With support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities - Multiuser Instrumentation (CRIF-MU) Program, the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of California Los Angeles will purchase a tunable-wavelength amplified femtosecond laser. This equipment will enhance research in a number of areas in transient spectroscopy and microfabrication including: 1) measurement of the rotational motions of molecular compasses and gyroscopes, and investigation of the possible development of a "photonic brake", 2) development of direct two-photon, three-dimensional microfabrication of ceramic metal oxides using novel photosensitive sol-gel-based photoresists, 3) fundamental investigations of chemical bond dynamics in solution using two- and three pulse femtosecond transient absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies, and 4) understanding how controlling the conformation of semiconducting polymer chains via encapsulation in mesoporous silica leads to new electronic properties. A femtosecond laser provides ultrafast pulses with high peak power via coherent visible or infrared light, which enables researchers to study nonlinear processes and obtain important information about fast occurring chemical reactions. Its use may enable breakthroughs in our understanding of the properties of reactive and nonreactive molecules.
