Nanotechnology

Chromium impurities in an iron surface.

The U.S. electronics industry stakes its competitive edge in developing ever faster electronic circuits and denser magnetic storage media. NIST research on the physics of ultra-small structures is helping companies continue to meet the demand for faster, smaller electronic devices. Using a NIST-developed scanning tunneling microscope (STM), researchers can image single atoms or clusters of atoms on a surface and are working toward atom manipulation to form custom nanostructures. Studies of these tiny structures help scientists determine the physical laws operating on nanometer-scale objects.

To better study micromagnetic information storage materials, NIST scientists developed scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis, or SEMPA, to measure and display the spin direction of electrons in magnetic materials. Studies with this tool are helping U.S. industry figure out how to pack more electronic data bits into smaller spaces on computer hard drives and in thin-film, magnetoresistive memories. Several U.S. companies are taking advantage of the opportunity to work with NIST to obtain measurements necessary to develop the next generation of data storage systems.

Magnetic domains in amorphous ferromagnet.

Online: June 1999