Orange Group: escorted by Albert Wavering

2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Lab Tours

The visitors will be divided into two groups for the lab tours. Each group will see the same laboratories but in a different order.

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Presentations in the Red Auditorium

Interacting with and Analyzing Data in Three Dimensions: Immersive Visualization Computer Laboratory: NIST researchers are developing a Virtual Measurement Laboratory using immersive visualization. This is giving scientists the capability to measure, analyze, and interact with data in a natural three-dimensional landscape rather than simply viewing pictures of objects. By permitting such visual exploration, scientists can easily perceive complex relationships in their data, quickly ascertaining whether the results match expectations. We will show two demonstrations of how this is used at NIST. One is in “smart gels”; the other is in tissue engineering.

“Smart gels” are a new class of materials that gel under a specific external stimulus such as changes in temperature, pH, chemical environment, or electric and magnetic fields. Smart gel medicines soon may be available that release medication in the right dosage only when certain chemical conditions apply (e.g., insulin that releases from an artificial pancreas only when blood sugar reaches a specified level).

Other “smart gels” change from liquid to gelatin after being shaken. By understanding why these changes occur, NIST scientists will accelerate the development of improved products made with “smart gels.” At this stop, we will see how NIST computer scientists and chemists use an immersive 3-D display to study the scientific details of “smart gels” at the molecular level.

Scientists also use this technique to look into tissue-engineering scaffolds and examine the growth and differentiation of cells ultimately intended to develop into implantable organs or other body-part replacements. The knowledge gained from such experiments can speed development of tissue-engineered products ranging from skin replacements to substitute livers to inside-the-body treatments of osteoporosis. For nanostructures, scientists use data visualization along with theory and numerical modeling to understand optics on the nanoscale. Applications include near-field microscopy, single-molecule spectroscopy, optics and quantum optics of nanosystems, and atom optics in optical nanostructures.

Presenter: Judith Terrill, Scientific Applications & Visualization Group, Mathematical and Computational Sciences Division, Information Technology Laboratory (ITL)

Coordinate Measuring Machine Performance (CMM): The automotive, aerospace, and heavy equipment industries use coordinate measuring machines to very accurately measure parts on the factory floor to ensure that products can be produced reliably within tight tolerances. These are computer-controlled machines that can be programmed to touch the part at hundreds of point locations and then determine the part's exact dimensions. Ideally these machines should be located in 20 degrees C temperature- controlled rooms; however, they are often found on the factory floor, where changing temperatures can cause both the metal parts and the CMM to expand or shrink in size.

In this lab, NIST researchers are studying how temperature changes affect the performance of coordinate measuring machines. The instrument is computer controlled from the adjacent room. The temperature of the test room can be changed from 15 to 30 degrees C, or held at 20 degrees C with a tolerance of only 0.01 degree C. NIST researchers must conduct their tests of the thermal response of the CMM instrument from the adjacent room because even their body temperature would affect their results. The low vibration of the Metrology West building wing also improves their results because the lack of acoustic and other vibrations reduces noise in the measurements. Lighting is generated outside the laboratory and piped around the room perimeter through a large reflective tube to avoid hot spots and minimize heating effects.

Presenter: Steven Phillips, Dimensional Metrology Program Manager, Precision Engineering Division, Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL)

Molecular Measuring Machine: The Molecular Measuring Machine (M3) is a one-of-a-kind instrument designed to measure, to nanometer accuracy, the positions and lengths of features located anywhere within a 50 millimeter x 50 millimeter area. M3 incorporates a scanning probe microscope (SPM) that is integrated with an ultrahigh precision interferometer system, which uses laser light with measured frequency and wavelength. The resultant measurements are a direct realization of length as defined in the International System of Units. This enables direct comparison of nanoscale dimensional measurements, essential for reliable and affordable manufacturing of nanotechnology devices and assembly of nanotechnology systems. The SPM probe also is capable of resolving atom positions within a crystal lattice so that the lattice can serve as a means of checking and validating the interferometer-based measurements. Essentially, the targeted capability is to image and locate any of the 100 million by 100 million individual atoms in an area the size of a folded-over dollar bill. M3 has been used for highly precise grating pitch measurements, achieving 10 picometers uncertainty for the average pitch of a 200 nanometer nominal pitch grating. The SPM probe tip also can write on surfaces, using, for example, scanned probe oxidation lithography (a method pioneered at NIST). Prototype calibration patterns have been created.

Presenter: John Kramar, Precision Engineering Division, Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL)

Marine Forensics and Preserving Historic Shipwrecks: A project has developed within the Metallurgy Division over the past nine years for technical advice to be given to other agencies and outside organizations on the preservation and life prediction of historic shipwrecks. This talk will review the ongoing work on various wrecks: USS Arizona, CSS Hunley, USS Monitor, RMS Titanic, and a few others. Finite-element models are being developed to predict mechanical stability under marine corrosion conditions, and once the models are reliable, remediation techniques will be tried out virtually before any irreversible actions are taken on the actual sites. The techniques being developed eventually will be transferred to the public to be used in stewardship of hazardous shipwrecks in the littorals and on the continental shelf.

