This colorful map of texture in a substrate for a superconducting film was produced by ORNL's computerized field-emission-gun scanning electron microscope, which analyzes patterns of electrons backscattered from crystalline planes of atoms. This capability was essential to understanding the grain-boundary structure of bismuth- and thallium-based superconductors that carry large amounts of current and to optimizing the texture of buffered nickel and copper substrates for superconducting tapes. See articles, "Hot Wire: A New Foundation for Superconductors" and "Unlocking Electronic Gridlock: ORNL's Search for the Winning Combination," for a discussion of ORNL's exciting development of short superconducting tapes using textured substrates, which recently received a NOVA Award for Teamwork from Lockheed Martin Corporation. The cover was designed by Dave Cottrell, graphic artist in the Computing, Information, and Networking Division.
Hot Wire: A New Foundation for Superconductors
Unlocking Electronic Gridlock: ORNL's Search for the Winning Combination
By Carolyn Krause
Atomic Balm: Finding Hope in Isotopes
By Kit Carlson
ORNL's War on Crime, Technically Speaking
By Pete Xiques
Life on Earth: Why Biodiversity Varies
By Carolyn Krause
Biosensors and Other Medical and Environmental Probes
By K. Bruce Jacobson
Hybrid Lighting: Illuminating Our Future
By Michael R. Cates
R&D Updates
Next article | Search | Mail | Review Home Page | ORNL Home Page ]