectral range spanning the ultraviolet to terahertz, over sub-picoseconds to microseconds time scales. By integrating three complementary ultrafast spectroscopic techniques (time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy, time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy and transient absorption spectroscopy), each providing complementary information, it allows constructing a more complete understanding of photoexcitations in emerging photonic, photovoltaic, photoelectrochemical, flexible optoelectronic and biologically-inspired materials. This work benefits research efforts by WPI scientists and regional partners in these fields and fosters unique collaborations as a result of bringing this multidisciplinary expertise together.
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.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This award supported acquisition of a broadband time-resolved spectrometer that enables, in a single system, investigations of phenomena that occur in a variety of material systems upon their interaction with light in the spectral range that spans the ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS), near-infrared (near-IR) and terahertz (THz), over 10–13 to 10–3 seconds time scales. The new spectrometer was installed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) within the WPI Laboratory for Education & Application Prototypes (LEAP).
The new spectrometer incorporates three complementary spectroscopy modes: 1) transient absorption spectroscopy and laser flash photolysis allow resolving, in real time with sub-ps resolution, properties of short-lived states that result from absorption of a photon. These modes are used in materials science to characterize energy or electron transfer processes, conformational changes in molecules, optical gain in laser materials, as well as photochemical reactions in photocatalysts. 2) time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy detects radiative recombination events following optical excitation and yields insight into the lifetime of the excited states, surface recombination velocity and carrier trapping times, as well as energy transfer between components in heterogeneous systems, like solar cells or photosensitizers and adjacent molecules in photodynamic therapy. 3) time-resolved THz spectroscopy, a contact-free probe of microscopic photoconductivity and low-energy excitations.
The instrument has enabled a wide range of wide range of research activities in materials science, photonics, flexible electronics and functional biomaterials. It allowed a study of localized surface plasmons and ultra-low thermal conductivity in 2D MXenes (Colin-Ulloa et al., Advanced Materials 2023), facilitated characterization of electronic structure of new one-dimensional, quantum-confined titania nanomaterials (Colin-Ulloa et al, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2023) and of new complex copper-bismuth oxide for visible light-driven photocatalysis (Yilmaz Akkaya et al., Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2022), and provided new insights into perovskite solar cells with addition of polyethylene oxide particles (Koech et al., Scientific Reports 2022). Ongoing projects include unraveling the mechanisms of binding of photosensitive chemotherapy drugs to proteins, study of photocaged complexes for cellular signaling pathways, and photoexcitations in nanomaterials for solar energy conversion and nonlinear photonics. Leveraging new capabilities afforded by the new transient broadband spectrometer, WPI team has started new collaborations with scientists at US Army Natick Soldier Systems Center, Drexel University, Lehigh University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Rhode Island College and others. The new instrument has provided ample opportunities for training students from community college to graduate level, as REU students, WPI undergraduate researchers and graduate students in physics, chemistry and biochemistry, materials science and engineering, chemical engineering and biomedical engineering received training in its operation and have used it in their work.
Last Modified: 03/27/2024
Modified by: Lyubov Titova
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