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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Microsystems and Nanotechnology Division

News and Updates

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CNST Collaboration Resolves Century-Long Debate Over How to Describe Electromagnetic Momentum Density in Matter

December 28, 2011

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and the University of British Columbia have shown that the interaction between a light...

CNST Collaboration Tunes Viscous Drag on Superhydrophobic Surfaces

November 30, 2011

By measuring the motion of a vibrating, porous membrane separating water and air, researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, the...

Tiny Levers, Big Moves in Piezoelectric Sensors

November 22, 2011

A team of university researchers, aided by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), have succeeded in integrating a new, highly...

CNST and ITL Researchers Change the Color and Shape of a Single Photon

October 5, 2011

A team of researchers from the CNST and ITL has simultaneously changed the color and shape of a single photon, the smallest unit of light. The work, reported in...

CNST Researchers Use Nanophotonics to More Efficiently Extract Photons from Single Semiconductor Quantum Dots

September 14, 2011

An international team of researchers led by the CNST has developed a new type of nanophotonic cavity that improves the efficiency of photon collection from...

CNST Researchers Elucidate Micro-Optical Techniques for Solid-State Materials Characterization

July 27, 2011

In a chapter of the recently published book Optical Techniques for Solid-State Materials Characterization,* CNST researchers provide a detailed overview and...

CNST's Kartik Srinivasan Receives Sigma Xi Young Scientist Award

July 6, 2011

CNST researcher Kartik Srinivasan was honored with the Sigma Xi Young Scientist Award for 2011. He shared this prestigious prize with Sheng Lin-Gibson, Acting...

CNST Researchers Demonstrate Electo-Optic Modulation of Single Photons from a Quantum Dot

June 29, 2011

In a recent article in Applied Physics Letters,* CNST researchers demonstrated how commercially available electro-optic modulators can be used to tailor the...

CNST Researchers Develop Integrated Nanomechanical Sensor for Atomic Force Microscopy

June 1, 2011

The atomic force microscope (AFM) is an important tool for nanoscale surface metrology. Typical AFMs map local tip-surface interactions by scanning a flexible...

Schematic of flat electron wavefronts twisted into a fan of helices using a very thin film with a 5-micron-diameter pattern of nanoscale slits

NIST Puts a New Twist on the Electron Beam

January 13, 2011

Electron microscopes are among the most widely used scientific and medical tools for studying and understanding a wide range of materials, from biological...

NIST, Harvard Researchers Share 2010 Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics

October 26, 2010

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) physical scientist Henri Lezec and Federico Capasso of Harvard have received the Julius Springer Prize for...

This Little Light of Mine: Changing the Color of Single Photons Emitted by Quantum Dots

October 13, 2010

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated* for the first time the conversion of near-infrared 1,300 nm...

NIST Nanofluidic 'Multi-tool' Separates and Sizes Nanoparticles

August 3, 2010

A wrench or a screwdriver of a single size is useful for some jobs, but for a more complicated project, you need a set of tools of different sizes. Following...

Efficient Optical Fiber Technique Shown to Probe Individual Emitters

July 26, 2010

Using electromagnetic simulations, researchers from the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology have shown that fiber taper waveguides can be a very...

Nanopore-based single molecule mass spectrometry illustration

NIST Team Advances in Translating Language of Nanopores

June 23, 2010

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) scientists have moved a step closer to developing the means for a rapid diagnostic blood test that can...

Schematic depicting the creation of liposome-hydrogel hybrids.

Liposome-Hydrogel Hybrids: No Toil, No Trouble for Stronger Bubbles

June 9, 2010

People have been combining materials to bring forth the best properties of both ever since copper and tin were merged to start the Bronze Age. In the latest...

Computer simulations showing the mixing of water and isopropyl alcohol in a COMMAND microfluidic device.

NIST, Maryland Researchers COMMAND a Better Class of Liposomes

April 27, 2010

Pop a bubble while washing the dishes and you're likely to release a few drops of water trapped when the soapy sphere formed. A few years ago, researchers at...

CNST Researchers Win Best Nanolithography Poster Award at International Conference on Micro Nano Engineering

November 30, 2009

CNST researchers were recognized for the best poster presentation on nanolithography on October 1, 2009 at the 35th International Conference on Micro Nano...

CNST Researchers Design Optical Interface to Probe Single Quantum Dots

November 30, 2009

CNST researchers have designed a nanophotonic interface to very efficiently collect light emitted from single semiconductor quantum dots, providing an avenue...

CNST Research Featured in ACS Nano Perspective

April 16, 2009

In a recent report in the journal ACS Nano,* researchers in the CNST Nanofabrication Research Group and Electron Physics Group reported their success at precise...

World's First Nanofluidic Device with Complex 3-D Surfaces Built

April 7, 2009

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Cornell University have capitalized on a process for manufacturing integrated...

Overhead view of the NIST-Cornell 3-D nanofluidic device showing the different depth levels within the chamber as horizontal bands.

NIST-Cornell Team Builds World's First Nanofluidic Device with Complex 3-D Surfaces

March 31, 2009

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—Researchers at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Cornell University have capitalized on a...

'Nanoglassblowing' Seen as Boon to Study of Individual Molecules

June 10, 2008

While the results may not rival the artistry of glassblowers in Europe and Latin America, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology...

Graphic showing a lipid bilayer membrane (blue) with an alpha-hemolysin nanopore

DNA Sieve: Nanoscale Pores Can Be Tiny Analysis Labs

May 10, 2007

Imagine being able to rapidly identify tiny biological molecules such as DNA and toxins using less than a drop of salt water in a system that can fit on a...

Dixson and Fu Receive NIST Applied Research Award

December 1, 1999

Ronald G. Dixson, and Joseph N. Fu, today received the Applied Research Award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Dixson, a physicist, and...

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