Statement of Requirements -
This Request for Proposal (“RFP”) is an invitation by the University of Ottawa to prospective Proponents to submit Proposals for the provision of a Portable Raman/Fluorescence and NIR Modular Spectrometer System, including installation and training.
Raman spectroscopy is important in identifying the nature of confined optical phonon modes, and critical in identifying the nature of bonds on the surface of nanoparticles (NPs)/quantum dots (QDs). Organic ligands are often used as surface capping and passivating agents to allow the colloidal suspension of NPs/QDs without aggregation. In this case, Raman spectroscopy is key in identifying the nature and strength of covalent bonds between the organic group and the surface of the particles. Moreover, Raman spectroscopy will be used to identify the bonding quality of the conducting polymer to the textile fibers, and is essential in the assessment of chemical stability of both NP/QDs and conductive polymer electrodes by studying their photodecomposition under exposure to strong laser excitation. On the other hand, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy will be used to study not only the emission quality of the materials made, but also the electronic nature of surface states through identifying trapped emission. In addition, PL (in both visible and NIR) spectroscopy will allow study of near band-edge emission, and the impact of various capping groups on the PL intensity of NPs/QDs. The requested spectrometer is ideal for the lab setup as it can be placed inside a university supplied glove box to carry optical characterization of materials in an inert environment
General Description -
Although a portable tool, the requested system must be highly sensitive and be equipped with a stable and powerful detector having large quantum efficiency, and signal-to-noise-ratio greater than 1000 to 1. The requested spectrometer system must be preconfigured for Raman spectroscopy (especially at 785 nm excitation) having a slit at 50 mm, and an optical grating of 900 lines /mm. A pumping optical excitation source in the form of a laser with wavelength of 785 nm must also be equipped with this tool. To allow the study of materials that might contaminate the nitrogen glove box environment, a 7.5 m Raman coupled fiber optic probe optimized for 785 nm must be provided. The fiber optic would permit direct connection between the reactive inkjet printing (RIJ) system and the spectrometer tool, thus providing in-situ (real time) optimization of the RIJ process through continuous monitoring of the NPs/QDs growth during printing. The system should also be equipped with an NIR spectrometer, covering the range 900 nm to 2500 nm, to facilitate rapid screening of materials prior to detailed study of their excited states decay and lifetime dynamics using a university supplied spectrofluorometer (Quantamaster) tool. The system must have the capability of an advanced USB/Bluetooth temperature controlled cuvette holder multipurpose kit. The spectrophotometer should use several excitation diodes having the wavelength of 240 nm (UV), 325 nm (UV), 455 nm (VIS-high power), and high power 470 nm (VIS-high power), respectively. This provides a broad range of excitation that covers the absorption range of a broad range of materials developed by the RIJ process.
Note: Longer fibers no less than 7 m each must be also provided with each system (these fibers are in addition to the shorter ones that come with system). The longer fibers will be connected to the system in the glove box so we can take data on external samples, that might otherwise contaminate the glove box.
