SUPPLY, INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING OF A SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPE AND OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPY UNDER ULTRA-HIGH VACUUM AND CRYOGENIC TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS FOR ICN2

The contract for the supply, installation and commissioning of a scanning probe microscope and optical spectroscopy under ultra-high vacuum and cryogenic temperature conditions for the Institut Català de Nanociencia i Nanotecnologia (ICN2), is expected to meet the need of such object for the characterization of structural, electronic, optical, magnetic and mechanical properties of materials with an exceptional simultaneous resolution in space and time. The equipment in question must meet the specific requirements regulated in the Technical Specifications. Specifically, the equipment will consist of an SPM operating at low temperature, ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions and subject to magnetic field, specially modified for the introduction and collection of light. Such equipment allows spectroscopic and topographic characterization with atomic resolution of material surfaces, by means of STM and nc-AFM (scanning tunneling microscopy and non-contact atomic force microscopy) measurements. In turn, the vacuum part of the SPM contains the optical elements necessary for the implementation of tunneling and optical spectroscopic measurements in in-operating conditions, including static and time-resolved STM electro- and photoluminescence, and tip-enhanced Raman scattering. All this allows the characterization of structural, magnetic, electronic and optoelectronic properties of material surfaces, at space and time scales simultaneously accessible only through such unique equipment. Within the framework of the In-CAEM project, this SPM will be integrated into a comprehensive ecosystem of characterization instruments for materials, designed to perform correlative measurements using different characterization techniques. For this purpose, the sample holder and sample transfer systems under UHV conditions will be compatible with those of the LOREA, CIRCE and BOREAS lines of the ALBA Synchrotron. "Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan - Funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU". Financed by the MCIN with funds from the European Union-NextGenerationEU(PRTR-C17.I1) and by the Generalitat de Catalunya. This contract is financed by the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, established by Council Regulation (EU) 2020/2094 of 14 December 2020 establishing a European Union Recovery Facility to support recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, and regulated under Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, and will be subject to all the regulations governing the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. It is framed within the implementation of the Complementary R&D&I Plans with the autonomous communities, which are part of component 17 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, called "Institutional reform and strengthening of the capacities of the National Science, Technology and Innovation System", specifically in the R&D SUBPROJECT "IN-SITU CORRELATIVE INSTALLATION FOR ADVANCED MATERIALS FOR ENERGY (In-CAEM)" OF THE COMPLEMENTARY PLAN IN THE AREA OF ADVANCED MATERIALS as part of the actions of the Advanced Materials program "Materials amb funcionalitats avançades per a la nova transformació tecnològica", corresponding to the autonomous community of Catalonia, managed through the Departament de Recerca i Universitats de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya).