Electron physics

News and Updates

Anyone for Anyons?

Researchers have demonstrated that a strange type of quantum particle called the anyon, believed to exist in only two dimensions, can also be created in one dimension. Further studies exploring different types of one-dimensional anyons could bring scientists one step closer to using the particles as a fundamental unit of memory in a quantum computer. A team led by Harvard scientists Joyce Kwan and

diagram of a spherical retarding field analyzer

NIST Study Aims to Improve Utility of the Scanning Electron Microscope

A Physicist and Steampunk Enthusiast Explores Thermodynamics in the Quantum World

Profile: Quantum Physicist Alexey Gorshkov Tackles the Big Problems

Blog Posts

Sun Park wears safety glasses as she adjusts wiring and equipment in the lab.

Unlocking Our World’s Earliest Secrets — One Tiny Electron at a Time

Why do we exist? It’s a big question — and one that some of NIST’s early universe detectives are getting closer to answering.

Samuel Márquez Gonzalez leans forward to look through a microscope in the lab.

From Pokémon to Physics: My Journey of Perseverance Into Research

Text reads "2019 top 7 visuals." Text is surrounded by pictures that appear in the article.

Top 7 NIST Visuals of 2019

Researcher seated at a lab bench looking though a microscope

Unboxing a New Spin-Triplet Superconductor

Projects and Programs

Extreme ultraviolet optical constants

Ongoing

Measurements of EUV optical constants are often made by measuring the absorption or near-normal-incidence reflectivity, then performing transforms to obtain both the real and imaginary parts of the index. These sorts of measurements have considerable uncertainty because they require knowledge of

A 3" wafer is seen concentric with the lower plasma electrode.

Precision Materials for Quantum Devices

Ongoing

MBE System Our fabrication system is composed of ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chambers that support the in-vacuum exchange of 75 mm wafers without exposure to air as seen in Figure 1. These chambers are: (1) a deposition chamber with electron gun deposition, UHV compatible sputter guns, in situ shadow

Extreme Ultraviolet Detector Calibration Service

Ongoing

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a wide variety of programs for the calibration of instruments and components for space-based research in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV). Many of these programs have been in existence since the 1960s, and have provided calibration support

Argon mini-arc meets its match: Use of a laser-driven plasma source in ultraviolet-detector calibrations

Ongoing

Many national measurement institutes, like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), provide radiometric detector and source calibration services, which span the optical portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Optical radiation includes the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared