ELECTRON AND OPTICAL PHYSICS DIVISION (Gaithersburg, MD) Charles W. Clark, Chief Tel 301 975 3038 Fax 301 208 6937

The Electron and Optical Physics Division develops measurement methods and associated technology for determining electron and photon interactions with matter. Its staff engages in experimental and theoretical physics, provides measurement services, and operates central research facilities.

Major programs

• Operate the SURF III Synchotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility, an electron storage ring that serves as an absolutely calibrated source of radiation from the infrared through the soft x-ray spectral regions

• Develop techniques for determining the magnetic microstructure of surfaces, based on scanning electron microscopy with electron spin polarization analysis (SEMPA)

• Develop state-of-the-art scanning tunneling microscopes, presently with picometer vertical spatial resolution, and apply them to the study of the nanostructure of metals and semiconductors

• Work on the physical measurement basis for nanotechnology, particularly in application to advanced lithography

Collaborations with industry

• Provision, through SURF III, of a source of continuous optical radiation for calibration services and applications in fields ranging from aeronomy to x-ray optics

• Measurement of magnetic microstructure, e.g., the magnetic bits written on a computer disk, to improve techniques for data storage

• Development of semiconductor photodiodes for compact, reliable, and inexpensive detection of ultraviolet to extreme ultraviolet radiation

• Characterization of novel optical systems for extreme ultraviolet projection lithography

• Development of techniques for direct-write optical lithography, i.e., massively parallel deposition of atomic structures on surfaces

• Experimental and theoretical studies of giant magnetoresistance for applications in sensors and recording heads

• Development of algorithms for high-performance scientific computing

• Determination of electron mean free paths in solids for application in studies of materials composition and impurity content.

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Online: November 1994   -   Last update: August 2001