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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Microsystems and Nanotechnology Division

News and Updates

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Ringing in a New Way to Measure and Modulate Trapped Light

December 22, 2015

Researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a novel way to noninvasively measure and map how and where

Nanoparticle Manufacturing Workshop

November 24, 2015

Following decades of research and development, commercial products enabled by nanoparticles are poised to have broad impact in diverse sectors of the global

Four images showing circular grating for extracting single photons from a quantum dot

NIST Method for Spotting Quantum Dots Could Help Make High-Performance Nanophotonic Devices

August 10, 2015

Life may be as unpredictable as a box of chocolates, but ideally, you always know what you're going to get from a quantum dot. A quantum dot should produce one

NIST Group Maps Distribution of Carbon Nanotubes in Composite Materials

June 29, 2015

Despite their small size and simple structure, carbon nanotubes—essentially sheets of graphene rolled up into straws—have all sorts of potentially useful

Detecting Effects of 3D Shapes in Nanoscale Chip Features

April 27, 2015

As microchip feature dimensions approach atomic scale, it becomes formidably difficult to measure their size and shape. According to the International

Mind the Gap: Nanoscale Speed Bump Could Regulate Plasmons for High-Speed Data Flow

April 1, 2015

The name sounds like something Marvin the Martian might have built, but the "nanomechanical plasmonic phase modulator" is not a doomsday device. Developed by a

NIST Shows Ultrasonically Propelled Nanorods Spin Dizzyingly Fast

July 21, 2014

Vibrate a solution of rod-shaped metal nanoparticles in water with ultrasound and they'll spin around their long axes like tiny drill bits. Why? No one yet

New NIST Metamaterial Gives Light a One-Way Ticket

July 1, 2014

The light-warping structures known as metamaterials have a new trick in their ever-expanding repertoire. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and

Don't Blink! NIST Studies Why Quantum Dots Suffer from 'Fluorescence Intermittency'

May 20, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working in collaboration with the Naval Research Laboratory, have found that a

Explaining Interactions between Light, Heat, and Charge Carriers in Silicon Photonic Microresonators

March 27, 2014

In an article appearing in the March 28th issue of Physical Review Letters, researchers from Northwestern University working with researchers from the NIST

PML Scientists Develop 3D SEM Metrology for 10 nm Structures

March 21, 2014

PML researchers have devised an idea for determining the three-dimensional shape of features as small as 10 nanometers wide. The model-based method compares

Schematic showing an input signal at 980 nm frequency shifted to the 1550 nm wavelength band through the application of two strong pump lasers.

A Frequency Conversion Interface to the Telecommunications Band Using Nanophotonics

December 17, 2013

Using nanofabricated waveguides in a silicon-based platform, researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) have developed a

Welcome Guests: Added Molecules Allow Metal-Organic Frameworks to Conduct Electricity

December 5, 2013

Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Sandia National Laboratories have added something new to a family of engineered

Controllable Mode Competition in a Phonon Laser

November 19, 2013

Using a novel realization of a "phonon laser," scientists at PML and the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) have observed and learned to control a process called

The Reins of Casimir: Engineered Nanostructures Could Offer Way to Control Quantum Effect ... Once a Mystery Is Solved

October 22, 2013

You might think that a pair of parallel plates hanging motionless in a vacuum just a fraction of a micrometer away from each other would be like strangers

CNST Physicists Kevin Twedt and Vladimir Aksyuk

NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology Researchers Introduce Blind Students to Nanoscale Science

September 19, 2013

In July 2013, 45 blind and visually impaired high school students from around the country gathered at Towson University for a weeklong event designed to expose

New Explanation for Key Step in Anthrax Infection Proposed by NIST and USAMRIID

August 20, 2013

A new hypothesis concerning a crucial step in the anthrax infection process has been advanced by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and

Schematic showing association of two duplex precursors into a quadruplex fiber building block. Bottom: AFM image of quadruplex DNA nanofibers.

Stiffening the Backbone of DNA Nanofibers

July 23, 2013

An international collaboration including researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito

New Nanoscale Imaging Method Finds Application in Plasmonics

July 16, 2013

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland have shown how to make nanoscale measurements of

A NIST team has created an ultraviolet (UV) metamaterial formed of alternating nanolayers of silver (green) and titanium dioxide (blue)

The Better to See You With: Scientists Build Record-Setting Metamaterial Flat Lens

May 23, 2013

For the first time, scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a new type of lens that bends and focuses

New Temporal Filtering Technique Improves Solid-State Single Photon Sources

May 8, 2013

An international collaboration led by researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) has demonstrated a novel temporal filtering

Fluorescence Technique Measures Photoacid Distribution in Photoresists with Nanoscale Resolution

April 17, 2013

A team of researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, the University of Maryland, and Korea University (Seoul, Korea) has measured

Nanowire Position and Orientation Precisely Controlled Using Fluid Flow

April 11, 2013

Video showing a 10 µm × 1 µm fluorescently labeled rod being controlled using a combination of electric fields and fluid flow to travel along the "NIST" path

PML Scientists Make Better SEM Imaging and Measurements in the Nano Era Possible

March 14, 2013

Since the inception of the scanning electron microscope (SEM), users have encountered the persistent problem of contamination. Cleanliness is required for

Temp-Controlled 'Nanopores' May Allow Detailed Blood Analysis

March 5, 2013

Tiny biomolecular chambers called nanopores that can be selectively heated may help doctors diagnose disease more effectively if recent research by a team at

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