Purchase of an Ultrafast Optical Laser System

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

With this award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) Program, the Department of Chemistry at the University of Washington will acquire ultrafast lasers and other equipment for an ultrafast optical spectroscopy center. This equipment will enhance research in a number of areas including a) the characterization of optical and nonlinear optical phenomena in condensed matter materials; b) studies of energy transfer and electron transfer by which plants and photosynthetic bacteria capture the energy of sunlight; c) investigation of the dynamics of halogen-containing compounds; and d) studies of the twisting and bending dynamics of various linear and circular DNAs and DNA/protein complexes. Ultrafast spectroscopy allow scientists to investigate chemistry that occurs in the picosecond (10^-12) and femtosecond (10^-15) time regimes. On these extremely short timescales, atoms move and bonds between atoms are broken or formed. Ultrafast optical techniques allow for the investigation of chemical reaction dynamics during the course of the reaction itself. The detailed picture of chemical reaactivity provided by ultrafast spectroscopy has allowed researchers to explore how plants harvest solar energy, to create new and more efficient optoelectronic materials, and to understand the fundamental steps in many environmental processes. In short, ultrafast spectroscopy holds the promise of unraveling the microscopic details of chemical reactivity.