CAREER: Frequency Comb-Based Multidimensional Coherent Spectroscopy and Microscopy at the Nanoscale

With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging (CMI) Program in the Division of Chemistry, Bachana Lomsadze from Santa Clara University is developing a new tool that combines near-field optical microscopy with frequency comb multidimensional coherent spectroscopy to improve both the spectral and spatial resolutions for super resolution imaging for better understanding of the chemical and physical properties of two dimensional materials. Understanding material properties at small length scales is critical for correlating how structural variations influence chemical reactions and specificity as well as energy transfer locally. Dr. Lomsadze and his group are developing a new tool that provides spatially and spectrally resolved chemical and physical information about the two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides. Their discoveries could lead to better understanding of the chemical and physical properties of materials on a single particle level, aid efforts to develop quantum devices, and find use outside the laboratory for applications such as chemical sensing or biomedical imaging. Dr. Lomsadze is also developing classroom activities for non-science majors to help students understand and appreciate basic science and technology that is impacting society today. The Lomsadze lab will combine a near-field optical microscope with frequency comb multidimensional coherent spectroscopy with an eye toward improving the spectral and spatial resolution for super resolution imaging of two dimensional materials in the infrared spectral region. While current methods can successfully evaluate the chemical and physical properties of two dimensional materials routinely, most methods are limited by large signal backgrounds, slow acquisition times, spatial resolution, or spectral resolution. The Lomsadze group is developing methods that have the potential to result in two-dimensional coherent spectra per pixel, that are collected in seconds, with high (i.e., tens of nm) spatial resolution, and with comb spectral resolution. These improvements in spatial and spectral resolution could lead to new information about the chemical, physical, and optical properties of materials with implications in many fields ranging from forensics to biomedical imaging and field analysis. 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.