MULTIUSER EQUIPMENT (EMU) FUNDED BY FAPESP (2019/14017-9)

Components of the illumination unit:

1.     Optical table for s-SNOM combining lasers and synchrotron

2.     Illumination units VIS-NIR (540-860 nm) for s-SNOM

3.     Illumination unit broadband mid-IR laser type DFG for nano-FTIR

3.1.  mid-IR MCT detectors 25 µm chip

3.2.  mid-IR MCT detectors 50 µm chip

3.3.  Mid-to-far IR broadband polarizers

Scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) is a new modality of ultramicroscopy which allows for the analysis of infrared (IR) and visible beyond the diffraction limit. Combining atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical microscopy, s-SNOM allows the analysis of local dielectric properties of materials with spatial resolution of a few tens of nanometers in spectral ranges from visible to THz. By combining s-SNOM with synchrotron sources, which continuously cover the spectrum from THz to X-rays, the technique has achieved unprecedented sensitivity. The technique today is one of the main ones in the analysis of organic and inorganic materials at the nanoscale.

The use of laser sources in s-SNOM allows the acquisition of fast images with energetic selection which are complementary to the broadband spectral analysis offered by the IR synchrotron. Thus, the implementation of the above-specified illumination unit at the IMBUIA station, Sirius’ new IR beamline, will enable the realization of synchrotron IR nano-spectroscopy and nano-imaging experiments in the same instrument, with the potential to study phenomena with temporal dynamics up to a few picoseconds as well as allowing access to multi-energetic quantum phenomena such as the interaction of excitons in the visible range and mid-IR phonons polaritons in two-dimensional heterostructures. Furthermore, these new sources will extend the scope of the technique in biological systems at the nanoscale, whose heterogeneity requires fast, multi-spectral imaging with improved signal-to-noise ratio.

Management Plan: The equipment will be open to external users according to the methodology used in the LNLS: for experiments linked to the LNLS beamlines that require the use of the above EMUs as complementary instrumentation, access will be granted through proposal approval in the LNLS user program. Proposal submission can be done through the LNLS Users Portal (https://sauonline.cnpem.br/duo/). For experiments or research which will exclusively use the EMUs listed here (not linked to the proposals for open-user facilities and beamlines of the LNLS), access will be by submitting a simplified research proposal (1-2 pages) which must be submitted to the responsible researcher (raul.freitas@lnls.br) in continuous flow for evaluation of technical feasibility by the management committee and evaluation of scientific merit by the user’s committee of this EMU. Usage time will be allocated according to the operational availability of the facility.

Management Committee: Dr. Raul de Oliveira Freitas and Dr. Ingrid David Barcelos.

User’s Committee: Professors Dr. Cleber Renato Mendonça (IFSC/USP), Dr. Flávio Cruz (IFGW/UNICAMP) e Dr. Thiago Alegre (IFGW/UNICAMP).