This research effort is geared towards the acquisition of preliminary ultra-low temperature (< 30 K) dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) data. By collaborating with other institutions that are currently developing the next generation instrumentation we will assess the utility, and promise, of this technology as a research tool for the atomistic characterization of surfaces and interfaces. Ultra-low temperature DNP has the potential to yield an additional order of magnitude in sensitivity improvement when compared with conventional (100 K) DNP and thus has the potential to be a truly transformative technology for the study of thin films and incredibly dilute nuclides, such as 17O.
Principal Investigator: Takeshi Kobayashi
Co-PI: Frederic Perras