Mar. 21, 2013

Laser World of Photonics

The most important industry gathering for optical technologies in the world is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2013. From May 13 - 16, 2013, the international trade fair Laser World of Photonics will present the latest trends and the entire range of applications at the Messe München trade-fair center (Germany). The science-oriented World of Photonics Congress, which focuses on the latest research findings, takes place at the same time. It is being held at the neighboring ICM - International Congress Center Munich from May 12 - 16.
moreMar. 20, 2013

New Microscope Measures Nanomagnet Property Vital to Spintronics

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new microscope able to view and measure an important but elusive property of the nanoscale magnets used in an advanced, experimental form of digital memory. The new instrument already has demonstrated its utility with initial results that suggest how to limit power consumption in future computer memories.
moreMar. 19, 2013

Scanning Electron Microscopy: Avoiding Contaminations by Improving Cleaning Techniques

Since the inception of the scanning electron microscope (SEM), users have encountered the persistent problem of contamination. Cleanliness is required for imaging and to make good quality measurements, and Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) has led the exploration and the development of methods to allow SEM users gather high-quality, repeatable, and quantitative measurement results.
moreMar. 18, 2013

'Metasurfaces' to Usher in New Optical Technologies

New optical technologies using "metasurfaces" capable of the ultra-efficient control of light are nearing commercialization, with potential applications including advanced solar cells, computers, telecommunications, sensors and microscopes. The metasurfaces could make possible "planar photonics" devices and optical switches small enough to be integrated into computer chips for information processing and telecommunications, said Alexander Kildishev, associate research professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University.
moreMar. 18, 2013

Transmission Electron Microscopy: Visualization of Gold Nanoparticle Self-Assembly

The self-assembly of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) coated with specific organic ions in water was observed by Center for Nanoscale Materials staff in the Nanobio Interfaces, Electronic & Magnetic Materials & Devices, and Nanophotonics groups using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with a liquid cell. The Au NPs formed one-dimensional chains within a few minutes.
moreMar. 18, 2013

EMS Scholarships for MC2013

During the previous European Microscopy Society (EMS) Board meeting it was decided to select MC2013 in Regensburg (Germany) as EMS Extension for 2013. To support young researchers to attend this meeting 20 scholarships of each 250 € will be awarded by EMS. Application deadline for these scholarships equals the abstract submission deadline for the meeting (March 31, 2013, 24:00, Brussels time) and will not be extended. Each applicant must submit at least one abstract and be registered at the meeting. moreMar. 11, 2013

AFM-IR: Chemical Identification of Polymer Nanostructures

For more than 20 years, researchers have been using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure and characterize materials at the nanometer scale. However AFM-based measurements of chemistry and chemical properties of materials were generally not possible, until now. Researchers at the University Illinois report that they have measured the chemical properties of polymer nanostructures as small as 15 nm, using a novel technique called atomic force microscope infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR). The results were published in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments 84.
moreMar. 07, 2013

Cryo-electron Microscopy: Visualization of Transcription Initiation

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have achieved a major advance in understanding how genetic information is transcribed from DNA to RNA by providing the first step-by-step look at the biomolecular machinery that reads the human genome. The scientists used cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), where protein samples are flash-frozen at liquid nitrogen temperatures to preserve their structure. The results were published in Nature.
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