* <1

.1*1.4

'

Front cover. Physicist Kris

Helmerson observes a tiny

glowing cloud ofsodium atoms

caught by six intersecting

laser beams. Such techniques

produce the coldest temperatures in the universe—and

may be the foundation for

future standards of time,

frequency, and length.

t *

Top inset. Director John W.

Lyons discusses advanced

production techniques with

electronics engineer Fred

Proctor and mechanical en- gineer Keith Stouffer at the

ISIST Automated Manufacturing Research Facility.

Above and bottom inset. NIST Gaithersburg laboratories. (Aerial photo by Air

Photographic, Inc.)
$C«5d

mi

The decade of the 1990s may be the most exciting and

demanding for the National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST) since its creation as the National

Bureau of Standards in 1901. After 90 years of steady

progress supporting U.S. industry's needs for standards

and ever more exacting measurement methods, NIST is expanding its domain.

We are building on our already extensive ties with industry

to refocus and strengthen research programs and services

that help U.S. -based companies compete in the global

marketplace. And we're looking for ways to help

companies master the three main elements of commercial

success: quality, low cost, and speed to market.

We've made it every NIST researcher's job to seek out

industrial partners to ensure that our work is relevant to industry needs. At the same time, we've greatly expanded

our formal outreach efforts, including direct grants to

industry for development of precompetitive generic

technologies and regional centers to provide small and

medium-sized businesses with advice on commercially

available technologies and quality management.

We expect such extramural programs to represent a growing share of NIST's overall budget in the coming

years. In addition, according to projections in the

President's 1992 budget request, NIST's total

appropriations will double by 1996.

Our goal—indeed our obligation—is to make NIST not

only the nation's premier measurement laboratory, but

also a "user friendly" resource of expertise on the latest

technologies—superconductors, lightwave electronics,

high-speed digital communications, biosensors, and

artificial intelligence, for example. This expanded charge is

consistent with the broader mission of NIST's parent

agencies, the Technology Administration and the U.S.

Department of Commerce to advance U.S. trade and

competitiveness. It also reflects the Institute's

congressional mandate:

to help U.S. industry improve its competitiveness

through new technologies, modernized production

processes, improved quality control, and rapid

commercialization

At the same time, the Institute has two other very

important goals serving the needs of its other major

"customers"—government at all levels, academia, and the

general public. These are:

to improve public health, safety, and the environment

through selected research programs, and

to conduct fundamental research that advances

science and engineering.

Some business pundits would have us believe that

America's industrial fortunes are in a period of inexorable

decline. Not so here at NIST; our vision of industry's

future is bright. We see in our laboratories today many

exciting technical advances that will fuel new product

development and economic growth.

We present to you here a brief summary of NIST's

strategic outlook for the 1990s. We hope you will find it

helpful as you consider how your organization might work

with ours to invest in America's future.

John W. Lyons

Director
Top. Using ultrahigh vacuum

instrumentation, physicist

Steve Semancik prepares

crystal-like tin oxide films on

sapphire as part of a broader

effort to develop faster, more

reliable chemical sensors.

Bottom. A NIST ion microscope allows Institute

researchers to make detailed,

quantitative chemical composition maps of materials. Poor

blending between metals

(designated with different

colors ) shown in this micrograph indicates a need

for better processing methods

for this aerospace alloy.

Below and inset. Physicist

Albert Filippelli checks volt- ages on low-pressure gauges

being calibrated with another

NIST ultrahigh vacuum chamber. Such gauges are used to measure extremely low pressures in semiconductor manufacturing processes and in space simulation laboratories.
Racing Faster and Smarter

From one-product, Mom and Pop start-ups to

multinational conglomerates, U.S. companies must

continually adapt to a changing technological and

economic landscape. By the year 2000, many more nations

will have the skills and know-how to produce and

distribute world-class products at cost-effective prices.

Since World War II, the largest unified market for those

products has been the United States, giving domestic

producers an inherent competitive advantage. Rapid

political changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe,

the imminent creation of a unified European market, and

the rise in the buying power of consumers in Pacific Rim

nations—these developments will all work to erase any

current U.S. marketing advantage.

In the face of stiff competition, the key to continued U.S.

economic growth will be faster commercialization of a remaining U.S. advantage—the best science in the world.

NIST is working to help U.S. firms turn scientific advances

into commercial products faster.

It does so through cooperative research aimed at overcoming technical barriers to commercialization of

emerging technologies; direct funding of corporations or

industry-led joint ventures for development of generic

technologies through the Advanced Technology Program;

and development of improved measurement methods for

monitoring production processes and ensuring the quality

of new product lines.

In the 1990s, the Institute also will take a series of steps to develop more and better partnerships with industry, to work with universities to strengthen NIST's technical staff,

and to refurbish and improve its physical plant.

3
The Right Ingredients

You can't make good products without the right materials.

And you can't make good materials without the right

processing methods. NIST has long been a leader in the

characterization and measurement of materials of all

types—from sheet metal to "nanocomposites" built in

ultrahigh vacuum chambers a few atoms at a time.

As allowable tolerances for material properties continue to narrow, the relationships between the suppliers and users

of materials in the commercial marketplace become

critical. NIST is responding to this trend by increasing its

contacts and cooperative research efforts with the

materials "user" community in the transportation,

electronics, communications, and aerospace industries.

The Institute also is responding through a major research

effort in "intelligent" processing. Sophisticated chemical,

ultrasonic, optical, and other types of sensors now under

development in NIST laboratories are designed to take the

pulse of materials production processes in real-time.

Ultimately, such systems should allow on-line control of

materials manufacturing processes, reducing waste and

improving quality. This research will receive high priority

at NIST during the next decade.

Left inset. Chemical engineer

Isaura Vazquez solders

electrical connections in an

apparatus used to study

cryogenic refrigeration

techniques. (Photo by

Geoffrey Wheeler.)

4
Above, right inset, and top

right. Diffraction patterns

made with the N1ST smullangle X-ray scatteringfacility

show differences in microstructure as seen from end, top,

and side views of a flat strip of

specicdly prepared nylon.

These differences help explain

why this material is strong in the lengthwise direction, but

its surface peels easily.

Above. /V 1ST studies of

the electrical and magnetic

properties of hightemperature superconductors

are designed to improve performance of these new materials. Here, materials

research engineer John

Blendell prepares a single crystal of barium-yttrium-copperoxide in a specially designed

furnace.

5
Top. Electronics engineer

Andrew Aust adjusts a laser

used in a non-destructive

NIST technique for measuring

light loss in integrated optical

waveguides. These devices are

being testedfor use in fiber

optic telephone systems and

optical sensors. (Photo by

Geoffrey Wheeler.)

Bottom. Soft X-ray "mirrors," madefrom a sample

material held here by physicist

Richard Watts, could dramatically improve the performance

ofcertain telescopes, lasers,

microscopes, and semiconductor integrated circuits.

Below. The NIST molecular

beam epitaxy facility provides an ultraclean, ultrahigh vacuum chamberfor growing

semiconductor devices one

atomic layer at a time. For

example, the facility is being

used to fabricate tiny surfaceemitting lasers that will allow

manufacturers to increase the

speed and decrease the size of

integrated circuits.
The Industrial "Art"

The efficiency of the tools used in manufacturing affect

competitiveness as much as the quality of the basic

materials. The finest wool in the world won't help a

sweater maker compete if he can't produce a finished

product at a cost his customers can afford.

Improvements in U.S. production technologies have lagged

behind those of other countries in many industries. NIST

research programs in automation, precision engineering,

robotics, and standards for a "paperless" manufacturing

and supply system are designed to help counter this trend

in the coming years. Staff members in these areas, as well

as NIST's regionally based Manufacturing Technology

Centers, have already helped thousands of companies

improve the efficiency of their operations through

computer-aided design/manufacturing, numerically

controlled machine tools, and other advanced technologies.

Other programs apply the unique capabilities of NIST

scientific and engineering facilities to the specific needs of

individual companies or industries. A NIST "soft" X-ray

characterization laboratory measures the properties of

multilayer X-ray "mirrors," expected to dramatically

improve processing of semiconductor integrated circuits. A

new Cold Neutron Research Facility—with capabilities

previously unavailable in the United States—allows

manufacturers making everything from magnetic computer

disks to house paint to study the chemical composition and

internal structures of their latest products in order to optimize production processes.
Getting the Message

Running the competitiveness race faster and smarter also

requires the ability to process the massive amounts of

information made possible by the continuing revolution in

electronic and computer technologies.

Ironically, the explosion in information technologies has

the potential for both speeding up and slowing down

communications. In the absence of agreed-upon standards,

incompatible formats and protocols in telecommunications

and other fields proliferate, creating islands of

unconnected users.

Several NIST efforts are under way to encourage

consensus agreements between computer vendors and

major users, such as the U.S. government, to ensure

compatibility of advanced information systems made by

different manufacturers. For example, the North

American Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)

Users' Forum, created jointly by NIST and industry,

addresses protocol standards and other needs for this

technology, which involves sending voice, data, and images

simultaneously over fiber optic telephone hnes.

An analogous coordinated effort between users and

vendors of computer-aided design and manufacturing

equipment is working to produce consensus standards that

would allow all aspects of a product's dimensions,

materials, and performance characteristics to be shared

easily among manufacturers, suppliers, and customers.

In the years ahead, computer users wdl depend

increasingly on NIST to reduce the vulnerability of

information technologies to security breaches. Techniques

to protect the confidentiality and integrity of computer

communications and data bases are of growing economic

importance in international banking and many other

fields.

8

Below. This representation of

a three-dimensional surface was generated with an

industry-wide graphics

programming standard. NIST

computer scientists develop

such standards to allow trans- fer ofgraphics application

programs among different

graphics devices and computer systems.
Inset. Computer scientist Karen Olsen and computer

specialist Robert Bagwill are among a number ofNIST

researchers working to improve standards for open

systems environments that

allow greater compatibility

and interoperability among

software systems.

Top. /V/ST's new Princeton

Engine video supercomputer,

demonstrated here by

electronics engineer Bruce

Field, is used to design circuits for processing high-definition

television signals, to develop

software strategies for

programming massively

parallel computers, and to improve scientific visualization

techniques.

Bottom. A iV/ST computer

program being developed

identifies the essential and

non-essential elements of each

letter and numeral in the

English alphabet in order to translate any printed handw-riting sample into typed text.
Top. Researcher John Berger

uses an optical diffraction

technique to measure strains

in structural materials. This

is part of NIST efforts to develop instruments, measure- ment procedures, and stan- dards for evaluating the

quality and reliability of materials. (Photo by Geoffrey

Wheeler.)

Bottom. U.S. automobile

manufacturers are working

with NIST materials researchers to optimize production

processes for new lightweight

automobileframes madefrom

fiber-reinforced polymer. This

computer-generated graphic

uses variation in color to show

the expectedflow patterns as

the liquid prepolymer enters

the frame mold.

Inset. Engineering technician

Michael Lewis and colleagues

at the NIST gas flow measure- mentfacility provide the

natural gas and chemical processing industries with precise

calibrations offlowmeters

.

(Photo by Geoffrey Wheeler.)

10
Above. A complex NIST

computer model produced this graphic prediction offlow

patterns within a propane

flame. U.S. Air Force re- searchers are using the

model's results to improve the

combustion efficiency ofjet

engines.

Quality. Quality. Quality.

The bottom line in competitiveness is that quality sells. Customers want value for their money. They have come to

expect greater quality at lower cost, and companies that

fail to make continuous improvements in their products soon find themselves without customers.

