An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories Fiscal Year 2002 (2002) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Physics Laboratory
5 Physics Laboratory
Pages 127-178
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 127... ...
Physics Laboratory 127
|
From page 128... ...
FUSS. Department of Commerce, Technology Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Physics Laboratory: Technical Activities 2001, NISTIR 6838, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md., January 2002, and U.S.
|
From page 129... ...
It is organized in six divisions (see Figure 5.1~: Electron and Optical Physics Division, Atomic Physics Division, Optical Technology Division, Ionizing Radiation Division, Time and Frequency Division, and Quantum Physics Division (JILA)
|
From page 130... ...
An outstanding technical accomplishment realized by the laboratory in the past year is the demonstration of a frequency standard that utilizes optical radiation rather than microwave radiation. Since optical frequency transitions have much higher precision than that of the microwave frequency transitions that are the basis of current standards and since these optical transitions can now be measured with the required accuracy, a primary frequency standard based on optical transitions with 1,000 times better precision than that of current standards should ultimately be enabled.
|
From page 131... ...
As of January 2002, staffing for the Physics Laboratory included 196 full-time permanent positions, of which 161 were for technical professionals. There were also 55 nonpermanent or supplemental personnel, such as postdoctoral research associates and temporary or part-time workers.
|
From page 132... ...
free NIST scientists involved in those services to spend more time on creative tasks and development of new technologies. The laboratory's successful establishment of secondary laboratories for medical standards and radiation measurements through the Accredited Dosimetry Calibration Laboratories (ADCLs)
|
From page 133... ...
The panel was particularly impressed with the responsiveness of the Atomic Physics Division to last year's report and recommendations. In response to panel concerns about the relevance of work in Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC)
|
From page 134... ...
· The panel recommends enhanced efforts to develop interlaboratory collaborations and other partnerships that would help leverage Physics Laboratory resources while more effectively meeting NIST-wide strategic goals. DIVISIONAL REVIEWS Electron and Optical Physics Division Technical Merit The Electron and Optical Physics Division's mission is to support the NIST mission by developing the measurement capabilities needed by emerging electronic and optical technologies, particularly those required for submicrometer fabrication and analysis.
|
From page 135... ...
The Photon Physics Group has constructed a pulsed EUV radiation source based on the gas jet laserproduced plasma concept, and it plans to compare calibration with this pulsed source to that made with the quasi-CW output from SURF III. Many research organizations around the world are developing EUV light sources, each following quite a different technological path.
|
From page 136... ...
Program Relevance and Effectiveness Many organizations are in crucial need of the capabilities and knowledge base of the Electron and Optical Physics Division. Among the customers of the Photon Physics and Far UV Physics Groups are
|
From page 137... ...
As of January 2002, staffing for the division included 23 full-time permanent positions, of which 20 were for TABLE 5.2 Sources of Funding for the Electron and Optical Physics Division (in millions of dollars) , FY 1999 to FY 2002 Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Source of Funding 1999 (actual)
|
From page 138... ...
Atomic Physics Division Technical Merit The mission of the Atomic Physics Division is to carry out a broad range of experimental and theoretical research in support of emerging technologies, industrial needs, and national science programs. It is organized in five groups: Plasma Radiation, Quantum Processes, Laser Cooling and Trapping, Atomic Spectroscopy, and Quantum Metrology.
|
From page 139... ...
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Program Relevance and Effectiveness The panel commends the Atomic Physics Division for clearly and coherently responding to issues raised by previous panel reports.
|
From page 140... ...
The group's efforts in supporting fundamental and applied AMO science overlap strongly with the NIST core measurement and metrology functions. For example, its theoretical work in quantum information will directly support advances in quantum measurements of great importance to standards.
|
From page 141... ...
. Division Resources Funding sources for the Atomic Physics Division are shown in Table 5.3.
|
From page 142... ...
Optical Technology Division Technical Merit The Optical Technology Division's stated mission within NIST is to advance knowledge; to develop expertise; to provide technical leadership; and to deliver the highest-quality standards, calibrations, and measurements in targeted areas of optical technology. Optics and optical technology are broadly construed to include the spectral range from the microwave region to the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV)
|
From page 143... ...
This project builds on the expertise developed in the Optical Technology Division in the application of confocal and near-field microscopy to biological and biomimetic systems. The division has recently placed emphasis on the extension of fluorescence resonant energy transfer techniques to the single-molecule level for determination of distances on the nanometer scale.
|
From page 144... ...
This work should be accelerated, however, to match the time lines of the semiconductor industry. Program Relevance and Effectiveness The Optical Technology Division has a broad and significant mandate to address with limited resources.
|
From page 145... ...
To answer these needs, the Optical Technology Division is developing a new portable instrument, dubbed the Traveling SIRCUS (spectral
|
From page 146... ...
Division Resources Funding sources for the Optical Technology Division are shown in Table 5.4. As of January 2002, staffing for the division included 40 full-time permanent positions, of which 35 were for technical professionals.
|
From page 147... ...
The Ionizing Radiation Division is organized primarily according to source technology and consists of three groups: Radiation Interactions and Dosimetry, Neutron Interactions and Dosimetry, and Radioactivity. These groups reflect the division's involvement in different source-based technologies: gamma and accelerated electrons, neutrons, and radioactive isotopes, respectively.
|
From page 148... ...
Both the industrial and medical applications rely on the Radiation Interactions and Dosimetry Group for calibrations to a recently refurbished national reference 60Co beam. Given differences in geometry between this beam and an older, weaker 60Co source, some imprecision in dose comparisons between the two beams has been found, requiring characterization of a new 60Co standard therapy source for the calibration program.
|
From page 149... ...
This group was also responsible for producing and implementing a set of high-quality B-10 depositions used as part of a new international intercomparison for thermal neutron fluence rates. The group has developed a new cryogenic calorimeter for direct lifetime measurements; it is used to recalibrate the National Standard Neutron Source more accurately.
|
From page 150... ...
In addition to maintaining and disseminating the primary standards for radioactivity, the group characterizes reentrant ionization chambers, or "dose calibrators," as secondary standards for nuclear medicine; evaluates and remeasures nuclear decay properties; and performs work designed to exercise and maintain its expertise in radiochemistry and analysis methodology. Its evaluation of 5 alpha spectrometry analysis algorithms to resolve overlapping peaks for 24~Am and 243Am under typical lowlevel counting conditions was accepted for publication in Applied Radiation and Isotopes.
|
From page 151... ...
Of particular note are the ongoing efforts associated with the 2nd Intercomparison Study for Detecting pBq Quantities of 239Pu in Urine by Atom Counting. This work, which directly supports the DOE program to resettle the Marshall Islands, is comparing four different atom-counting techniques inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry, fission track analysis, accelerator mass spectrometry, and thermal ionization mass spectrometry to determine the best techniques for quantifying Pu at or below the 20 pBq/L level.
|
From page 152... ...
Program Relevance and Effectiveness The Ionizing Radiation Division is a relatively small national laboratory in comparison with other federal laboratories, but its past successes and its future lie in maintaining and fostering a proper balance and synergy between expertise in basic research (where payoffs are usually both distant and uncertain) and calibrations, standards, and quality assurance (where dramatic discoveries or events are rare)
|
From page 153... ...
. The division has been attentive to national needs as spelled out by CIRMS, an independent, nonprofit coordinating council that draws its constituents from industry, academia, and government, and it assisted CIRMS in publishing its third triennial report on National Needs in Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards.9 It is through these various organizations and through its direct contact with the scientific and industrial communities that the division stays abreast of current activities and is a key contributor in the fields of ionizing radiation measurements and standards.
|
From page 154... ...
As of January 2002, staffing for the division included 38 full-time permanent positions, of which 34 were for technical professionals. There were also 3 nonpermanent or supplemental personnel, such as postdoctoral research associates and temporary or part-time workers.
|
From page 155... ...
The division could help address this nationwide talent shortage by working in cooperation with the American Chemical Society and with a supportive organization such as CIRMS to give presentations to undergraduates on the merits and challenges involved in radiation science and technology. Within the operational practices at NIST, the Ionizing Radiation Division (and perhaps other divisions as well)
|
From page 156... ...
The common theme of time and frequency technology produces a strong connection among the groups, and there are positive interactions among them. The Time and Frequency Division continues to define the international state of the art in current-day time and frequency standards and services and in the long-range development of improved standards and services.
|
From page 157... ...
of an optical transition, the cycle-counting capabilities that exist at microwave frequencies, and the translation of the extreme performance of optical frequency standards to the microwave range provided by an optical frequency comb. A 282-nm optical frequency standard with Q ~ 10~4 (a single trapped Hg+ ion)
|
From page 158... ...
The calcium optical frequency standard, based on a narrow resonance in calcium atoms that are lasercooled and trapped in a magneto-optical trap, has very good short-term stability (currently 4 x 1o-~5 at 1 second) , limited primarily by the atomic velocity.
|
From page 159... ...
Program Relevance and Effectiveness The Time and Frequency Division provides technology-specific services as well as fundamental research in these areas of technology. In the view of the panel, the most important division product is its outstanding research in the science and technology of atomic frequency standards.
|
From page 160... ...
In order to preserve the standing of the NIST primary frequency standard in the international BIPM time scale, the panel recommends that the division adopt an approach to primary frequency standard design that allows a more continuous evaluation. It is noteworthy that the division is in the process of upgrading the time scale measurement system that is the backbone of the time scale, replacing 20-year-old equipment that is exhibiting both performance and reliability issues.
|
From page 161... ...
As a result, NIST, through its postdoctoral programs, has become the best place for a promising physicist to learn the science and technology of atomic frequency standards. The National Research Council's postdoctoral program is the most visible of the NIST postdoctoral programs, and two NRC fellows are presently in the division.
|
From page 162... ...
