Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology articles from March 2003

Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology archives from March 2003

Accuracy of nanoscale pitch standards fabricated by laser-focused atomic deposition.
March 1, 2003... The pitch accuracy of a grating formed by laser-focused atomic deposition is evaluated from the point of view of fabricating nanoscale pitch standard artifacts. The average pitch obtained by the process, nominally half the laser wavelength, is...

Characterization of an ellipsoidal radiometer.
March 1, 2003... An ellipsoidal radiometer has been characterized using a 25 mm variable-temperature blackbody as a radiant source. This radiometer is intended for separating radiation from convection effects in fire test methods. The characterization included...

Interlaboratory comparison of magnetic thin film measurements.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... A potential low magnetic moment standard reference material (SRM) was studied in an interlaboratory comparison. The mean and the standard deviation of the saturation moment [m.sub.s], the remanent moment [m.sub.r], and the intrinsic coercivity...

A primary dead-weight tester for pressures (0.05-1.0) MPa.
March 1, 2003... Recent advances in technology on two fronts, 1) the fabrication of large-diameter pistons and cylinders with good geometry, and 2) the ability to measure the dimensions of these components with high accuracy, have allowed dead-weight testers at...

Thermal conductivity measurement of an electron-beam physical-vapor-deposition coating.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... An industrial ceramic thermal-barrier coating designated PWA 266, processed by electron-beam physical-vapor deposition, was measured using a steady-state thermal conductivity technique. The thermal conductivity of the mass fraction 7 %...

Thermal evaluation of scorched graphite-epoxy panels by infrared scanning.
March 1, 2003... A simple measurement system is described for evaluating damage to graphite-epoxy panels, such as those used in high-performance aircraft. The system uses a heating laser and infrared imaging system to measure thermal performance. Thermal...

NIST characterizes NOAA instrument for measuring global chlorophyll concentrations. (General Developments).
March 1, 2003... In 2002, a team of physicists from NIST completed characterization of, and resolved calibration issues concerning, the Marine Optical Buoy (MOBY). MOBY, a NOAA instrument developed with the support of NASA, is the centerpiece of the primary...

NIST-led international collaboration results in improved measurement technology for Light Stable Isotopes relevant to climate change research. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Two manuscripts recently have been published in Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry [RCM 17, 771-776 (2003) and RCM 17, 777-782 (2003)] that detail an international collaboration to identify, understand at a fundamental level, and correct...

NIST delivers radar cross section standard artifacts to industry. (General Development).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... As part of a national effort to standardize radar cross section (RCS) measurements, NIST delivered a set of standard precision cylinders to a private company in McKinney, Texas, in December 2002. The calibration artifacts will be used to...

New video on Charpy impact testing. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... To help customers of the Charpy impact-testing program, NIST is now distributing a video, "How Tough is Steel." The 20 mm video begins with a background of the Charpy test, then covers the details of the verification program run by NIST, and...

Isotope reference standards developed. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The dating of important minerals and geologic materials depends upon accurate determinations of potassium (K) and argon (Ar) isotopic ratios, but significant interlaboratory disagreements (1 % to 2 %) exceed intra-laboratory uncertainties by an...

NIST researchers complete international intercomparison of optical fiberpower measurements. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... NIST researchers recently completed an international intercomparison of optical fiber power measurements with researchers from Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). This work, which has been submitted to Metrologia, is part of an ongoing...

USAXS imaging used to study artificial tissue scaffolds. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... A team of NIST scientists previously developed a high-resolution (better than 1 [micro]m) synchrotron x-ray imaging technique whereby three-dimensional microstructures can be obtained using ultra-small-angle x-ray scattering (USAXS). This...

X-ray porosimetry: a new method for the characterization of porous low-dielectric-constant thin films adaptable for the semiconductor industry. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... NIST scientists have developed a new measurement method--x-ray porosimetry (XRP)--for characterization of porous low-dielectric-constant (low-k) films. The method has application to the semiconductor industry in their pursuit of new interlayer...

