(Funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Traditional computer chips have transformed our world by cramming billions of electronic devices into tiny silicon chips. NIST scientists have now made a major advance toward doing the same with light. To make their new chip, the researchers stacked specialized materials on top of each other, creating a high-tech “layer cake.” Called integrated photonic circuits, these chips can transform light, taking in one laser color and putting out a rainbow of colors. This advancement could lead to profound impacts on major industries, including: Quantum Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Navigation and Research.

(Funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed a new technique for measuring how radiation damages DNA molecules. This technique, which passes DNA through tiny openings called nanopores, detects radiation damage faster and more accurately than existing methods. The technique could track how well a tumor is responding to radiation, allowing for personalized adjustments to treatment. Also, in nuclear accidents or radiation poisoning, traditional methods to assess radiation exposure may take days, but with this new technology, first responders can obtain real-time data in minutes.

(Funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated a new and faster method for detecting and measuring the radioactivity of minuscule amounts of radioactive material. The innovative technique, known as cryogenic decay energy spectrometry, could have far-reaching impacts, from improving cancer treatments to ensuring the safety of nuclear waste cleanup. The researchers use a specialized inkjet device to carefully dispense tiny amounts, less than 1 millionth of a gram, of a radioactive solution onto thin gold foils. These gold foils have a surface dotted with tiny pores just billionths of a meter in size. These nanopores help to absorb the tiny droplets of the radioactive solution. By precisely measuring the mass of the solution that is dispensed using the inkjet and then measuring the radioactivity of the dried sample on the gold foils, the researchers can calculate the radioactivity per unit mass of the sample.

(Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology)
The fractional quantum Hall effect arises when electrons in two-dimensional materials are subject to a strong perpendicular magnetic field at very low temperatures. Researchers from George Mason University, Brown University, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have shown that fractional quantum Hall states could be better detected using thermopower measurements than with conventional electrical resistivity. (Thermopower is an electrical voltage generated when charge carriers move from the hot side to the cold side of a conducting or semiconducting material.) The researchers performed thermopower measurements on bilayer graphene and observed new fractional quantum Hall states, which had not been previously reported.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed a new blood test that diagnoses heart attacks in minutes rather than hours. The heart of the invention is a tiny chip with a groundbreaking nanostructured surface on which blood is tested. The chip’s “metasurface” enhances electric and magnetic signals during Raman spectroscopy analysis, making heart attack biomarkers visible in seconds. The tool is sensitive enough to flag heart attack biomarkers that might not be detected with current tests. “We’re talking about speed, we’re talking about accuracy, and we’re talking of the ability to perform measurements outside of a hospital,” said Ishan Barman, one of the scientists involved in this study.