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Physics

Spectroscopy

Colloquium - 120 Years of Atomic Spectroscopy at NIST video screenshot
120 Years of Atomic Spectroscopy at NIST

News and Updates

Grid of six B&W images of asbestos fibers taken by scanning electron microscopy

NIST Researchers Identify a Cheaper, More Convenient Method to Detect Asbestos

Researchers have verified that scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a highly accurate way to test air samples for the presence of asbestos.
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Micrograph shows six blue boxes with thin lines at the center, each connected to white rectangular shapes.

Spotlight: A New Wavelength of Scientific Exploration With Single-Photon Detectors

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A scientific device attached to a lab table has a round, porthole-like opening on one end of a cylinder wrapped in foil.

Spotlight: Near-Perfect Mirror Surfaces for Reflecting Mid-Infrared Light Better

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Jun Ye headshot

Jun Ye: A Timely Profile

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Projects and Programs

Breathalyzer

Standards Development to Ensure Reliable Breath Analysis in the Field

Ongoing
Numerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been identified in human breath. These compounds can be produced by the body or by organisms in the body (e.g., bacteria or viruses) and provide a non-invasive window into human health. Inexpensive point-of-care devices are being developed to diagnose
Sample in cryostat.

Ultrafast Spectroscopy to Advance Microelectronics

Ongoing
Continued advancement in microelectronics, including analog and digital electronics, power electronics, optics and photonics, and micromechanics for memory, processing, sensing, and communications as defined by the OSTP “National Strategy on Microelectronics Research,” requires knowledge of material
Catalyst Testbed

X-ray Testbed for Breakthrough Catalyst Measurements

Ongoing
Interested in collaborating? See below What does this project do for industry? Current measurement techniques are unable to follow the reaction pathways during catalysis and are limited to observing only the end products or looking at catalysts outside of realistic reaction conditions. Our new
cold atom thermometer (CAT) experiment

Atomic Thermometers

Ongoing
Approach 1 Compact Blackbody Radiation Atomic Sensor (CoBRAS) The Compact Blackbody Radiation Atomic Sensor (CoBRAS) uses a thermal vapor of atoms excited by a single laser to detect BBR. From the optically excited state, atomic population is transferred to other, nearby excited states by a

Tools and Instruments

Beamline 7

Beamline 7: EUV reflectometry

The NIST/DARPA EUV Reflectometry facility began in the late 1980's to make measurements of the reflectivity of EUV multilayer optics for lithography. Since then