May. 24, 2013

A New Type of Laser

University of Würzburg physicists have succeeded in creating a new type of laser. Its operation principle is completely different from conventional devices, which opens up the possibility of a significantly reduced energy input requirement. The researchers report their work in Nature.
moreMay. 23, 2013

Heinrich Rohrer, the Co-inventor of the Scanning Tunneling Microscope, Passed Away

The co-inventor of the scanning tunneling microscope, Dr. Heinrich Rohrer, passed away on the evening of May 16, 2013. He was 79. Heinrich Rohrer, IBM Fellow and Nobel Laureate, joined the IBM Research Laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland, in December of 1963, where he worked for 34 years. After hiring a young scientist named Gerd Binnig in the late 1970s, the two started collaborating, brought closely together by their backgrounds in superconductivity and their fascination with atomic surfaces. The two scientists grew increasingly frustrated by the limits of the tools then available to study the distinct characteristics of atomic surfaces, so they decided to build their own, something that would be capable of seeing and manipulating atoms at the nanoscale level.
moreMay. 23, 2013

Improved Imaging Technique Solve Key Puzzle of LED Efficiency

From the high-resolution glow of flat screen televisions to light bulbs that last for years, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) continue to transform technology. The celebrated efficiency and versatility of LEDs-and other solid-state technologies including laser diodes and solar photovoltaics-make them increasingly popular. Their full potential, however, remains untapped, in part because the semiconductor alloys that make these devices work continue to puzzle scientists.
moreMay. 14, 2013

Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy: Measuring Oxygen Consumption of Individual Cells

How active a living cell is can be seen by its oxygen consumption. The method for determining this consumption has now been significantly improved by chemists in Bochum. The problem up to now was that the measuring electrode altered the oxygen consumption in the cell's environment much more than the cell itself. "We already found that out twelve years ago," says Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schuhmann from the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the Ruhr-Universität (Germany). "Now we have finally managed to make the measuring electrode an spectator." Together with his team, he reports in the "International Edition" of the journal Angewandte Chemie.
moreMay. 13, 2013

X-ray Free-electron Lasers: Observing the Movement of Electrons around Atoms

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) produce higher-power laser pulses over a broader range of energies compared with most other x-ray sources. Although the pulse durations currently available are enormously useful for the study of materials, even shorter pulses are needed to observe features such as electrons at subatomic scales. Takashi Tanaka from the Riken SPring-8 Center has now proposed a theoretical pulse-amplification scheme that allows for the production of ultrashort x-ray pulses at extremely high energies.
moreMay. 06, 2013

2013 FEI Image Contest

FEI invites owners and users to submit their best images from an FEI instrument. We are continuing our partnership with National Geographic on the upcoming film "Mysteries of the Unseen World". All images submitted will be considered for inclusion in the film's promotional materials.
moreMay. 06, 2013

Quantum-assisted Nano-imaging of Living Organism

In science, many of the most interesting events occur at a scale far smaller than the unaided human eye can see. Medical researchers might realize a range of breakthroughs if they could look deep inside living biological cells, but existing methods for imaging either lack the desired sensitivity and resolution or require conditions that lead to cell death, such as cryogenic temperatures. Recently, however, a team of Harvard University-led researchers working on DARPA's Quantum-Assisted Sensing and Readout (QuASAR) program demonstrated imaging of magnetic structures inside of living cells. Using equipment operated at room temperature and pressure, the team was able to display detail down to 400 nanometers, which is roughly the size of two measles viruses.
moreMay. 06, 2013

Analytik Jena Establishes Subsidiary in Thailand

Analytik Jena, a manufacturer of analytical instrumentation technology, life science instruments and optoelectronics, has established a new subsidiary, Analytik Jena Far East (Thailand) Ltd., giving it a presence in the Southeast Asian market. Analytik Jena is using this new company to bolster its activities in the Southeast Asian market, increase its regional service for the sales partners and customers operating there and expand its regional sales activities. In future, the company wants to strengthen its core business of Analytical Instrumentation from Bangkok with its ninth foreign subsidiary.
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