News and Updates

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Atomic ‘Swiss Army Knife’ Precisely Measures Materials for Quantum Computers

July 6, 2020

It images single atoms. It maps atomic-scale hills and valleys on metal and insulating surfaces. And it records the flow of current across atom-thin materials

cryogenically cooled laser microresonator frequency comb

Comb on a Chip: New Design for ‘Optical Ruler’ Could Revolutionize Clocks, Telescopes, Telecommunications

June 22, 2020

Just as a meter stick with hundreds of tick marks can be used to measure distances with great precision, a device known as a laser frequency comb, with its

Two vertical strings of electrons form magnons. Spin waves passing through the left magnon string are larger than those passing through the right, indicating the difference between an on and off state.

MIT, NIST Create First Room-Temp ‘Magnon Switch’ With Industrially Useful Properties

June 15, 2020

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have demonstrated a potentially new

Flat, round shape in various shades of orange color, with copper wiring and other decorations covering the top third and a small, square black object surrounded by a gold frame in the center.

NIST Researchers Boost Microwave Signal Stability a Hundredfold

May 21, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used state-of-the-art atomic clocks, advanced light detectors, and a measurement

Man with dark hair and wearing a blue shirt and laser safety goggles standing on the right and facing to the left as he reaches into a two-level laboratory table full of optics and other equipment.

NIST Team Builds Hybrid Quantum System by Entangling Molecule With Atom

May 20, 2020

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have boosted their control of the fundamental properties of molecules at the quantum

NIST Scientists Create New Recipe for Single-Atom Transistors

May 11, 2020

Once unimaginable, transistors consisting only of several-atom clusters or even single atoms promise to become the building blocks of a new generation of

To Tune Up Your Quantum Computer, Better Call an AI Mechanic

March 31, 2020

A high-end race car engine needs all its components tuned and working together precisely to deliver top-quality performance. The same can be said about the

Roll-Up TVs and Bendable Smartphones: Toward More Choices for Flexible Electronic Materials

March 6, 2020

Have you heard of foldable smartphones? How about the flexible television screen that rolls up into a box? Or the ultrathin “wallpaper” TVs that are just

Getting a closer look at living cells and batteries: a little bit of graphene goes a long way

March 6, 2020

Researchers at NIST have devised a way to eliminate a long-standing problem affecting our understanding of both living cells and batteries. When a solid and an

NIST researcher in a laboratory room looking at tall vertical microscope with multicolored wires emanating from it.

A Simple Retrofit Transforms Ordinary Electron Microscopes Into High-Speed Atom-Scale Cameras

February 24, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their collaborators have developed a way to retrofit the transmission electron

A Spin Wave Detective Story: NIST Researchers Verify Surprising Behavior in a 2D Magnet

February 18, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have discovered a surprising feature in two-dimensional (2D) magnets, a new class of

Opposite sides of a quartz crystal resonator

Universe in the Balance

February 12, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have found a way to link measurements made by a device integral to microchip

STM image of electrons in two coupled quantum dots

What a Pair! Coupled Quantum Dots May Offer a New Way to Store Quantum Information

January 29, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have for the first time created and imaged a novel pair of quantum

A man in safety glasses stands near a rack of equipment in a darkened lab.

Counting Photons Is Now Routine Enough to Need Standards

December 20, 2019

Since the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) built its first superconducting devices for counting photons (the smallest units of light) in

NIST Study Suggests Universal Method for Measuring Light Power

December 20, 2019

Always on the lookout for better ways to measure all kinds of things, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have published a

NIST Scientists and Engineers Pitch Innovations to Venture Capitalists

December 18, 2019

The Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), on December 02, 2019, brought to life an event that

A New Playbook for Interference

December 17, 2019

Particles can sometimes act like waves, and photons (particles of light) are no exception. Just as waves create an interference pattern, like ripples on a pond

Winners of the 2019 Lab Venture Challenge in Boulder

November 20, 2019

On November 12-13, 2019, Venture Partners at CU Boulder hosted the 2019 Lab Venture Challenge. Think Shark Tank! Eleven entrepreneurs pitched their product to

Square checkerboard with 32 squares on each side surrounded by sunbeam-like lines emanating out from around the board.

NIST’s Light-Sensing Camera May Help Detect Extraterrestrial Life, Dark Matter

November 19, 2019

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made one of the highest-performance cameras ever composed of sensors that count

What a Switch! NIST-Led Team Develops Tiny Low-Energy Device to Rapidly Reroute Light in Computer Chips

November 14, 2019

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have developed an optical switch that routes light from one

SBIR funds internationally marketable quality audit instrument

November 1, 2019

En’Urga Inc., an advanced diagnostic equipment company, recently found success with a Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Institute of

A twist and a spin: harnessing two quantum properties transforms a neutron beam into a powerful probe of material structure

October 29, 2019

By cleverly manipulating two properties of a neutron beam, NIST scientists and their collaborators have created a powerful probe of materials that have complex

Physics