Microscopy
World’s most powerful microscope ready for research
June 18, 2013 1:26 pm | News | CommentsThe world’s most powerful microscope, which resides in a specially constructed room at the Univ. of Victoria, has now been fully assembled and tested, and has a lineup of scientists and businesses eager to use it. The seven-ton, 4.5-m-tall scanning transmission electron holography microscope, the first such microscope of its type, came to the university in parts last year.
Scientists capture crystallization of materials in nanoseconds
June 13, 2013 10:16 am | News | CommentsLawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers, for the first time, have created movies of irreversible reactions that occur too rapidly to capture with conventional microscopy. The team used multiframe, nanosecond-scale imaging in the dynamic transmission electron microscope to create movies of the crystallization of phase-change materials used for optical and resistive memory.
New experiment opens window on glasses
June 10, 2013 8:25 am | News | CommentsFor the first time, scientists have mapped the structure of a metallic glass on the atomic scale, bringing them closer to understanding where the liquid ends and the solid begins in glassy materials. A study led by Monash Univ. researchers has used a newly developed technique on one of the world’s highest-resolution electron microscopes to understand the structure of a zirconium-based metallic glass.
New imaging tool directly measures liquid surfaces
May 31, 2013 8:09 am | News | CommentsA unique chemical imaging tool readily and reliably presents volatile liquids to scientific instruments, according to a team including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. These instruments require samples be held in a vacuum, which is often incompatible with hydrocarbons and other liquids.
Atomic-scale investigations solve key puzzle of LED efficiency
May 22, 2013 7:58 am | News | CommentsFrom the high-resolution glow of flat screen televisions to light bulbs that last for years, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) continue to transform technology. Their full potential, however, remains untapped. A contentious controversy surrounds the high intensity of indium gallium nitride, with experts split on whether or not indium-rich clusters within the material provide the LED's remarkable efficiency.
Physicists discover a new kind of friction
May 15, 2013 11:26 am | News | CommentsIn a quest to develop low-friction components for ever smaller mechanical systems, a team of physicists in Germany has recently discovered a previously unknown type of friction that they call “desorption stick.” The researchers examined how and why single polymer molecules in various solvents slide over or stick to certain surfaces. They found that an unexpected factor was responsible for the friction they observed.
The mechanism that puts the curl in the curling stone revealed
May 13, 2013 3:10 pm | News | CommentsIn the curling sport, the players shoot their stones along the ice so that they slowly slide towards the target area, almost 30 m away. The game has its name from the slightly curved "curled" path taken by the stone, when released with a slow rotation. Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden can now reveal the mechanism behind this curving path.
Team observes real-time charging of a lithium-air battery
May 13, 2013 9:07 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsOne of the most promising new kinds of battery to power electric cars is called a lithium-air battery. But progress has been slow. Researchers have used transmission electron microscope (TEM) imaging to observe, at a molecular level, what goes on during a reaction called oxygen evolution as lithium-air batteries charge; this reaction is thought to be a bottleneck limiting further improvements to these batteries.
Imaging nanoscale polarization in ferroelectrics with coherent X-rays
May 7, 2013 11:19 am | News | CommentsAn international team working to image ferroelectric thin films have reported the development of a new X-ray imaging technique, coherent X-ray Bragg projection ptychography. Under certain conditions, these thin films, which are used in computer memory, form networks of nanoscale domains with distinct local polarizations that are normally difficult to image.
New imaging technique visualizes bio-metals and molecules simultaneously
May 2, 2013 2:25 pm | by Juliette Savin, RIKEN | News | CommentsMetal elements and molecules interact in the body, but visualizing them together has always been a challenge. Researchers at RIKEN in Japan have developed a new molecular imaging technology that enables them to image bio-metals and bio-molecules at the same time in a live mouse. This new technology will enable researchers to study the complex interactions between metal elements and molecules in living organisms.
Scientists make world’s smallest stop-motion film
May 2, 2013 9:22 am | News | CommentsEven without certification by Guinness World Records, it would be easy to believe a short, 250-frame film recently created by an IBM Research team is the world’s smallest. Named “A Boy and His Atom,” the movie was created by precisely placing thousands of atoms using a scanning tunneling microscope. This type of atomic-level control is the result of years of efforts by IBM to determine the lower limits for storing data.
Important microscopic technique advanced for biomedical research
April 29, 2013 8:17 am | News | CommentsScientists at TU Delft have made an important advancement in a new microscopic technique that is widely used in medical research. They demonstrate what the resolution of this localization microscopy is and how the best resolution can be achieved as quickly as possible.
Imaging technology could reveal cellular secrets
April 25, 2013 2:30 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have married two biological imaging technologies, creating a new way to learn how good cells go bad. Being able to study a cell's internal workings in fine detail would likely yield insights into the physical and biochemical responses to its environment. The technology, which combines an atomic force microscope and nuclear magnetic resonance system, could help researchers study individual cancer cells.
