National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) |
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100 Bureau Drive
Stop 3460
Gaithersburg
MD 20899-3460
USA
[t] +1 301 975 6478
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From automated teller machines and atomic clocks to mammograms and semiconductors, innumerable products and services rely in some way on technology, measurement, and standards provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.Founded in 1901, NIST is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Commerce Department's Technology Administration. NIST's mission is to develop and promote measurement, standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life. |
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Chip-scale refrigerators capable of reaching temperatures as low as 100 milliKelvin have been used to cool bulk objects for the first time, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report. |
21 April 2005 |
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A class of nanostructured materials that are key components of computer memories and other important technologies undergo a previously unrecognised shift in the rate at which magnetization changes at low temperatures. |
19 April 2005 |
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An improved method for depositing nanoporous, conducting polymer films on miniaturized device features has been demonstrated by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). |
12 April 2005 |
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Two superconducting devices have been coaxed into a special, interdependent state that mimics the unusual interactions sometimes seen in pairs of atoms, according to a team of physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). The experiments, performed at the NIST laboratory in Boulder, Colo., are an important step toward the possible use of 'artificial atoms' made with superconducting materials for storing and processing data in an ultra-powerful quantum computer of the future. |
24 February 2005 |
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Contrary to conventional wisdom, technology's advance into the vanishingly small realm of molecules and atoms may not be out of sight for the venerable optical microscope, after all. In fact, research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) suggests that a hybrid version of the optical microscope might be able to image and measure features smaller than 10 nanometers - a tiny fraction of the wavelength of visible light. |
10 February 2005 |
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A simple, chemical way to attach electrical contacts to molecular-scale electronic components has been developed by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The recently patented method attaches a layer of copper on the ends of delicate molecular components to avoid damage to the components that commonly occurs with conventional techniques. |
26 January 2005 |
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Carbon nanotubes - a hot nanotechnology with many potential uses - may find one of its quickest applications in the next generation of standards for optical power measurements, which are essential for laser systems used in manufacturing, medicine, communications, lithography, space-based sensors and other technologies. |
26 January 2005 |
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Common house dust may be an important source of a potentially dangerous class of chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), according to an exploratory study* by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). |
29 December 2004 |
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When looking for a needle in a haystack, it's helpful to know what a needle looks like. A new software tool developed by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) makes it possible to find chemical 'needles' in data 'haystacks' without having to know anything about the 'needle' in advance.
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08 December 2004 |
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Before the emerging field of organic electronics can deliver on its commercial promise, however, new measurements, standards and processing capabilities must be developed. Creating many of the requisite tools is the aim of a new five-year research effort at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). |
25 November 2004 |
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Most miniature electronic, optical and micromechanical devices are made from expensive semiconductor or ceramic materials. For some applications like diagnostic lab-on-a-chip devices, thin-film polymers may provide a cheaper alternative, but the structure and properties of these materials - often no more than a few nanometers (nm) thick - are difficult to determine. In addition, defects in the thin polymer masking materials used to 'print' integrated circuits can produce malfunctioning components. Consequently, researchers would like to have a non-invasive method for scanning polymer films for defects at high resolution. |
30 August 2004 |
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A new type of microfluidic device that can help industry to optimize paints, coatings for microelectronics and specialty polymers has been developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers. The device is made of a chemically durable plastic that is resistant to many common organic solvents. It was fabricated with a rapid prototyping method also developed at the agency. |
30 August 2004 |
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To the wonderment - and the befuddlement - of scientists, the patterns that form as plastics, metals and many other materials crystallize can vary incredibly, ranging from sea-urchin-like spheres to elaborate tree-like branches. |
30 August 2004 |
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Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have discovered that the addition of carbon nanotubes to a common commercial polymer, polypropylene, leads to dramatic changes in how the molten polymer flows. This process eliminates a widespread manufacturing headache known as 'die-swell' in which polymers swell in undesirable directions when passing through the exit port of an extruder (a machine for producing more or less continuous lengths of plastic sections). |
13 August 2004 |
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In a recent series of full-scale laboratory experiments at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), it took less than five minutes for flames from a simulated house with combustible exterior walls to ignite a similar 'house' six feet away. The experiments were conducted July 19, 2004, at the NIST Large Fire Facility. The tests, along with additional tests conducted on July 27, 2004, with more fire-resistant structures, are part of a program to develop computer models for predicting the spread of fire in residential communities. |
30 July 2004 |
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Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), along with their colleagues at several companies, are completing experiments that validate new standards aimed at improving emerging new microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, devices. Microaccelerometers, the devices used to activate automotive airbags, are MEMS devices. In the future, microscopic MEMs devices made with gears and motors may, for example, be developed to clear blockages in arteries. |
16 July 2004 |
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A new National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Web site enables manufacturers to check the accuracy of measurement software used to verify the smoothness of product surfaces. Automotive, aerospace and optic industry engineers should find the NIST virtual surface calibration Web site particularly useful. Those industries rely on precise measurements of surface smoothness to ensure the efficiency of cylinder-piston engines, to make high-performance metal wind tunnels, and to produce better optical components. |
23 April 2004 |
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You should never use a pen, pencil or hard-tip marker to write on your CDs.
That is among several recommendations made by computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), who sliced, diced and baked CDs and DVDs to see how long the digital information would survive. |
13 February 2004 |
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Stronger or tougher? For designers of advanced materials, this tradeoff may complicate efforts to devise efficient methods for assembling nanometer-scale building blocks into exotic ceramics, glasses and other types of customized materials. 'Not all properties may benefit from microstructural refinement, so due caution needs to be exercised in materials design,' writes the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Brian Lawn in the January issue of Journal of Materials Research. |
16 January 2004 |
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