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

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

New national air-kerma-strength standards for [.sup.125]I and [.sup.103]Pd brachytherapy seeds.(Cover Story)
September 1, 2003... The new U.S. measurement standard for the air-kerma strength from low-energy photon-emitting brachytherapy seed sources is formally described in detail. This instrument-based standard was implemented on 1 January 1999, with its salient features...

Changes in the U.S. primary standards for the air kerma from gamma-ray beams.
September 1, 2003... Monte Carlo photon-electron transport calculations have been done to derive new wall corrections for the six NBS-NIST standard graphite-wall, air-ionization cavity chambers that serve as the U.S. national primary standard for air kerma (and...

Comparison of the NIST and BIPM medium-energy x-ray air-kerma measurements.
September 1, 2003... The air-kerma standards used for the measurement of medium-energy x rays were compared at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and at the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). The comparison involved a series of...

Optical-fiber power meter comparison between NIST and PTB.
September 1, 2003... We describe the results of a comparison of reference standards between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST-USA) and Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB-Germany) at nominal wavelengths of 1300 nm and 1550 nm using an...

A logical model of conceptual integrity in data integration.
September 1, 2003... Conceptual integrity is required for the result of data integration to be cohesive and sensible. Compromised conceptual integrity results in "semantic faults," which are commonly blamed for latent integration bugs. A logical model of conceptual...

NIST establishes reference for measuring frequency dependence of capacitors.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... Recent work at NIST could lead to improvements in the capacitance calibration services at NIST by a factor of three or four. The primary maintenance standard for NIST capacitance calibrations consists of a bank of four 10 pF fused-silica...

Measurement/calibration technique for nanometer scale average film thickness on atomically rough surfaces developed.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... Current magnetic hard disks are protected by a nanometer-thick layer of alcohol functionalized perfluoroakylether and carbon overcoat. Achievement of higher areal density requires further reduction in the space between the head and the magnetic...

NIST researchers quantify cellular viability and inflammatory response to dental bonding resins.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... Implanted biomaterials frequently evoke inflammatory responses, which are subsequently responsible for biomedical implant failures. NIST researchers have developed a metrology for the analysis and quantitation of cellular inflammatory responses...

NIST researcher develops prototype automated commissioning tool with french scientific and technical building center (CSTB).(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... A NIST researcher participated in a 3 month collaboration with CSTB in Paris, France, to develop an automated commissioning tool for building air handling units. After developing the concept for an automated commissioning tool, NIST partnered...

NIST participates in demonstration of first responder technologies to firefighters.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... On July 16, 2003, NIST hosted a meeting of fire-fighters and rescue personnel to demonstrate technologies under evaluation by the NIST Distributed Testbed for First Responders. In attendance were fire chiefs/commissioners and their associates...

NIST updates health care community on IT security work.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... On July 29, 2003, the Security Health Care Certification and Accreditation Work Group met at NIST to review the latest work at NIST regarding IT security standards and guidelines. Approximately 60 people participated in the meeting, of which...

NIST issues reference material 8457 to aid orthopedic implant manufactures and researchers.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... Reference material (RM) 8457, which consists of 0.5 cm cubes of orthopedic-grade ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene that are well suited for measurements of cross-link density by a new ASTM International swell-test method, has been...

NIST helps develop new method to attach long-chain aliphatic molecules to silicon.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... NIST scientists have developed an improved solution-based method for the direct attachment of long-chain aliphatic molecules to Si. In this method, ultraviolet radiation is used to assist the attachment of alcohols to the hydrogen-terminated...

NIST measures dipole moment of semiconductor quantum dots.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... NIST researchers have developed a new measurement technique for the characterization of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), which are used in quantum computing, optical communication, and quantum cryptography applications. Little detailed...

NIST delivers high accuracy calibration instrument for Navy optical fiber sensors.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... A NIST scientist designed, characterized, and recently delivered a calibration instrument for optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) strain and temperature sensors to the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). This instrument will be used to calibrate the...

Ultra-small-angle x-ray scattering (USAXS) imaging of human and artificial tissues.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... USAXS imaging is a high-contrast imaging technique being developed by NIST researchers. It provides direct images of the shapes and three-dimensional arrangement of the scattering objects within a sample that is unobtainable using conventional...

Subscriptions to online Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data increase greatly.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... In December 1999, NIST changed to a sole partnership with the American Institute of Physics (AIP) in publishing the Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data (JPCRD). Since that time, AIP has vigorously marketed the journal and the number...

Absolute surface coverage measurement demonstrated using vibrational overtones.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... Using evanescent-wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy (EW-CRDS), a technique pioneered at NIST, measurement of absolute surface coverage with submonolayer sensitivity has been demonstrated. The first C-H stretching overtones of trichloroethylene...

New CD-ROM released.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... NIST has just released a new CD-ROM, entitled NIST Special Publication 1001, Basic Mass Metrology, specifically aimed at training metrologists in concepts, procedures, and mathematics (including simple statistics) needed for basic mass...

NIST publishes new information security guidelines.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... NIST recently released five new information security guidelines as NIST special publications (SPs): * NIST SP 800-35: Guide to Information Technology Security Services. The guide provides assistance with the selection, implementation, and...

NIST researchers develop high-temperature superconducting microwave power limiter.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... Superconducting electronics are being explored for many high-performance communications applications that require very low insertion loss, or unsurpassed sensitivity or dynamic range. However, such high-performance superconducting components...

NIST researchers model anti-reflection structures for photon number resolving optical detectors.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... NIST researchers have successfully modeled antireflection structures that could be used with tungsten superconducting transition-edge sensors (TES) to increase the quantum efficiency of detection of a 1.55 [micro]m photon from 20% to 98.5%. By...

NIST photon number resolving detectors contribute to quantum key distribution.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... In collaboration with a team of researchers at Los Alamos National Labs (LANL), researchers at NIST have, for the first time, combined the fiber-based quantum key distribution system demonstrated by the LANL team with the photon number...

NIST successfully mitigates noise in superconducting thin-film sensors.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... NIST researchers are building large-format arrays of cryogenic sensors for materials analysis and astronomy. The performance of these sensors has been limited by excess noise sources not explained by existing theories. Researchers recently...

Fiber laser-based frequency comb for frequency metrology in the infrared developed by NIST.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... NIST staff recently developed a phase-locked "frequency comb" in the 1100 nm to 2200 nm wavelength region using fiber optic technology. This novel frequency comb should enable high-precision frequency metrology experiments in the near infrared...

Patent issued on NIST integrating SPHERE-based weathering device.(News Briefs)
September 1, 2003... Patent Number 6,626,052, "Method and Apparatus for Artificial Weathering," was assigned to two NIST scientists on Sept. 30, 2003, for the device known as the Simulated Photodegradation via High Energy Radiant Exposure (SPHERE). It can uniformly...