Scientists image nanoparticles in action
April 25, 2013 8:49 am | News | CommentsThe macroscopic effects of certain nanoparticles on human health have long been clear to the naked eye. What scientists have lacked is the ability to see the detailed movements of individual particles that give rise to those effects. Scientists at Virginia Tech have invented a technique for imaging nanoparticle dynamics with atomic resolution as these dynamics occur in a liquid environment.
Team Effort
April 24, 2013 2:16 pm | by Paul Livingstone | Articles | CommentsAdvances in microscopy and fundamental science are closely intertwined. Without prior understanding of the basis for research, the tools of microscopy are useless. Without microscopy, an understanding of how materials, chemistry, or life behave(s) at the molecular and atomic level cannot be discovered.
IX3 Enters the Microscope Realm
April 24, 2013 12:06 pm | by Paul Livingstone | Articles | CommentsA new architecture for Olympus' IX line gives users flexibility and optics module makers a new development platform. Invented in 1850, the inverted microscope has been a laboratory stalwart, giving researchers a direct and simple platform for optically viewing samples. The concept is simple: By fixing the sample stage and allowing the optics equipment to adjust, the user has more control over the object under analysis.
Measurement technique offers way of improving optical lens making
April 24, 2013 9:20 am | News | CommentsResearchers at the University of Rochester have applied a sophisticated imaging technique to obtain the first 3D, high-resolution pictures of a recently developed type of optical lenses. They say that using optical coherence tomography during the manufacturing process allows them to significantly improve the quality of these new and promising lenses.
Scientists see nanoparticles form larger structure in real time
April 22, 2013 7:57 am | News | CommentsIn a new study performed at Argonne National Laboratory, researchers have, for the first time, seen the self-assembly of nanoparticle chains in situ, that is, in place as it occurs in real time. The scientists exposed a tiny liquid “cell” or pouch that contained gold nanoparticles covered with a positively charged coating to an intense beam of electrons generated with a transmission electron microscope.
Discovery paves the way for ultra-fast high-resolution imaging in real time
April 18, 2013 10:51 am | News | CommentsScientists in Australia have recently demonstrated that ultra-short durations of electron bunches generated from laser-cooled atoms can be both very cold and ultra-fast. The low temperature permit sharp images, and the electron pulse duration has a similar effect to shutter speed, potentially allowing researchers to observe critical but quick dynamic processes, such as the picosecond duration of protein folding.
Team produces best image yet of atoms moving real time
April 17, 2013 4:59 pm | News | CommentsUsing an ultra-bright electron source, scientists at the University of Toronto have recorded atomic motions in real time, offering a glimpse into the very essence of chemistry and biology at the atomic level. Their recording is a direct observation of a transition state in which atoms undergo chemical transformation into new structures with new properties.
Researchers find out why some stress is good for you
April 17, 2013 7:19 am | by Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley | News | CommentsMuch research has demonstrated that chronic stress elevates levels of glucocorticoid stress hormones, which impairs memory. And stress is associated with a lot of other physical ailments. But less is known about the effects of acute stress, and studies have been conflicting. Recent work shows that intense, short-lived stress causes the proliferation of new neurons, improving mental performance.
New AFM Semiconductor Characterization Solution
April 5, 2013 6:14 pm | Product Releases | CommentsBruker recently announced the release of the Dimension Icon SSRM-HR, a new atomic force microscope (AFM) configuration including the Scanning Spreading Resistance Microscopy (SSRM) module, designed specifically for high-resolution (HR) semiconductor characterization.
ORNL microscopy uncovers “dancing” silicon atoms in graphene
April 3, 2013 4:17 pm | News | CommentsJumping silicon atoms are the stars of an atomic scale ballet featured in a new Nature Communications study from the U.S. Department of Energy(DOE)'s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The ORNL research team documented the atoms' unique behavior by first trapping groups of silicon atoms, known as clusters, in a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon called graphene.
Switch to a power stroke enables tiny marine crustacean to survive
April 2, 2013 12:59 pm | News | CommentsOlympic swimmers aren’t the only ones who change their strokes to escape competitors. To escape from the jaws and claws of predators in cold, viscous water, marine copepods switch from a wave-like swimming stroke to big power strokes, a behavior that has now been revealed thanks to 3D high-speed digital holography.
Nanoscale edge variations observed with record-breaking resolution
March 28, 2013 9:35 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers from the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, the University of Maryland, and NIST have measured large variations in the magnetic properties along the edge of a thin-film 500-nm-diameter disk. This work represents a significant development in the measurement of magnetic thin-film edge properties, which are especially important for nanodevices, such as magnetic memory cells, where the edge to area ratio is large.
