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Projects/Programs

Topic Area
Displaying 301 - 325 of 488

Micro- and nano-optomechanical systems

Ongoing
Our primary current research direction involves the use of fabricated devices with sub-wavelength periodicity (photonic crystals) as optomechanical elements. Such structures enable a rich variety of devices, including mirrors, polarizers, and filters, in a configuration that couples naturally to...

Microcalorimeter Spectrometers for X-ray and Gamma-ray Spectroscopy

Ongoing
The Quantum Calorimeters Project in the Quantum Sensors Group develops and applies sensors that detect the energy of single photons or particles. For example, Transition-Edge Sensors (TESs) are able to measure the energy of single x-ray and gamma-ray photons with a precision better than one part per...

Microfabricated Atomic Sensors

Ongoing
Our program aims to develop sensors that can simultaneously achieve high absolute scalar accuracy and vector magnetic field measurement without the need for calibrations. An atomic magnetometer relies on the fundamental constants of nature to translate magnetic fields into a measurable Larmor...

Microresonator Device Research

Ongoing
In the last few years a revolutionary paradigm for optical frequency combs and ultrastable continuous-wave lasers has emerged based on nonlinear optics in optical microresonators. Such microresonator devices can now be realized using millimeter-scale, chip-based photonic integrated circuits...

Microresonator frequency combs for the NIST-on-a-Chip Program

Ongoing
The invention of optical-frequency combs opened many new applications in photonics from precision timing and ranging to generation of entangled states. They are composed of hundreds to millions of optical modes whose frequencies conform to a simple relationship, ν n = n × f rep +f 0, where n is the...

Modeling and Simulation of Nanofabrication (Archived)

Completed
While self-assembly is still in its relative infancy with respect to practical use, with much additional research required to reach maturity, the more widely utilized top-down methods will continue to require advances and modifications to improve current nanomanufacturing techniques. This modeling...

Moiré Systems

Ongoing
Twisted double bilayer graphene The moiré systems of magic angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) and related heterostructures support topological bands with nonzero Chern number, which is derived from the Berry curvature of the Bloch wave functions. Berry curvature is intimately related to orbital...

Molecular Physiology

Ongoing
In close collaboration with experimentalists, we are seeking to increase the resolution, scope, and throughput of single-biomolecule and ensemble techniques, such as nanopore-based biomolecular analysis, ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy, and FRET, among others. These developments rely heavily on...

Multi-Organ Microphysiological Systems

Ongoing
We are developing tissue chips and multi-tissue microphysiological devices that support the culture of multiple tissues with physiologically relevant connections and streams of cell-culture medium. The goal in this project is to construct a device that realistically mimics human metabolism as a...

Nanoelectromagnetics

Ongoing
The primary goal of this program is metrology that enables advanced nanoscale device (including electronics, spintronics, and life science) development. Based on current trends in electronics, we are focusing on metrology for two classes of devices: (1) nanoscale devices utilizing and exploring new...

Nanometer-Scale Planar Reference Materials

Ongoing
In most industrial fabs today, foundry test artifacts (wafers) are used to test metrology tools and monitor process stability. These wafers are made in partnerships between specific materials providers and metrology tool providers and may have limited or no adoption across foundries. In some...

Nanoparticle Tracking for Fluidic Self Assembly (Archived)

Completed
Over the last few decades, scientists have developed a sizable library of nanoscale "building blocks." These nanoparticles have novel thermal, optical, mechanical, and chemical properties relative to their macroscopic counterparts, and organized assemblies of these components promise vast...

Nanophononic Metamaterials for Thermoelectrics

Ongoing
About 68 % of the energy produced in the United States is wasted as heat lost to the environment. About a quarter of this lost heat is present at temperature gradients suitable for recovery with thermoelectric devices, which use the ability of semiconductors to generate electricity directly from...

Nanoplasmonics and Three-Dimensional Plasmonic Metamaterials

Ongoing
Plasmonic materials are composed of metals and insulators that are ordered in geometric arrangements with dimensions that are fractions of the wavelength of light. Research groups are experimenting with a variety of geometric approaches, but all aim to exploit surface plasmons, which are light...

Nanoscale, Element-Specific X-ray Imaging for Integrated Circuit Metrology

Ongoing
Industry roadmaps identify the characterization of nanoscale subsurface feature shape and composition as a measurement need for the semiconductor industry. However, IC interiors are difficult to probe post-manufacturing due to the presence of many close-packed and nanoscale subsurface features, of...

Nanostructure Fabrication and Metrology

Completed
This project develops semiconductor nanostructures, especially self-assembled quantum dots and photonic crystals, for a variety of applications including single photonics, laser diodes, and quantum optical metrology. It also develops quantum optical metrology based on other sources and detectors...

Nanostructures for Energy Conversion

Completed
Transportation is the single largest contributor to U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Moving to an electrically powered transportation system that draws on sustainable energy supplies has the potential to lower transportation costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and help further reduce the nation's...

The Nanotechnology Xccelerator

Ongoing
The Nanotechnology Xccelerator was announced on September 13, 2022 and was officially accepted for production at Skywater Technology Foundry using the Sky130 technology in Q1 2024. Sky130, which comes in both a conventional and open-source process design kit, is a 5-metal layer process. To...

Nanotribology for Nanomanufacturing (Archived)

Completed
Friction and wear are major causes of mechanical failures and dissipative energy losses. These shortfalls account for a significant portion of the annual gross domestic product in the United States, amounting to approximately $800 billion in 2010. It is estimated that tens of billions of U.S...

National Medical Phantom Library (NMPL): NIST Branch

Ongoing
Phantoms are calibration objects that can be used to assess the accuracy, stability, and comparability of medical imaging systems. The NIST/ISMRM MRI system phantom can be used to assess scanner geometric distortion, image uniformity, signal to noise ratio (SNR), resolution, slice profile and...

National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP)

Ongoing
NTEP requires industry to submit prototype weighing devices for evaluation to determine whether or not it meets the uncertainties which are related to tolerances associated with the intended final use in the marketplace. All devices sold in the United States for "legal for trade" purposes must pass...

Neuromorphic Computing

Ongoing
Spin Torque Oscillators: The research at the heart of this effort is to better understand and control mutual synchronization of arrays of spintronic nanoscale oscillators operating in the range of 10 GHz to 40 GHz. The devices under study are well suited to neuromorphic applications because they are...
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