JILA, a partnership between NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder, has developed an advanced laser combing technique for identifying large, complex molecules. The method incorporates a helium buffer gas cooling system, which chills molecules to near absolute zero, allowing them to be probed for over 10 milliseconds. This significantly improves the ability to detect precise molecular absorption patterns.
The upgraded system can now identify organic compounds containing up to 60 carbon atoms, such as buckyballs, which was previously limited to smaller molecules. The research, published in Nature, has demonstrated the identification of multiple carbon-hydrogen bond vibrations in complex organic compounds and has potential applications in breath analysis, explosives detection, atmospheric studies, and semiconductor contamination analysis. The technique is more efficient and accurate than traditional spectroscopy methods and was funded by DARPA, AFOSR, NIST, and NSF.
Keywords: Laser combing, Molecular identification, Helium buffer gas cooling