Over the years, NIST has produced a constant stream of

new measurement technologies, Standard Reference

Materials, and instrument/equipment calibration services

to help U.S. industry improve the quality of its products.

These services will grow to meet increasing industrial

needs. Another area of increasing importance in the future

will be the Design for Quality program, in which NIST

statisticians collaborate with industry researchers to apply

generic statistical methods to specific design and quality

control problems.

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award has had

tremendous impact in just 4 years. Managed by NIST in

partnership with the private sector, the award recognizes

U.S. companies that excel in quality achievement and

quality management. In 1991, more than 210,000 quality

improvement guidelines—which double as award

applications—were distributed. The guidelines include a detaded framework for implementing company-wide

quality improvement efforts.

In the future, NIST will work to improve its networking

with state and local economic development programs as a means to broaden dissemination of quality management

concepts.

11
Atomic Worlds

Researchers studying fundamental atomic and molecular

processes are continually pushing the limits of technology

to better understand nature's basic laws. In fields like

semiconductor electronics where the positions of single

atoms may soon affect the performance of devices, such

basic research will be increasingly relevant for solving

practical industrial problems.

Nanotechnologies—the ability to manipulate and study

individual atoms over distances measuring only a billionth

of a meter or over time scales less than a billionth of a second long—are blossoming at NIST and many other

laboratories. A wide assortment of new scientific

instruments allow chemists and physicists to probe,

position, and image individual atoms and to study their

behavior directly for the first time.

During the 1990s, about 15 percent of the agency's total

budget will fund basic research. This will help ensure that

the entire Institute makes the best use of cutting-edge

science and technology.

NIST researchers are, and must remain, world leaders in

numerous fields of science. Examples include ultraprecise

measurement of fundamental physical constants such as

the force of gravity or the half-life of the neutron, laser

systems for detecting extremely short-lived chemical

"radicals, " and very accurate clocks that use individual

atoms as timekeepers. These are areas the Institute will

continue to emphasize.

12
Inset. At the NIST 20-

megawatt research reactor,

guest worker Heather Chen

and colleagues design ways to focus neutrons for studies of

the chemical composition of

materials. Here, she aligns a

neutron guide madefrom

glass fibers, each one containing thousands of tiny channels.

Above. Two rows ofcesium

atoms ( red peaks) placed on

the surface ofgalliumarsenide are shown in a scan- ning tunneling micrograph.

NIST physicists found that

cesium, a metal, does not con- duct electricity unless at least two rows of atoms are stacked on top of one another.

Top. Physicist Robert

Drullinger adjusts a laser sys- tem for NIST-7, the latest in a

series ofextremely accurate

atomic clocks developed at NIST. (Photo by Alexander

Tsiaras.)

Bottom. A NIST electron spin

detector paired with a scan- ning electron microscope

allows researchers to make

unusually detailed images of

magnetic structures at the sur- faces of various materials.

( Photo by John Vnguris.)

13
Top. Research chemist Kristy

Richie examines a fluorescent

gel used in analysis ofa new

Standard Reference Material

to help improve quality control for DNA "fingerprinting"

techniques.

Bottom. NIST radiation stan- dards are used to calibrate

diagnostic and therapy procedures for hundreds of

thousands ofpatients every

year. (Photo by Uniphoto.)

Below. New NIST methods for

detecting minute quantities of

organic compounds are helping the biotechnology industry

improve its efficiency. Green

light from an argon laser

directed at the center of this sample holder is used to sense extremely small amounts of

insulin adsorbed on a silver electrode.

Inset. Precise measurements

of the amounts of radiation

absorbed in medical and in- dustrial applications can be

made at the NIST electron

paramagnetic resonance

facility. Here, physical science

trainee Francoise he inserts a bonefragment into the sample

chamber.
In the Public Interest

In many areas of health, safety, and environmental

research, NIST programs directly benefit both industry

and the general public.