The most obvious demonstration of the institute's achievements comes in the areas of atomic, molecular, and optical physics, where two JILA fellows were awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on Bose-Einstein condensation and the physics measurements that followed from the creation of this unique state of matter. However, while this honor is certainly the highest-profile award given to JILA fellows in the past 2 years, it is by no means the only recognition JILA staff have received.
|
From page 163... ...
Currently, the activities of the JILA fellows fall into five loosely defined categories: fundamental and precision measurements, optical and nonlinear optical physics, materials interactions and characterization, atomic and molecular interactions and chemical physics, and astrophysics. The subpanel finds that all of these programs continue to produce work of a very high degree of technical merit.
|
From page 164... ...
In addition to these advances in fundamental science, JILA personnel are also pursuing potential technology applications through a JILA-led DOD Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative, geared toward the development of a new class of rotation and acceleration sensors based on guided-atom techniques. Two JILA fellows have been at the forefront of developing several important applications for optical combs.
|
From page 165... ...
However, the subpanel was pleased to see that some of the new JILA fellows have recognized the value of interactions with NIST and are developing connections with NIST staff, particularly in the area of time and frequency standards. Optical and Nonlinear Optical Physics.
|
From page 166... ...
This project is a collaboration between two JILA fellows, and its success illustrates why JILA and the JILA culture are so productive. First, JILA has enabled two physicists with very different backgrounds to come together to work on a common problem.
|
From page 167... ...
tips to influence the near-field excitation of dye-doped nanospheres and semiconductor quantum dots down to 6 nm; nearly a thousand-fold enhancement of the near-field laser intensity has been achieved. JILA fellows, in collaboration with a NIST theory group in Gaithersburg, have successfully modeled the strong sensitivity arising from tip elongation, by employing image dipoles generated in the prism when the laser-polarized AFM tip approaches surfaces within one tip radius, including the lightning-rodantenna effect.
|
From page 168... ...
Study of macroscopic quantum BEC and degenerate Fermi samples provides a unique and fruitful path to further knowledge in this area. In a study with astrophysical implications, a JILA fellow has developed a new theoretical method of calculating the rate of dissociative recombination of H3+ ions struck by low-energy electrons.
|
From page 169... ...
A JILA fellow's prediction that the supernova ejecta would run into a surrounding ring of gas is now being confirmed by experimental data, and the next phase of his work focuses on studying the developing interaction between the ejecta and the ring by interpreting data from NASA satellites. Fluid dynamical simulations are also being used to study the sun.
|
From page 170... ...
Currently, there are eight JILA fellows with joint appointments in the CU Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences. All are theoretical astrophysicists.
|
From page 171... ...
Several students at JILA participate in this program. Many of the areas of research under way at JILA are particularly interesting to industry, such as the work on time and frequency standards, on advances in ultrafast lasers, and on phase control of ultrafast lasers for precision measurements.
|
From page 172... ...
Among the University of Colorado staff, there are 16 JILA fellows. JILA counts 10 Quantum Physics Division researchers and 1 Time and Frequency Division researcher among its fellows and fellow-track members, with expertise in chemistry (2)
|
From page 173... ...
aThe number of full-time permanent staff is as of January of that fiscal year. excellent technical support, inspired management, a stable and very effective staff, and the physical proximity of its researchers.
|
From page 174... ...
In the physical chemistry area of the Chemistry Department, the relationships are not cordial, and there is concern at JILA and on the subpanel that this tension may make it impossible to find a mutually acceptable physical chemist to hire.~4 JILA will not be without physical chemistry immediately upon the departure of the fellow in 2002, but the anticipated retirement of another physical chemist in the next year or two will reduce JILA to one 14Hiring a JILA fellow who is not associated with a CU department is not an option, as the new fellow would be severely hindered in her or his efforts to build a research group involving graduate students as well as postdoctoral scholars.
|
From page 175... ...
This would be acceptable only if JILA had decided that such a shift in its focus was appropriate and necessary and had planned a smooth transition and alternative approaches to providing JILA fellows with access to needed physical chemistry expertise. If, however, the relationship with the Chemistry Department forces JILA into a decision that is not based on a careful assessment of the centrality of physical chemistry to JILA's mission, that will be a very unacceptable outcome.
|
From page 176... ...
The shortcomings fall into two categories. First, there is a serious, longterm, crowding problem; the amount of space is insufficient to accommodate the activities of all of the JILA fellows and their groups.
|
From page 177... ...
Nevertheless, strategic thinking has been called for by previous panels and formal strategic planning is currently a focus area within NIST. The 2002 panel was able to obtain a vision statement from JILA management cluring the assessment, but this is only a beginning: the statement was not reviewoc} by the JILA fellows, and the strategic ramifications of the statement have not been clevelopecI.
|
From page 178... ...
· The departure of a senior NIST JILA fellow is an opportunity for growth and evolution, and recruitment of new staff will be facilitated by JILA' s current high visibility in the scientific community. However, the strained relationship between JILA and the CU Chemistry Department is constraining JILA' s ability to hire new physical chemists, making it very difficult for JILA to make rational decisions about the future direction of physical chemistry at JILA.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.