New Brewster Angle Microscopy for Neutron Reflectometer Endstation

78310S Neutron scattering facilities provide a cutting-edge tool for researching the structure and phase behavior of surfactant films and organic interfaces, which are important in science, medicine, energy, and nanotechnology. However, a significant problem for the interpretation of scattering data is that these films are generally inhomogeneous. Therefore, microscopy must be performed separately to obtain the needed complementary information about molecular domain size. This project will develop a high-resolution Brewster Angle Microscope to enable simultaneous scattering, diffraction, and processing experiments. Phase I will implement a tilted-plane imaging design; specify the laser source, custom optical elements, and CCD chip to optimize the image; and build a working prototype capable of diffraction-limited Brewster Angle imaging from a tilted surface, as needed for monomolecular films on water substrates. The prototype system will be designed to fit the NG7 horizontally scattering cold neutron reflectometer at the NIST Center for Neutron Research. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The proposed optical design should revolutionize sample characterization for industries that process films, semiconductors, and microdevices. These industries will be able to image their surfaces simultaneously with a vast array of characterization and quality-control techniques including Brewster Angle Microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, imaging ellipsometry, tilted-plane microscopy, and off-axis interferometry.