Just as in the manufacturing sector, the health care

industry requires increasingly precise and efficient

measurement methods to improve quality and restrain cost

increases.

New NIST measurement techniques for detecting small

quantities of therapeutic drugs in blood serum allow

doctors to improve treatment of disorders like asthma.

NIST Standard Reference Materials with certified

concentrations of blood components such as cholesterol

help assure the quality of diagnostic tests. Radiation

standards developed at NIST provide quality control in

both diagnostic and therapeutic applications through a network of regionally based calibration centers at hospitals

and other facilities.

As diagnostic and therapeutic practices advance in the

1990s, NIST quality control tools will increase in

significance. For example, results from a recently launched

NIST/industry program to apply automation and robotics

technologies to analytical laboratory testing could reduce

errors and decrease costs substantially in the years to come.

Biotechnology also will be an expanding research area for

NIST. New technologies for relating specific proteins to

their functions in human diseases like cancer and for

improving the cloning of gene fragments used in DNA

"fingerprinting" techniques are among several already

under development.

15
Safer, Cleaner Equals Cheaper

A major trend in public safety and environmental

protection is the convergence of industrial self interest with

public welfare.

Environmentally responsible manufacturing processes that

minimize or recycle waste products are often cheaper. New

technologies that improve productivity in the construction

industry also can make housing more affordable for consumers.

Methods for accurately predicting the fire safety of new

products can identify problem areas before a hazardous

material causes injuries, deaths, and costly litigation suits.

New refrigeration concepts using magnetic materials rather

than ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) may

produce lighter weight, more efficient air conditioners for

automobiles.

And incorporation of "shock absorbers" into buildings and

"lifelines," such as bridges and gas and water supply

systems, can save lives when earthquakes strike, while

avoiding billions of dollars in property damage.

NIST plans call for sustained research efforts in each of

these and many other areas affecting public safety and the

environment.

Inset. The burning offurnishings found in typical building

settings, like the office workstation shown here, provides

NISTfire researchers with

heat release rates and other

data importantfor minimizing

fire hazards. ( Photo by Jay

McElroy.)

16
Above. NIST researchers

study the boiling properties of new environmentally compatible refrigerants in order to help industry improve the

effectiveness of building airconditioning systems.

Top. Technician Max Peltz

examines cracks on a precast

concrete beam being testedfor

strength and ductility at the

NIST tri-directional test facility.

Bottom. An ultrasonic detector developed by physicist Ray

Schramm can be embedded in train tracks to detect cracks

in railroad wheels as a train

rolls by. ( Photo by Geoffrey

Wheeler.)

17
Getting There First

Transforming laboratory curiosities into technically

feasible commercial technologies is an essential part of the race to develop new products. The NIST Advanced

Technology Program gives individual U.S. companies and

industry-led joint ventures a financial boost to help them

over the often formidable initial hurdles. Expected to grow

substantially in the next decade, the program provides

direct grants for the development of precompetitive,

generic technologies with significant commercial potential.

The technical accomplishments of NIST research projects are also of little value if they are not put to use. NIST

believes that efficient use of new technologies requires a two-way flow of information in which the Institute and its "customer,"—whether it be industry, government, or the

scientific community—confer early and often to define

goals, agree on exchange mechanisms, carry out the work,

and use the results.

Collaborative research projects in which industry or academic researchers work side by side with NIST

researchers on projects of mutual interest are often the

best way to move Institute-developed technologies toward

the marketplace. In this case, research results do not

require "transfer." They are passed along continuously

during the project. In recent years, NIST has completely

revamped its policies on cooperative research efforts to take advantage of new laws that better protect joint

intellectual property and improve incentives for industry

to collaborate with federal laboratories.

The Institute's explicit congressional mission to serve the

competitiveness needs of U.S. industry, its reputation for

neutrality on regulatory matters, and the high technical

competence of its research staff, make it an ideal research

partner for any organization, large or small, interested in

securing its technological future.

