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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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Light Fantastic: Counting Single Photons at Unprecedented Rates

April 12, 2021

In high-end 21 st century communications, information travels in the form of a stream of light pulses typically traveling through fiber optic cables. Each pulse

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The Ins and Outs of a NIST Patent

April 6, 2021

Electron or X-Ray Beam Lithography in Liquids Description These days, the fabrication of 2D and 3D structures out of liquid, biocompatible, hydrogel solutions

The Case of the Cloudy Filters: Solving the Mystery of the Degrading Sunlight Detectors

March 25, 2021

More than 150 years ago, the Sun blasted Earth with a massive cloud of hot charged particles. This plasma blob generated a magnetic storm on Earth that caused

Optical Fiber Could Boost Power of Superconducting Quantum Computers

March 24, 2021

The secret to building superconducting quantum computers with massive processing power may be an ordinary telecommunications technology — optical fiber

Illustration shows two buildings labeled "NIST" and "JILA" facing each other with mountains in the background.

NIST Team Compares 3 Top Atomic Clocks With Record Accuracy Over Both Fiber and Air

March 24, 2021

In a significant advance toward the future redefinition of the international unit of time, the second, a research team led by the National Institute of

As Good as it Gets: NIST Develops Its Fourth Generation Wire Micrometer that Rivals Best in the World

March 11, 2021

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a dramatically improved laser-based instrument that measures the

A Better Way to Measure Acceleration

March 8, 2021

You’re going at the speed limit down a two-lane road when a car barrels out of a driveway on your right. You slam on the brakes, and within a fraction of a

Not Just a Pretty Facet: New NIST algorithm for NV center diamond magnetometry speeds up experiments by an order of magnitude

February 19, 2021

Some might call it a diamond in the rough: NV center magnetometry, which uses specially adapted diamonds to make sensitive measurements of magnetic signals, is

Gold-colored metal square has connectors and chip in center.

Spotlight: On the Hunt for Dark Matter With Quantum Squeezing

February 10, 2021

Look out dark matter, here come the detectives. This NIST amplifier, which measures tiny electrical currents, has boosted the search for the mysterious dark

Bringing Atoms to a Standstill: NIST Miniaturizes Laser Cooling

January 21, 2021

It’s cool to be small. Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have miniaturized the optical components required to cool atoms

A rectangular chip features a brass-colored bow-tie shape on black background.

Spotlight: New Ion Trap With Single-Photon Detector

January 9, 2021

Putting a bow tie on quantum information processing, NIST researchers have a new ion trap with a component that could be key to streamlining the construction of

NIST Publishes a Beginner’s Guide to DNA Origami

January 8, 2021

In a technique known as DNA origami, researchers fold long strands of DNA over and over again to construct a variety of tiny 3D structures, including miniature

A white towerlike structure on a black background

Spotlight: Norman Sanford and the Mysterious Nanolith

December 30, 2020

Monolith structures made appearances all around the globe this fall and winter, and a nano-sized one just emerged at NIST’s Precision Imaging Facility in

Spotlight: Transporting Vaccines Depends on Temperature-Sensing Technology

December 17, 2020

Delivery trucks are shipping COVID-19 vaccines across the nation, and their cargo needs a cold journey to stay viable (minus 80 degrees C, colder than a typical

JILA’s Bigger and Better ‘Tweezer Clock’ Is Super Stable

December 16, 2020

JILA physicists have boosted the signal power of their atomic “tweezer clock” and measured its performance in part for the first time, demonstrating high

Orange horizontal shapes on a purple background

JILA’s Electric ‘Knob’ Tunes Chemical Reaction Rates in Quantum Gas

December 10, 2020

Building on their newfound ability to induce molecules in ultracold gases to interact with each other over long distances, JILA researchers have used an

Grid shows two peaks, with the left one taller than the right.

New JILA Tools ‘Turn On’ Quantum Gases of Ultracold Molecules

December 9, 2020

JILA researchers have developed tools to “turn on” quantum gases of ultracold molecules, gaining control of long-distance molecular interactions for potential

Error-Prone Quantum Bits Could Correct Themselves, NIST Physicists Show

December 8, 2020

One of the chief obstacles facing quantum computer designers — correcting the errors that creep into a processor’s calculations — could be overcome with a new

In Search for Dark Matter, New Fountain Design Could Become Wellspring of Answers

November 27, 2020

You can’t see it. You can’t feel it. But the substance scientists refer to as dark matter could account for five times as much “stuff” in the universe as the

A new twist on measuring spin: NIST Develops Microresonator to Study Electron Spin in Small Volumes

November 17, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a device to detect a quantum property of electrons, known as spin, in

Square wood box with multicolored wires arranged in ever-smaller squares inside and three small plastic strips attached in several places.

NIST Sensor Experts Invent Supercool Mini-Thermometer

November 17, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have invented a miniature thermometer with big potential applications, such as

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Advanced Atomic Clock Makes a Better Dark Matter Detector

November 12, 2020

JILA researchers have used a state-of-the-art atomic clock to narrow the search for elusive dark matter, an example of how continual improvements in clocks have

Room Temperature Conversion of CO₂ to CO: A New Way to Synthesize Hydrocarbons

November 2, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have demonstrated a room-temperature method that could

Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure: NIST Releases Draft Cybersecurity Guidance, Develops GPS-Free Backup for Timing Systems

October 23, 2020

Taking another step toward strengthening the nation’s critical infrastructure, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has drafted guidelines

A novel, low-cost method detects nanoscale contaminants during manufacture of semiconductor devices

October 19, 2020

As computer chips and other electronic devices continue to shrink in size, they become ever more sensitive to contamination. However, detecting the nanoscale

Advanced communications
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--Agility and adaptability
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Materials
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Mathematics and statistics
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Nanotechnology
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