News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have miniaturized the optical components required to cool atoms down to a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero. Light is launched from an optical integrated circuit using a device called an extreme mode converter. The converter enlarges the narrow laser beam, which then strikes an ultrathin film known as a metasurface, which is studded with tiny nanopillars that act to further widen the laser beam. The dramatic widening allows the beam to interact with and cool a large collection of atoms. 

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have miniaturized the optical components required to cool atoms down to a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero. Light is launched from an optical integrated circuit using a device called an extreme mode converter. The converter enlarges the narrow laser beam, which then strikes an ultrathin film known as a metasurface, which is studded with tiny nanopillars that act to further widen the laser beam. The dramatic widening allows the beam to interact with and cool a large collection of atoms. 

Researchers from Caltech, California State University, Northridge, and the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan, have found that magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene has unexpected topological quantum phases. The researchers used scanning tunneling microscopy to directly image twisted bilayer graphene with atomic resolution and found that the strong interactions between electrons in twisted bilayer graphene enable the emergence of these topological phases without the need for a strong magnetic field. 

Researchers from Caltech, California State University, Northridge, and the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan, have found that magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene has unexpected topological quantum phases. The researchers used scanning tunneling microscopy to directly image twisted bilayer graphene with atomic resolution and found that the strong interactions between electrons in twisted bilayer graphene enable the emergence of these topological phases without the need for a strong magnetic field. 

Typically, bioelectronics are created through a "top-down" approach, with the electronics already put together and made smaller to fit with a biological system. But researchers from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University have taken a "bottom-up" approach, in which small building blocks, called micelles, come together to form carbon-based bioelectronics. The small micelles come together to form very thin sheets that are nanoporous – covered with extremely tiny holes – and allow for more flexibility. 

Typically, bioelectronics are created through a "top-down" approach, with the electronics already put together and made smaller to fit with a biological system. But researchers from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University have taken a "bottom-up" approach, in which small building blocks, called micelles, come together to form carbon-based bioelectronics. The small micelles come together to form very thin sheets that are nanoporous – covered with extremely tiny holes – and allow for more flexibility. 

When sheets of two-dimensional nanomaterials, such as graphene, are stacked on top of each other, tiny gaps form between the sheets that have a wide variety of potential uses. Now, a team of researchers from Brown University has found a way to orient those gaps, called nanochannels, in a way that makes them more useful for filtering water and other liquids of nanoscale contaminants.

When sheets of two-dimensional nanomaterials, such as graphene, are stacked on top of each other, tiny gaps form between the sheets that have a wide variety of potential uses. Now, a team of researchers from Brown University has found a way to orient those gaps, called nanochannels, in a way that makes them more useful for filtering water and other liquids of nanoscale contaminants.

A promising technique for single-molecule imaging is surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). By focusing a laser beam on a sample, SERS detects changes in molecules based upon how they scatter light and can identify specific molecules through their unique Raman spectra. Now, engineers from Johns Hopkins University have created a novel nanomaterial that enables fast and highly sensitive single-molecule detection using SERS. Their invention could pave the way for rapid and more accurate diagnostic testing.

A promising technique for single-molecule imaging is surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). By focusing a laser beam on a sample, SERS detects changes in molecules based upon how they scatter light and can identify specific molecules through their unique Raman spectra. Now, engineers from Johns Hopkins University have created a novel nanomaterial that enables fast and highly sensitive single-molecule detection using SERS. Their invention could pave the way for rapid and more accurate diagnostic testing.