18 I
Below. This greatly magnified

image ofa superconducting

infrared detector developed at NIST uses less power and is 10 times more sensitive than

conventional detectors currently used in satellites and

ground-based, remote-sensing

systems.

Top. Machinist apprentice

Michael Hall monitors a machine tool retrofitted with a

personal computer controller. The machine is located in NIST's Shop of the 90s where

manufacturers can learn lowcost automation techniques to improve productivity and

product quality.

Bottom. NIST's Advanced

Technology Program provides

grants to industryfor development ofgeneric technologies.

A consortium ofseveral U.S. companies receivedfunding to develop support technologies

for laser systems that use holograms to store computer data.

( Photo courtesy of MCC.)

1

1

19
Mission and Goals

The National Institute of Standards and Technology

(NIST) was established by Congress "to assist industry in

the development of technology ... needed to improve

product quality, to modernize manufacturing processes, to ensure product reliability, ... and to facilitate rapid

commercialization ... of products based on new scientific

discoveries."

A principal agency of the Commerce Department's

Technology Administration, NIST has as its goals: to aid

industry through research and services, to support the

U.S. scientific and engineering research communities, and

to contribute to pubhc health, safety, and the environment.

NIST conducts basic and applied research in the physical

sciences and engineering, developing measurement

techniques, test methods, standards, and related services.

The Institute does generic and precompetitive research and

development work on new advanced technologies.

Sites Gaithersburg, Md. (headquarters)

Boulder, Colo.

Budget $435 million (est. all sources, 1992)

Staff 3,000 scientists, engineers, technicians, and

support personnel, plus some 1,000 visiting

scientists each year

Main Building and fire research

Research Chemical science and technology

Areas Computer systems

Computing and applied mathematics

Electronics and electrical engineering

Manufacturing engineering

Materials science and engineering

Physics

For More Information

Advanced Technology Program

George A. Uriano

A402 Administration Bldg., (301) 975-5187

Building and Fire Research

Richard N. Wright

B216 Budding Research Bldg., (301) 975-5901

Chemical Science and Technology

Harry S. Hertz

A317 Chemistry Bldg., (301) 975-3145

Computer Systems

James H. Burrows

B154 Technology Bldg., (301) 975-2822

Computing and Applied Mathematics

Francis Sullivan

B112 Technology Bldg., (301) 975-2728

Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Judson C. French

B358 Metrology Bldg., (301) 975-2220

General Inquiries

Peggy Saunders

E128 Administration Bldg., (301) 975-3058

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

Curt W. Reimann

A537 Administration Bldg., (301) 975-2036

Manufacturing Engineering

John A. Simpson

B322 Metrology Bldg., (301) 975-3400

Manufacturing Technology Centers Program

Philip Nanzetta

B212 Chemistry Bldg., (301) 975-3414

Materials Science and Engineering

Lyle H. Schwartz

B309 Materials Bldg., (301) 975-5658

Physics

Katharine B. Gebbie

B160 Physics Bldg., (301) 975-4200

Technology Services

Donald R. Johnson

A363 Physics Bldg., (301) 975-4500

Note: All addresses at NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899

28
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

COMMERCE

Robert A. Mosbacher

Secretary

Robert M. White

Under Secretary for Technology

National Institute of Standards

and Technology

John W. Lyons

Director

Gaithersburg, Md. 20899

(301) 975-2000

Roulder, Colo. 80303

(303) 497-3000

December 1991

NIST Special Publication 828

Editorial Staff: Gail Porter

Sharon A. Shaffer

Designer:

William N. Welsh

Photographer:

H. Mark Heifer

all photos except as noted

Production:

Virginia M. Covahey

Sheila D. St. Clair

Printing Coordination:

Warren Overman

Above. NIST Boulder labora

tories. ( Photo by The Photo

Works.)

Inset. Joint Institute for

Laboratory Astrophysics, a cooperative venture for

advanced research operated

by NIST and the University

of Colorado. ( Photo by Dar

Miner.)