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Nanotechnology

Advancing nanoscale measurement science, standards, and nanotechnology is an important component of NIST's mission to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness. From leading cutting edge research to coordinating the development of standards that promote trade, NIST's programs in nanotechnology directly impact priorities important to the nation's economy and well being.

The Research

Projects & Programs

Schematic of interface engineering 2D materials.

Chemical Functionalization and Manipulation of Nano Materials

Ongoing
This project focuses on manipulating nanomaterials, including weakly bonded van der Waals systems, and probing emergent phenomena in these nanoengineered systems to impact technologies such as nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, quantum sensing, and quantum computing. Developing processes to
Mechanical stylus instrument

Forensic Topography and Surface Metrology

Ongoing
Surface texture and microform Surface texture affects the functionality of many products, ranging from bearings to semiconductors and optics. Affected properties include aesthetics, friction, wear, lubrication, sealing, light scattering, and conductivity. Improvements in parameters and metrology to
PTIR combines the spatial resolution of AFM with the specificity of absorption spectroscopy

Nano-Chemical Imaging and -Spectroscopy (IR, nIR, VIS)

Ongoing
The aim of this project is twofold: 1) improve the PTIR measurement (spectral range, signal to noise ratio, throughput, time resolution, information content, range of environmental conditions) and 2) apply PTIR to characterize nanomaterials in important applications. Examples or recent PTIR

Analysis of Copper Incorporation Into Zinc Oxide Nanowires

The lasing capabilities and piezoelectric properties of single ZnO nanowires offer promise for future technologies. However, the photoluminescence of ZnO nanowires differs depending upon the synthesis method and the defects present in the sample. This project was undertaken to characterize zinc
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Additional Resources Links

Publications
Software
Tools & Instruments
Man in a clean suit stands in front of a chip oven

The CNST NanoFab: Through the Users’ Eyes

Learn more about this unique NIST facility, where scientists from government, academia and industry can use commercial, state-of-the-art tools at economical rates, and get help from dedicated, full-time technical support staff. Voices: David Baldwin (Great Ball of Light, Inc.) Elisa Williams (Scientific & Biomedical Microsystems) George Coles (Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory) William Osborn (NIST)

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News

concept illustrating the virtuous cycle of how better devices lead to better measurements which lead to better devices

The Virtuous Cycle of Making and Measuring Nanostructures

In his 1959 lecture “ There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom,” Richard Feynman invited us to enter a new field of physics. He envisioned, with remarkable prescience, making, measuring and using new technology at the nanometer scale. The exact effect that his predictions had on future science is uncertain, but he certainly inspired science fiction writers, and their stories captured my imagination as
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green laser

Tiny New Lasers Fill a Long-Standing Gap in the Rainbow of Visible-Light Colors, Opening New Applications

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pump laser illustration

With Some Bumps, NIST Scientists Devise a Novel Way to Extend the Wavelength Range of Microcombs

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Illustration shows tiny columns of light in different colors standing vertically along circuits on a chip.

Spotlight: Chip-Scale Frequency Combs Can Be Integrated With Other Sensors

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