NIST researcher highlights challenges of "Talking Ceramics". (General Developments).
March 1, 2003... In the last three decades, communications technologies have been completely transformed by the "wireless revolution." Devices such as cell phones are now so common that many consumers are forgoing the hardwired versions altogether. This...

NIST experiment's data acquired before space shuttle tragedy. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... NIST scientists used an experiment aboard the STS-107 mission of the space shuttle Columbia to look for a particular type of flow behavior, never before seen in a pure liquid, that may have practical applications in products ranging from paints...

NIST-developed OOMMF software helps to enable one of the top 10 physics advances in 2002. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Object-Oriented MicroMagnetic Framework (OOMMF) software, developed by NIST mathematicians, helped to enable one of the top advances in physics last year. The Institute of Physics recently listed their top 10 stories in physics for 2002 on the...

NIST demonstrates hybrid wavelength calibration reference. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... NIST scientists have have developed a multiple-wavelength calibration reference that incorporates the wavelength flexibility of fiber Bragg grating artifact references and the stability of fundamental molecular absorption references. A...

NIST discovers how to limit the magnetic substrate effect in coated superconductors. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... In 2001, NIST researchers showed that magnetic substrates reduced the current carrying capacity of Y-Ba-Cu-O coated superconductor tapes when arranged in stacks of two or more layers. They have now discovered that the degradation in critical...

NIST issues Digital Rights Management (DRM) reference. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... In March 2002, experts at a NIST cross-industry DRM workshop recommended that NIST take first steps toward a guide of standards organizations active in the field. Assisted by numerous industry participants, NIST is now distributing a 15-page...

NIST develops methods for elastic strain field mapping in semiconductor heterostructures. (General Developments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... NIST researchers are developing methods for detecting and quantifying, with high spatial resolution (sub 100 nm diameter), the elastic strains associated with selective wet oxidation of A1GaAs confined between GaAs layers. The AlGaAs to...

Magnetization dynamics modeled in magnetic thin films. .
March 1, 2003... One of the challenges facing designers of high data rate computer hard drives and magnetic memory chips is that for most magnetic metals, it typically takes a few nanoseconds for the magnetization to come to rest after it has been switched or...

Simultaneous biaxial stress and composition measurements made on [Al.sub.x][Ga.sub.l-x] As thin films. .(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Raman and photoluminescence peak shift measurements have been made on [Al.sub.x][Ga.sub.l-x] As thin films to determine simultaneously both biaxial stress and Al composition (x). [Al.sub.x][Ga.sub.l-x] As forms a family of materials used in...

Updated Directory of State and Local Government Laboratory Accreditation/Designation Programs issued.(Brief Article)(Directory)
March 1, 2003... A new edition of NIST Special Publication (SP) 815, Directory of State and Local Government Laboratory Accreditation/Designation Programs, has been issued. The updated SP 815 is a guide to state and local government laboratory accreditation and...

NIST develops database for GSA.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... NIST's Office of Applied Economics has partnered with the GSA Public Building Service's Environmental Strategies and Safety Division to promote construction waste recycling. The result is the Construction Waste Management Database Web site that...

Solution Kinetics Database on the Web. .(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... A Solution Kinetics Database, jointly created by NIST and the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory, has been made available on the Internet in a format similar to that utilized by the popular NIST Kinetics Database, which covers gas-phase reactions....

NIST/industry collaboration yields new instrumentation for monitoring nanocomposites compounding. .(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... In collaboration with an instrument company, NIST scientists have developed on-line, real-time instrumentation for monitoring extrusion compounding of polymer/clay nanocomposites. The new instrument is a multi-functional device that addresses...

SURF [Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility] provides critical calibration for NASA. .(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... In September 2002, a group from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado performed the final pre-flight calibration of the EOS SORCE (SOLar Radiation and Climate Experiment) SOLSTICE (SOLar STellar...