Presenter: Timothy Foecke, Metallurgy Division, Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory (MSEL)

The Technical Investigation by NIST of the World Trade Center Fire and Collapse: The collapse of New York City’s World Trade Center structures following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was the worst building disaster in the nation’s history, inflicting the largest loss of life of emergency responders from a single incident. NIST led the federal government’s technical investigation to understand the sequence of events leading to the structural failure and subsequent collapse of WTC 1 and 2, and to recommend ways to better protect people and property in the future, enhance the safety of fire and emergency responders, and restore public confidence in the safety of tall buildings nationwide. This talk will review the approach taken and the key findings of the investigation.

Presenter: Bill Grosshandler, Chief, Fire Research Division, Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL)

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White Group: escorted by Lanie Glover and Joe Kopanski

2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Lab Tours

The visitors will be divided into two groups for the lab tours. Each group will see the same laboratories but in a different order.

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Presentations in the Red Auditorium

Molecular Electronics: Molecules and atoms, either singly or as nanometer-sized aggregates, are being eyed as the elementary units of future electronic systems. Only recently have assembly methods and tools for coaxing molecules and nano-ensembles to organize and operate as electronic devices begun to emerge. New measurements and standards (nanometrologies) will be required for today’s experimental nanoscale devices to succeed traditional silicon-based devices that are approaching the limits of miniaturization. One critical need, among many, is reliable and understandable electrical measurements of single molecules, molecular ensembles, and other nanostructures. Work in this laboratory, as well as others at NIST, aims to provide the measurement techniques and tools necessary to accelerate development of methods for manufacturing nanotechnology-based devices, enabling the electronics industry to progress beyond the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) era.

Presenter: Roger Van Zee, Leader, Nanoscale & Optical Process Metrology Process Measurements Division, Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory (CSTL)

Atoms Provide Linewidth Measurement Standard: At the recent conclusion of a multiyear collaboration, NIST and International SEMATECH of Austin, Texas, unveiled test structures that finally provide a traceable standard against which to measure the narrowest linear features that can be controllably etched into a chip. They consist of precisely etched lines of silicon, ranging in width from 40 nanometers (nm) to 275 nm, and they use the spacing of the atoms in the silicon crystal lattice as marks on a ruler to measure these dimensions. The structures are configured as 9 millimeter (mm) × 11 mm chips embedded in silicon wafers and offer less than 2 nanometers uncertainty when used to calibrate tools for monitoring manufacturing.

Presenter: Michael Cresswell, Semiconductor Electronics Division, Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory (EEEL)

Metrology of Advanced Electronics Materials: Nanolithography, Low-k Dielectrics, and Organic Electronics: The advancement of important technologies for U.S. economic growth requires the development of metrology for challenging materials problems. In the semiconductor industry, the fabrication limits of advanced polymer photoresist materials are being reached. Neutron and X-ray reflectivity measurements of a model system can be used to follow the reaction-diffusion process over the nanometer- length scales needed to realize sub-50 nm fabrication. In addition, the metrology of the critical dimensions of semiconductor devices is becoming increasingly challenging for low-k dielectrics, photoresists, and metal lines. New X-ray scattering methods are being developed to quantify the structure and dimensions of these materials. In an emerging industry, organic electronics, a critical problem is control over the structure and orientation of the organic semiconductor at the semiconductor-dielectric interface. Using near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, NIST researchers quantify and elucidate the formation of interfacial order and correlate the results with device performance for several types of organic semiconductor materials.

Presenter: Eric Lin, Leader, Electronics Materials Group, Polymers Division, Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory (MSEL)

Marine Forensics and Preserving Historic Shipwrecks: A project has developed within the Metallurgy Division over the past nine years for technical advice to be given to other agencies and outside organizations on the preservation and life prediction of historic shipwrecks. This talk will review the ongoing work on various wrecks: USS Arizona, CSS Hunley, USS Monitor, RMS Titanic, and a few others. Finite-element models are being developed to predict mechanical stability under marine corrosion conditions, and once the models are reliable, remediation techniques will be tried out virtually before any irreversible actions are taken on the actual sites. The techniques being developed eventually will be transferred to the public to be used in stewardship of hazardous shipwrecks in the littorals and on the continental shelf.

Presenter: Timothy Foecke, Metallurgy Division, Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory (MSEL)

The Technical Investigation by NIST of the World Trade Center Fire and Collapse: The collapse of New York City’s World Trade Center structures following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was the worst building disaster in the nation’s history, inflicting the largest loss of life of emergency responders from a single incident. NIST led the federal government’s technical investigation to understand the sequence of events leading to the structural failure and subsequent collapse of WTC 1 and 2, and to recommend ways to better protect people and property in the future, enhance the safety of fire and emergency responders, and restore public confidence in the safety of tall buildings nationwide. This talk will review the approach taken and the key findings of the investigation.

Presenter: Bill Grosshandler, Chief, Fire Research Division, Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL)