ide to NIST
On the cover:

Computerized graphics of

scientific and engineering data are used frequently by NIST researchers to improve understanding of production

processes, measurement methods, or

scientific experiments. Shown on the cover from right to left are computer-generated graphics of:

• the temperature profile emanating

from a fire source;

• measurement points taken by a coordinate measuring machine of a "perfect" stainless steel sphere

showing systematic errors in the machine's performance;

• a contaminant particle less than

5 nanometers (billionths of a meter)

across that has deposited on a

light-sensitive film used in making

solar energy panels;

• a polysilicon heater measuring

4 micrometers across used in a NIST-developed miniaturized pop-up

switch;

• grid of gold on silicon made with

neutral atom lithography;

• scanning electron micrograph of tin spheres;

• moire pattern used in measuring

strain within electronic interconnections; and

• a temperature profile of air flow in the wake of a speeding bullet.
FOREWORD

Greetings! Welcome to your personal printed tour of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

NIST is the federal government's multi- purpose technology partner for U.S. industry. An agency of the Commerce Depart- ment's Technology Administration, NIST

promotes economic growth by working with

industry to develop and apply technology,

measurements, and standards. NIST provides the research, products, services, and

cost-shared funding that U.S. industry needs

to continually overcome barriers to better,

faster, and less expensive products.

NIST carries out its mission through four major programs: the Advanced Technology

Program (ATP), the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a multidisciplinary

laboratory research program, and the National Quality Program. These programs en- hance the development, commercialization,

adoption, and continual improvement of

U.S. technology.

The ATP's cost-shared funding of promising

but risk)' industrial research helps ensure

that America's best technology ideas make it

to the starting blocks of commercialization, where they can pay off with broad-based

benefits for the economy. NIST's laboratory

research at the frontiers of measurement sci- ence and our efforts to ensure that standards promote international trade provide key ele- ments of the technical infrastructure critical

to economic growth. The MEP helps level

the competitive playing field for smaller manufacturers, giving them access to busi- ness and technology advice and resources

previously available only to larger corporations. At the same time, the Quality Program

provides inspiration and information to companies, large and small, on how to stay competitive through effective business and

quality management.

Created in 1901 as the National Bureau of Standards, NIST devised standard tests of

light bulb performance, helped ensure that grocery scales don't shortchange customers, and helped fire fighters ensure that their water hoses will fit the fire hydrants of neighboring jurisdictions—efforts that seem modest by today's standards. NIST's

current challenges are far greater and more

sophisticated—for example, find ways to measure reliably semiconductor "wires" a thousand times thinner than a human hair,

assist the nation's small manufacturers to move up the technology and quality ladder and become more competitive, develop rapid

DNA analysis tools, and reduce costs with

transparent, interoperable information

systems.

This report gathers in one place descriptions

of NIST's many programs, products, services, and research projects, along with contact names, phone numbers, and email and

World Wide Web addresses for further infor- mation. We know that finding information about federal government programs can

sometimes be daunting. We hope we've taken the challenge out of your search.

Take a moment now to "tour" NIST pro- grams and see how your organization

might work with ours to keep U.S. technol- ogy thriving.

Arati Prabhakar, Director email: director@nist.gov
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

This guide is designed to make finding out about programs and contacts at the National Institute of Standards and Technol- ogy a little easier.

The pages that follow describe hundreds of NIST projects, grants, industry outreach pro- grams, services, and facilities, followed by

contact names, phone numbers, and mail,

electronic mail, and, in some cases, World Wide Web addresses for further information. Unless otherwise noted, all addresses listed are at NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001.

This guide is divided into chapters covering each of NIST's major operating units. In addition, each chapter on laboratory programs

includes subheadings for NIST organizational divisions or subject areas.

The Advanced Technology Program provides

multiyear, cost-shared funding for highrisk, high-payoff development of civilian technologies by individual companies or

industry-led joint ventures. ATP accelerates technologies that otherwise are unlikely to be developed in time to compete in rapidly

changing markets without such a partnership of industry and government. See description on page 6.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership

operates a nationwide network of regionally based extension centers that help smaller manufacturers adopt modern technologies

and business practices. MEP also aids the de- velopment of state-based technology extension efforts and linkages between federal,

state, local, and other technology extension

efforts. See description on page 28.

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality

Award has become both the U.S. standard of

quality achievement in industry and a comprehensive guide to quality improvement.

The National Quality Program supplies companies with guidelines and criteria important for establishing successful quality

management programs. See description on

page 38.

The NIST Laboratory Program develops and

delivers measurement techniques, test methods, standards, and other types of infrastructural technologies and services.

Researchers in the NIST Laboratory Pro- gram actively seek out industrial and other

collaborators to work on well-defined, cooperative research projects of mutual interest. In addition, NIST researchers collaborate in- formally with industrial and academic re- searchers to solve shorter-term technical problems. For an overview of the many different ways NIST may be able to work with your organization, see a description of the NIST Laboratory Program beginning on

page 40.

A detailed subject index begins on page 156. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of NIST's

work, many topic areas appear in more than one chapter. For example, research involv- ing polymers is described in different chapters: polymer processing investigations within the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory and polymer combustion

studies within the Building and Fire Research Laboratory.

This guide attempts to include all major NIST program areas. However, no single

report can be completely comprehensive.

Institute programs change constantly as new research results and technologies

become available. If you don't find a topic area that specifically matches your needs, contact the office for the research area closest to your field of interest. Phone numbers,

fax numbers, electronic mail, and World Wide Web addresses are provided within each chapter.

If you review this guide and you're still not

sure which office to call, the NIST General

Inquiries Unit can probably help you.

Contact: General Inquiries Unit, (301) 975-

3058; email: inquiries@nist.gov; fax: (301) 926-1630.
CONTENTS

4 NIST at a Glance

6 Advanced Technology Program

28 Manufacturing Extension Partnership

38 National Quality Program

40 Laboratory Programs

44 Technology Services

51 Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory

72 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory

83 Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory

104 Physics Laboratory

124 Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory

136 Building and Fire Research Laboratory

147 Information Technology Laboratory

156 Facilities Index

156 Subject Index
NIST AT A GLANCE

The National Institute of Standards and

Technology was established by Congress "to

assist industry in the development of tech- nology ... 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."

An agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration, NIST's primary mission is to promote U.S. eco- nomic growth by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, and standards. It carries out this mission through a portfolio of four major

programs:

• a rigorously competitive Advanced Technology Program providing cost-shared awards to industry for development of highrisk, enabling technologies with broad eco- nomic potential;

• a grassroots Manufacturing Extension

Partnership with a network of local centers

offering technical and business assistance to smaller manufacturers;

• a strong laboratory effort providing technical leadership for the nation's measure- ment and standards infrastructure; and

BUDGET

$810 million (FY 1996 estimated operating resources from all sources)

STAFF

About 3,300 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support personnel, plus some

1,200 visiting researchers each year

SITES

Gaithersburg, Md. (headquarters

234-hectare campus) and

Boulder, Colo. (84-hectare campus)

MAIN RESEARCH AREAS IN NIST LABORATORIES

Electronics and electrical engineering

Manufacturing engineering

Chemical science and technology

Physics

Materials science and engineering

Building and fire research Information technology

ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

NIST issues more than 480 publications each year, such as reports on research results and standards, catalogs of products and services, and technical handbooks. NIST staff also author about 1,700 technical journal papers. To locate current and past

Institute publications, call the General

Inquiries Unit at (301) 975-3058.

The Institute also publishes serial publications. The journal ofResearch of the National Institute ofStandards and Tech- nology reports NIST research and develop- ment results in physics, chemistry,

engineering, mathematics, and information

technology, with major emphasis on meas- urement methodology and basic technology

underlying standardization. Issued bimonthly. Subscription price: domestic

$28 per year, foreign—$35 per year. Contact: (202) 783-3238.

Technology at a Glance is a four-page, lay language newsletter providing brief updates on NIST research, grants, and other pro- gram activities, with a contact name for each topic covered. Issued quarterly. Free subscription. Contact: Gail Porter, (301) 975-3392.

• a highly visible quality outreach program

associated with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
News and general information about NIST

programs and services are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.nist.gov. The

NIST homepage provides links to major NIST programs, facilities, and services. In

addition, the site has a conference/workshop

calendar, tour information, a staff directory,

press releases, budget updates, congressional

testimony, and answers to some frequently asked questions.

Click on "NIST in Your House," to take a

tour of a house and find out where NIST re- search has had an unseen role. To find the NIST connection, you can click on items such as a smoke detector, watt-hour meter,

clock, refrigerator, and medicine chest.

FREQUENTLY REQUESTED NUMBERS

General Inquiries

(301) 975-3058

Advanced Technology Program

(800) ATP-FUND

Manufacturing Extension Partnership

(301) 975-3593

(800) MEP-4MFG for center serving your

area

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

(301) 975-2036

Laboratory Programs:

Electronics and Electric Engineering

(301) 975-2220

Manufacturing Engineering

(301) 975-3400

Chemical Science and Technology

(301) 975-3145

Physics

(301) 975-4200

Materials Science and Engineering

(301) 975-5658

Building and Fire Research

(301) 975-5900

Information Technology

(301) 975-2900

Technology Services:

Standards Information Center

(301) 975-4040

Weights and Measures

(301) 975-4004

Laboratory Accreditation (301) 975-4016

Industrial Partnerships

(301) 975-3084

Standard Reference Data

(301) 975-2008

Standard Reference Materials (301) 975-6776

Calibrations (301) 975-2002

Technology Evaluation

(301) 975-5500

NIST Organization

Director Boulder

Laboratories

David Norcross

Chief

Financial

Officer

Robert Hebner (Acting)

Director

Arati Prabhakar

Acting Deputy Director Robert Hebner

Associate Director Samuel Kramer

Manufacturing

Extension

Partnership Program

Kevin CanElectronics and

Electrical Engineering

Laboratory Judson French

Chemical Science and Technology

Laboratory

Hratch Semerjian

Advanced

Technology

Program

Lura Powell

Materials Science and Engineering

Laboratory

Lyle Schwartz

Information Technology

Laboratory

Shukri Wakid

National

Quality Program

Harry Hertz

Technology

Services

Peter Heydemann

Manufacturing

Engineering

Laboratory

Richard Jackson

Physics

Laboratory

Katharine Gebbie

Building and Fire Research

Laboratory

Richard Wright

Director of Administration

Jorge Urrutia
ADVANCED

TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Overview

Not-yet-possible technologies are the domain of the NIST Advanced Technology

Program. The new synthetic materials tech- nology that might revolutionize the auto in- dustry—if the processing variables can be

identified and controlled. The new polymer

that can be used as a drug, binding and neutralizing disease-causing pathogens—if the design and manufacturing issues can be overcome. The new concept in distributed information systems that could both cut

costs and potentially save lives in the nation's hospitals—if the proper software tools can be developed to make it cost effective on

a large scale.

The ATP is a unique partnership between government and private industry to accelerate the development of high-risk technologies that promise significant commercial

payoffs and widespread benefits for the econ- omy. The ATP works by encouraging a change in how industry approaches R&D, by

providing a mechanism for industry to ex- tend its technological reach and push out

the envelope of what can be attempted.

Major forces—globalization of markets and

the pace of technology change—continue

to drive private R&D to narrower, shorter- term investments to maximize returns to the company. Most private capital is reluctant to

invest in anything less than a "sure thing"

in terms of its own returns. In sharing the

relatively high development risks of tech- nologies that potentially enable a broad

range of new commercial opportunities, possibly across several industries, the ATP fosters projects with a high payoff for the nation as a whole—in addition to strong

corporate rates of return. The nature of ATP

projects, risky but broadly applicable, stimulates joint research ventures that link small

suppliers with users, or that link several firms together to solve a generic problem common to all.

The ATP has several critical features that

set it apart from other government R&D

programs:

• The goal of the ATP is economic growth and the good jobs and quality of life that come with economic growth—opening new

opportunities for U.S. business and industry

in the world's markets by fostering enabling

technologies that will lead to new, innovative products, services, and industrial processes. For this reason, ATP projects focus on

the technology needs of U.S. industry, not

those of government. The ATP is industry

driven, which keeps the program grounded

in real-world needs. Research priorities for the ATP are set by industry: for-profit companies conceive, propose, co-fund, and execute ATP projects and programs based on their understanding of the marketplace and re- search opportunities.

• The ATP does not fund product develop- ment. It supports enabling technologies that

are essential to the development of new products, processes, and services across diverse application areas. Private industry bears the

costs of product development, production,

marketing, sales, and distribution.

• ATP awards are made strictly on the basis of rigorous competitions designed to select the proposals that are best qualified in terms

of the technological ideas, the potential eco- nomic benefits to the nation (not just the applicant), and the strength of the plan for eventual commercialization of the results. Expert reviewers (without conflicts of interest) drawn from the business community,

government, and academe carefully examine and rate each proposal according to published selection criteria that focus on both

business and technical potential.

• The ATP has strict cost-sharing rules.

Joint ventures must pay at least half of the project costs. Single companies working on ATP projects must pay all indirect costs asso- ciated with the project. (This provision encourages small companies, particularly

start-ups, that often have much lower over- head rates than large firms.)

• ATP support does not become a perpetual

subsidy or entitlement—each project has

goals, specific funding allocations, and completion dates established at the outset. Projects are monitored and can be terminated

for cause before completion.

• The ATP benefits companies of all sizes. ATP funding stimulates companies of all

sizes to take on greater technical challenges

with larger, broader, and faster payoff potential for the nation—benefits that extend

well beyond the innovators—than they could or would do alone. For smaller, start- up firms, early support from the ATP can

spell the difference between success and failure. To date, nearly half (46 percent) of the ATP awards have gone to individual small

businesses or to joint ventures led by a small

business. Large firms can work with the ATP, especially in joint ventures, to develop

critical, high-risk technologies that would

be difficult for any one company to justify because, for example, the benefits spread

across the industry as a whole. Universities and non-profit independent research organizations also play significant roles as partici- pants in ATP projects. More than 100

different universities are involved in about 150 ATP projects as either joint-venture participants or subcontractors.

• Since its inception, the ATP has made

economic evaluation of the outcomes of ATP

projects a central element of its operations.

The ATP has developed and implemented a thorough measurement program that pushes the state of the art in evaluating the long-term outcomes of R&D investment.
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

AN ATP PROJECT SAMPLER

The ATP portfolio is highly diversified. The 280 projects selected in the first 22

competitions span a broad array of key

technologies, with particular concentrations in information technology, electronics, biotechnology, and advanced

materials. These awards committed a total

of $970 million in ATP funds and §1 billion in cost-sharing funds from industry

(assuming all projects are pursued to conclusion). Nearly 800 companies, universities, independent non-profit research

organizations, and government laboratories already have participated in ATP

projects. Several hundred additional or- ganizations have participated as subcontractors and strategic partners.

Some typical projects include:

• A new technology for microsoldering

tiny leads on integrated circuits, devel- oped by MicroFab Technologies, Inc. (Piano, Texas), that essentially is ink-jet printing with molten metal instead of ink. The new soldering technology promises to increase greatly productivity and flexibility in the production of circuit boards and

significantly reduces hazardous wastes. The ATP award enabled the small 18- person company to attract additional funding for product development from a consortium of six major electronics manufacturers.

• A radically new approach to treating

gastrointestinal diseases such as human

rotavirus, which causes diarrhea in chil- dren, and Cryptosporidium parvum. No

effective therapy currently exists for either

disease, but GelTex Pharmaceuticals,

Inc., a Massachusetts company, is exploring the use of specially tailored polymers

that are not absorbed by the body but

rather unfold in the gastrointestinal tract

like tiny molecular nets to selectively trap pathogens or their toxins.

• A technique for using laser holography

to "write" very high resolution optical ele- ments such as filters in the interior of crystals. Under development by Accuwave, a small California company, the technology has potentially far-reaching applications

in the rapidly growing fiber-optics communication industry. Specifically, the work is aimed at producing a wavelength

division multiplexing system that would

allow several independent communications channels to share the same optical

fiber at the same time, thereby increasing

the capacity of a single optical fiber many

times over current practice. In 1994 the company introduced three new products,

early spin-offs of the ATP-sponsored tech- nology: an optical network monitor, a wavelength standard, and a "wavelength

locker." In 1995, the company added a

fourth spin-off, an electronic wavelength

controller. The new devices, not much bigger than matchboxes, replace a benchtop

of lab equipment costing tens of thou- sands of dollars.

• Groundbreaking computer modeling

technology for a "virtual human." The

work of an Iowa firm, Engineering Animation, Inc. (EAI), this 3-year project devel- oped computer visualization technology

with broad potential applications in medicine, engineering, and product develop- ment. As a result of that work, the company was able to establish alliances with Johns Hopkins University, the National Library of Medicine, Silicon Graphics, and Hewlett-Packard. The company

has grown from fewer than 20 employees

to 150 full- and part-time employees, and

revenues have doubled every year since re- ceiving the award. EAI attributes 14 per- cent of its business since 1992 to the core technology developed under the ATP.

• An innovative technique to create "prosthetic tissue" from animal by- products. Under development by Tissue Engineering, Inc., a small start-up company in Massachusetts, the tissue substitute would be processed and woven like a

cloth to make biodegradable implants

that would serve as matrices where the body's own cells could grow and eventually replace damaged tissues. The re- search is at the leading edge of the infant

science of tissue engineering, integrating advanced technologies in cellular biology and textile manufacturing. This ATP

project already has opened up a whole new range of reconstructive treatments for damaged periodontal, connective, and vas- cular tissues and created a line of products for the research and testing markets.

• A novel high-speed, high-capacity optical data storage system developed by

Optex Communications, a small Maryland company. Using quantum-electronic

rather than thermal effects, the Optex

drive is aimed at achieving much higher

recording and reading rates than conventional technologies allow. This improved

performance will enable new markets in

digital video and other information technologies. The Optex work also resulted in a new type of data encoding allowing

higher data densities in its system.
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Competitions

Until 1994, the ATP used general competitions open to proposals in all areas of tech- nology as its sole investment mechanism.

Since then, the ATP has added another ele- ment to its investment strategy—focused program competitions. Each type of competition has its unique advantages. General

competitions ensure that all good ideas re- ceive consideration, no matter what the tech- nology area. Focused programs create a mechanism to provide critical-mass support

for high-risk, enabling technologies in particular technology areas identified by U.S. industry as offering especially important

opportunities for economic growth.

An ATP focused program identifies a specific

set of research and business goals to be reached within a specific time—typically about 5 years. Often these require the parallel development of a suite of interlocking

R&D projects. By managing groups of projects that complement and reinforce each

other, the ATP reaps the benefits of synergy

and, in the long run, can have a stronger impact on U.S. technology and the economy.

Focused programs are developed in response

to specific suggestions received from industry and academia. In the form of white papers, the proposals outline a specific technology area and describe the potential

for U.S. economic benefit, the technical

ideas available to be exploited, the strength

of industry commitment to the work, and

the reasons why ATP funding is necessary to achieve well-defined research and business

goals.

Areas that attract particularly strong

interest—30 or more white papers from

different sources proposing the same general

effort are not unusual—then are developed

further through discussions with industry,

meetings, workshops, and other interactions.

Within a focused program, the ATP holds

special competitions open only to project

proposals that would advance the goals of the specific program. Specific projects are

selected through the normal ATP competitive review process.

The ATP has received over 1,000 white

papers suggesting specific focused program

areas. Drawing from 304 of the white

papers, ATP has established 1 1 focused pro- grams to date.

Focused Program

Descriptions

Information Infrastructure for Healthcare

The healthcare industry has a pivotal role in the economic health of the country, and in- formation has a pivotal role in healthcare

conservative estimates figure 20 percent of today's healthcare costs are related to the processing of information. Using effective in- formation technology systems in the health- care industry can deliver substantial cost savings while also strengthening an important sector of our industry. On the other hand, continuation of today's segmented applications of information systems to healthcare will only move the industry further from the possibility for a seamless information infrastructure.

The ATP Information Infrastructure for Healthcare program will develop technologies at each of three consecutive levels:

• technologies to form the foundation of a

private-sector-driven, nationwide information system, including tools for enterprise

integration, domain identification, and busi- ness process modeling;

• technologies to make such a system efficient and user friendly, including computerized knowledge-based systems, digital

libraries, and natural language processing;

and

• applications that directly meet healthcare

users' needs, such as clinical decision support systems and consumer health information and education systems.

Existing multimillion-dollar programs of research in healthcare information technol- ogy lack the coordination and integration necessary to share information nationwide. For example, individual hospitals are devel- oping or installing their own information technology systems without knowing how to make sure that they will be connected seamlessly to the national healthcare enterprise. These institutions run the risk of investing

huge resources in systems that will limit in- herently the ability of others—including

suppliers, insurance companies, and nonaffiliated physicians—to make the best, most efficient use of the information contained in those systems. Furthermore, they miss out on the economies of scope that a more systematic approach to healthcare in- formation systems would bring.

The Information Infrastructure for Healthcare program builds on major industry consortia that in the past 3 years have begun to address the very complex interoperability is- sues related to a national information infra- structure for healthcare. These consortia include the Computerized Patient Record

Institute, Microelectronics and Computer

Technology Corporation's Healthcare Open

System Trials program, and the National Healthcare Industry Consortium. Although

member companies do research on individ- ual technologies, ATP funding is needed to catalyze development of an infrastructure

that will connect these islands of automation.

Contact:

Bettijoyce Lide

(301) 975-2218

email: bettijoyce.lide@nist.gov A415 Administration Building
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Component-Based Software

Paradoxically, the most visible portion of

the software market—the shrink-wrapped

accounting spreadsheet programs for home

and office, word-processing programs, enter- tainment software, and other offerings in computer stores—represents only a relatively small fraction of the domestic installed base of software. The vast majority of

business-critical software development activity is in major custom applications: complete systems for financial services, manufacturing, or chemical processing, for example.

This custom software industry bears a strong resemblance to many industries of the early 19th century—virtually all of the products

are expensive, hand-crafted, error prone, one of a kind. Large industrial software sys- tems tend to be monolithic. Individual

pieces of the system cannot be reused easily (except possibly in the same company) be- cause of the close cooperation required be- tween the programmer and the systems

integrator. Object-oriented technology and

computer-aided software engineering tools have helped but have not provided the complete solutions to these problems. By most estimates, over half of all large application

development projects in this industry end in

failure—after all the time and money is

spent, the product still cannot be used operationally.

The goal of the ATP Component-Based Soft- ware program is to develop the technologies needed to enable systematically reusable

software components—relatively small,

carefully engineered software elements suitable for a broad array of applications. These

technologies would enable software companies to build specialized components that can be sold to systems integrators and cus- tom builders, who would combine them

with other, largely purchased, off-the-shelf components to create high-quality custom

applications. Software tools would auto- matically match components to applications

systems, ensuring compatibility and reliability. Numerous sources of cost and

error in application development would be

eliminated.

Major applications would no longer be large monolithic structures built from the ground

up but rather assemblies of smaller components, competitively purchased from vendors who would have the specialized skills to concentrate on issues such as domain- and

industry-specific knowledge, quality, and reliability for the components they provide.

The technical goals of the Component-Based

Software program include:

• Enabling practical, automated composition of major software applications based on

semantic analysis of independently pro- duced components—thus enabling systematic reuse of the components.

• Developing automated tools and methods

for component-based software to expand the portion of the process that can be automated and thus reduce the need for error-prone, hand-crafted solutions.

• Developing necessary technologies to overcome other barriers to the widespread

use and reuse of software components. This

includes:

• New linguistic methods to allow for imprecise or incomplete specifications of

functionality, performance, and other

software characteristics.

• Robustness—so that critical systems can continue to perform in the presence of

errors.

• Improved methods of confirming

software dependability.

In the long run, an established software- components industry would provide a rapid,

responsive channel for marketing software

innovations, while constantly improving

quality, reliability, and capability, in much

the same fashion that the semiconductor component industry has constantly reduced

cost and improved performance of computer

chips since the invention of the integrated

circuit, through rapid infusion of technical innovations.

The structure of the software industry and

the demand for business-critical software adapted to the needs of changing industries provide strong reasons for ATP support of

the Component-Based Software program:

• The Component-Based Software program

addresses problems—including quality, de- velopment time, cost, interoperation, labor

intensity, and the lack of a viable software- components industry—which are pervasive

throughout all large-scale software develop- ments, but it involves broad-based solutions and significant technical risks that are be- yond the scope of any one company or

project.

• Component-based software will put new

capabilities in the hands of content providers or application experts, which will allow

businesses to concentrate on areas of core

expertise. Businesses will not have to expend

resources supporting and maintaining nonbusiness-critical system components.

• Software is a key element of the technol- ogy infrastructure, so ATP funds in this area are highly leveraged. New and better software-development capabilities will allow

industries to supply new products and services utilizing software and to improve productivity through enhanced automation. Component-based software projects are addressing key industries such as manufacturing, finance and banking, and healthcare

Contact: Barbara Cuthill

(301) 975-3273

email: barbara.cuthill@nist.gov A415 Administration Building
10 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Digital Video in Intormation Networks

As computers become multimedia workstations, as television moves to highdefinition digital formats, and as telephony

takes on elements of both, information tech- nologies are merging in unprecedented

ways. The industries that are creating infor- mation networks fully expect digital video to be an essential element of this convergence. And they anticipate huge annual markets

for digital video—in the range of hundreds

of billions of dollars—for phone, pay-per- view movies, home shopping, financial, educational, and other services that will include a video component. The overwhelming eco- nomic benefits from genuinely interoperable

digital video technology stem from ex- panded and more attractive capabilities and

services on the user end of the information framework. The categories of entertainment,

manufacturing, education and training, and

health services alone account for several trillion dollars of commerce. Industries that distribute information and make, sell, and

integrate network equipment account for another few hundred billion dollars of eco- nomic activity.

Crucial technology decision points regarding convergence and digital video are arriv- ing with disconcerting rapidity. One key

issue is precisely how video-based information will be digitally packaged and distrib- uted in an information network in which

the producers of the video products, the distributors of the information, and its users all employ a diversity of processing, transmission, and receiving components. The ideal is that any video-based information product

whether it be motion pictures, television pro- grams, educational material, or healthcare information—can travel via wire, optical

fiber, satellite, or broadcast seamlessly into regular TVs, high-definition TVs, computer

monitors, and other information appliances

at homes, factories, hospitals, and schools.

To develop truly interoperable digital video

capability across future information net- works means creating R&D structures under

which distinctly different industries with different histories, technology bases, and ap- proaches to standards development can work

together toward the goal of interoperability between and among network components.

Individual companies already have begun

facing challenges such as finding means of

greatly compressing the enormous amount

of data that video information requires while maintaining image quality and re- maining cost effective. Under the ATP fo- cused program, many companies will be

able to coordinate their efforts so that the

collective outcome will be far more valuable

for everyone on all sides of the information

network. The ATP focused program will fill a

critical R&D gap, establishing a long-term program involving both industry and govern- ment to facilitate development of an

interoperable infrastructure, address intellectual property rights, support R&D in interop- erable systems, and establish pilot programs

to demonstrate and apply advanced video technology.

Contact: David Hermreck

(301) 975-4328

email: david.hermreck@nist.gov A303 Administration Building

Technologies tor the Integration of Manufacturing Applications

Companies in every manufacturing industry

face the challenge of responding rapidly to changing markets and evolving business

opportunities. Today, the speed with which new products are developed and delivered to market often is the chief determinant of competitive success. However, even highly automated plants and factories struggle to overcome difficulties in adapting or reconfiguring production operations to accom- modate design changes and new product

lines. Peculiarities in manufacturing soft- ware and incompatibilities among software

applications, which necessitate customized

systems-integration efforts, often are the pri- mary sources of costly delays.

The overall technical goal of the ATP fo- cused program on Technologies for the Inte- gration of Manufacturing Applications

(TIMA) is to develop and demonstrate the technologies needed to create affordable, "integrable" manufacturing systems

those that can be rapidly integrated and re- configured and, in the long run, that can

automatically adjust their performance in response to changing conditions and re- quirements. If successful, TIMA will enable

greater speed and agility among U.S. companies in the discrete manufacturing sector. Technical work carried out under the pro- gram will facilitate industry-led efforts to

create a real-time, "plug and play" manufacturing software environment.

Discrete manufacturing includes some of the largest industries in the United States, such as electronics and transportation, and

represented over $1 trillion in sales and ac- counted for well over one-third of all manufacturing jobs in 1991- Since this focused program also will affect discrete operations within the process industries, the govern- ment investment can be leveraged into savings totaling in the billions. The TIMA

technologies potentially will benefit companies across a range of industries.

A major roadblock for most firms is the

costly, massive effort required to implement

and integrate information systems that share real-time manufacturing data throughout organizations. Factory-floor information systems communicate neither

directly nor regularly with front-office infor- mation systems dedicated to accounting,

forecasting, and other resource planning activities, or with design and engineering systems. Middle-level information systems, known as Manufacturing Execution Systems

(MES), bridge this critical information gap

between upstream and downstream activities. Today's MES solutions, however, are burdened by complexities that make them

difficult to implement and integrate and,

often, even more difficult to modify and upgrade. While these tasks are important to the management and operation of all manufac-
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

taring businesses, only a small fraction can

afford the cost of installing and maintaining an integrated MES solution, estimated to run between $400,000 and $1 million. The

sizable costs incurred for maintenance and

systems integration work required to upgrade or otherwise change the system place

MES further out of the reach of smaller manufacturers.

The TIMA program aims for "integrable

MES" that can be assembled from piece-like and reusable components to build comprehensive, system-wide surveillance and reporting. But unlike existing approaches,

integrable MES will be more comprehensive, and it is expected to accommodate rapid cus- tomization, incremental installation, as- needed reconfiguration, and enhanced

information flow throughout the enterprise. There are numerous technical barriers, some owing to the complex nature of real- time data, which must be overcome to achieve manufacturing execution system

interoperability in a general and reusable manner.

The technologies that the TIMA program

supports are primarily infrastructural: they

constitute an underlying foundation re- quired to enable and support important

applications of information technology to manufacturing. Individual companies also do not have the capabilities needed to develop the full collection of underpinning

technologies. The MES industry is too frag- mented for any one vendor's integration

approach to dominate the marketplace, or

for any one vendor to invest substantial resources in the uncertain prospect of establishing its technology as an industry standard. Playing the role of catalyst, ATP can

help MES vendors and manufacturers to overcome this impasse, to focus their collective expertise, and to concentrate some of

their resources on surmounting the barriers

to developing integrable MES architectures and applications.

The TIMA program expands and replaces an

earlier ATP focused program on ComputerIntegrated Manufacturing for Electronics, which was announced in April 1994. Based on the results of the first competition and

extensive consultations with industry, ATP

managers decided the original program was

focused too narrowly to attract the desired

generic, broadly enabling R&D projects.

Contact: Barbara L.M. Goldstein

(301) 975-2304

email: barbara.goldstein@nist.gov A415 Administration Building

Tools for DNA Diagnostics

Research on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA),

accelerated by the Human Genome Project,

is providing deep new insights into now

poorly understood biological phenomena

and diseases and into new treatments for

genetically based ailments. The biotechnol- ogy industry expects that it will become both

the impetus and basis of new multibillion

dollar markets stemming from DNA-based

diagnostic tests.

According to industry projections for 1997,

the DNA-based portion of the in-vitro (outside of the body) diagnostics industry is expected to reach into the vicinity of $500 million of a total estimated market of

well over $18 billion, up from a $58 million

portion of an estimated $5 billion market in

1992. By 2005, DNA probes are expected to account for $6 billion, or 15 percent, of a $40 billion in-vitro diagnostics market. At

the moment, the United States enjoys a lead

position in this ever more global industry.

Reaping the full potential of DNA technol- ogy will require the development of new

methods, instruments, and data-handling

protocols. The ATP focused program on

Tools for DNA Diagnostics seeks to speed up

the process of DNA analyses and sequence

interpretation by a factor of 10 and reduce

costs from one-tenth to one-hundredth of

the present price tag (which is in the range

of $100 or more per test). Meeting these goals will help U.S. companies maintain

their advantageous position in the coming

years of the biotechnology revolution. The

industries and technical areas that stand to

benefit from the program include healthcare, forensics, biomedical research, envi- ronmental monitoring and bioremediation,

toxicology, drug design, industrial bioprocessing, animal husbandry, agriculture, and

quality control in the food industry.

The initial goal of the Tools for DNA Diagnostics program is to develop cost-effective methods for sequencing, interpreting, and

storing DNA sequences for diagnostic appli- cations ranging from healthcare to agriculture to environmental monitoring.

Moreover, these methods need to be highly

automated, miniaturized whenever possible, easy to use, and inexpensive as well as able

to determine and analyze DNA sequences ac- curately and rapidly. A working system meeting these criteria might begin with the

injection of a sample into a cassette, which

then would be positioned automatically into an instrument that performs the sequencing and stores the results. These results then could be displayed immediately on a computer screen and transferred to a patient's

records. By the end of the ATP focused pro- gram, industry should have the technical

tools and know-how in hand with which

they can design, engineer, and produce

commercial products like this one.

The ATP program on DNA diagnostics can

leverage existing government investments in DNA research to achieve the aim of low-cost DNA diagnostic technologies on a much

larger scale. It can help U.S. industry to maintain its global leadership in the biotechnology industry. The Human

Genome Project is a vital investment in the research that produces the maps and se- quences. But it does not support technology

development for diagnostics, which ulti- mately must be more user friendly and auto- mated than state-of-the-art instruments for basic research in the laboratory setting.
12 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

At the moment, companies that are well posi- tioned to develop DNA diagnostic tools are often hesitant to push forward without additional government support because any of a number of competing analytical methodologies could turn out to be the most suitable

for DNA diagnostics. Betting on one technology, which is all that most companies could hope to do, is too much of a gamble. The ATP Tools for DNA Diagnostics program

both reduces and dilutes that risk. The payoff could be the technology base for a new

multibillion dollar industrial base in the United States that will keep the country on

top in gene biotechnology and widen its scope of industrial applications.

Contact:

Stanley Abramowitz

(301) 975-2587

email: stanley.abramowitz@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

Catalysis and Biocatalysis

Technologies

Catalysts transform vast reservoirs of chemical feedstocks into products like nylon and

polyethylene polymers, themselves the

industrial starting point for thousands of products ranging from milk jugs and

mountain-climbing rope to toys and textiles.

Catalysts, along with their biologically derived forms known as biocatalysts, sculpt chemical precursors into the precise molecular shapes that are the heart of many pharmaceuticals. Catalysts are becoming ever more central to the competitiveness of indi- vidual products, companies, industries, and

countries. Those who develop new costeffective catalysts and biocatalysts that improve the yields of products, cheapen or simplify processes, enable vendors to meet

customers' needs more quickly and precisely, open up attractive products previously

too costly for the marketplace, or reduce the amount of pollution produced during manufacturing processes will gain clear competitive advantages.

In economic terms, catalysts add an esti- mated $2.4 trillion of value worldwide to raw chemical ingredients as scores of industries transform them into petroleum products, synthetic rubber and plastics, food

products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals,

or as they control vehicle and industry emissions. In the United States, over 20 percent

of all industrial products, an annual value

of $500 billion, involve catalysis. The world- wide market for catalysts themselves, which come in forms as disparate as biological enzymes (specialized proteins) to fine metal powders to complex inorganic compounds

called zeolites, amounted to about $7.8 billion in 1993 and is expected to rise to nearly

$11 billion by 1998.

The overall goal of the cost-shared ATP fo- cused program in catalysis and biocatalysis

technology is to accelerate industry's own

long-term attempts to develop the analytical

tools, synthetic abilities, and theoretical insight to identify, design, and implement new

catalytic tools and processes of major eco- nomic importance. Program technical goals focus on the general areas of catalysis process chemistries—catalyst design and fabrication and catalytic process design.

Major tasks in catalysis process chemistry

include:

• reducing to routine the use of structure/ function knowledge for designing catalysts and associated process and products;

• developing innovative catalyst characterization and design technologies;

• developing novel approaches to speed

design and increase reliability of catalyst manufacturing techniques;

• developing unique and innovative ap- proaches to extend significantly catalyst

yield, selectivity, life, or operational stability by more than 20 percent over current practice; and

• developing catalysts that greatly simplify process chemistry and/or improve environ- mental performance beyond current practice

or regulatory trends.

Major tasks in catalytic process design

include:

• developing novel reactor engineering designs coupling reaction and transport properties, reaction and product separation, or other innovative process couplings;

• developing advanced scale-up methods

reducing pilot steps, speeding process model

validation, and improving reliability;

• improving prediction of end-use product

properties through catalyst design and process models; and

• enhancing or maintaining product per- formance in catalytic processes while feed- stock quality is reduced or feedstocks shift to renewable resources.

Leap-frog advances in catalysis of the sort

targeted in this ATP focused program can come only from research of uncommon technical difficulty. At the bottom of every catalytic process are complex physical and

chemical dramas playing out on tiny scales,

often at blindingly fast speeds and under

surveillance-unfriendly conditions common

in industrial processes, factors that traditionally have made scientific study and design of

catalysis technologies extremely challenging, costly, or technically impossible. Just as important, the program will forge novel

liaisons for catalysis technology research

that would not have formed without the

collective participation of many companies

throughout the program's planning and

implementation.

Improving catalysts and catalysis processes promises several important payoffs downstream in manufacturing. New catalysts that

are more precisely designed than ones in present use can maximize desired products while minimizing byproducts, or can pro- duce the same products using less expensive

feedstocks. They can even replace feedstocks
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM 1

based on non-renewable and depletable resources, such as petroleum, with renewable

ones, such as grains or switch grass. New

catalysis processes also could eliminate manufacturing steps and lower capital retrofit, energy, or operating costs, as well as

increase capacity and product yield.

Another payoff, one that analysts predict will grow in relative importance in the coming

years, will come from catalysis technologies

that reduce pollution by obviating the need

for organic solvents, eliminating trouble- some byproducts that subsequently need to be recycled or disposed of, or converting pollution that is produced during manufacturing processes into valuable co-products or more benign forms. Pollution prevention and abatement catalysts like these will play

increasingly large roles in reducing the

costs of environmental compliance while making products more attractive to environ- mentally concerned clientele.

Contact: Linda Beth Schilling

j (301) 975-2887

email: linda.schilling@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

Manufacturing Composite Structures

Composite materials—plastics, for example, reinforced with glass, polymer, or carbon fibers—have opened the possibility

of a true materials revolution in industry. Advanced composites technology can pro- duce materials that far outperform traditional materials such as steel while reducing

weight, maintenance expenses, and operat- ing costs of cars, bridges, offshore oil rigs, and other structures. But the development of advanced composites—which typically combine the lightness of a polymer with the stiff- ness and strength of glass reinforcing

fibers—has been driven by the needs of the

defense industry, stressing performance and

traditionally ignoring cost.

The ATP focused program in Manufacturing

Composite Structures was established to help

U.S. companies develop the technical capability for producing vast amounts of affordable high-performance composites for largescale commercial applications. The ability

to produce commercial quantities of highperformance composites at competitive

prices will open new annual markets in the range of tens of billions of dollars to U.S. companies, according to industry projections. Auto manufacturers alone estimate

that composites orders for building lighter weight vehicles that consume less fuel could go as high as $20 billion.

Methods of manufacturing composites now

are too labor intensive or too product specific to work smoothly in larger volume

commercial settings such as auto manufacturing and bridge building. The ATP pro- gram is working to correct that with an

ambitious program to:

• develop low-cost manufacturing

processes;

• integrate design and simulation tools for predicting the properties and reliability of

the composites during their service lifetimes; and

• develop advanced sensor technologies

some built directly into the composite structures where they will monitor the health of

the composites throughout their manufacturing phases and lifetimes.

These and other advances also should lower

the cost of designing with composites since fewer prototypes will have to be built and

tested. The ATP focused program is the means to trigger expansion of advanced

composites beyond military applications and

small commercial niches, such as sports equipment, into much larger commercial

markets. Most federal support (which ac- counts for more than half of all R&D in ad- vanced polymer matrix composites) focuses on aerospace and military structures. That,

together with the inherent risk of developing new materials in markets where traditional

materials have been used for decades, has

kept private investment in non-military

applications to a trickle.

The ATP effort is enabling U.S. industry to develop advanced composites, whose technological advantages have been demonstrated

in military and aerospace applications, into

a sound and expansive business for known

commercial markets where the cost of these materials has kept them out of reach. By the end of the program, participants should be

able to demonstrate cost-effective manufacturing processes for making large composite

structures for several classes of applications and be in a position to develop and adapt

those processes for commercial-scale

production.

Contact:

Carol Schutte

(301) 975-6846

email: carol.schutte@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

Materials Processing for Heavy

Manufacturing

Members of the heavy manufacturing "food chain"—materials suppliers, materials

processors, processing equipment manufacturers, component manufacturers, and origi- nal equipment manufacturers—estimate

that they could achieve up to $25 billion in additional market share in the next decade

if they could more economically translate new laboratory developments in materials processing to the robust, cost-effective sys- tems need for the production floor. These

are the industries that compete for $1 trillion worth of global infrastructure work,

which supports a $100 billion annual world- wide market in heavy off-road equipment

that is expected to double early in the next

century. They compete to supply equipment

for large power plants, a $45 billion world- wide market each year, which is growing at a rate of 2 percent per year. The same set of

industries competes for the annual $60 billion domestic market in vehicular engines, power trains, and chassis of vehicles, which

also is growing at a 2 percent annual rate.
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

The primary technical goal of the cost- shared ATP focused program in Materials Processing for Heavy Manufacturing is to de- velop and demonstrate innovative materials- processing technologies that will help U.S. companies in the heavy manufacturing sector make longer lasting, more reliable, and more efficient products, features that will

give their products a competitive advantage

in the marketplace.

Truck engines that need overhauls only

after 1,600,000 km (1 million miles), drive

trains that require only half as much maintenance and repair, and a 2 percent increase

in power-generation efficiency are among

the specific goals. One versatile tactic for achieving these and other ends is to develop

surface treatments and coatings that make

ceramic and metal components more

resistant to wear, corrosion, fatigue, or temperature-mediated degradation.

Another key technical goal is to significantly reduce manufacturing costs, a factor that

will enable U.S. manufacturers to offer passenger cars, light trucks, and heavy

equipment at prices that will make them

especially attractive in the rapidly growing

and highly competitive markets of developing countries. Some of the major strategies

for lower manufacturing costs are the elimi- nation of processing steps, the prevention of waste and pollution, and the reduction of manufacturing cycle time. One specific tactic to increase efficiency is to implement

"intelligent processing" methods in which

on-line monitoring and real-time process

control enable manufacturers to tune their process continuously to maximize efficiency and quality. A way to reduce manufacturing

time is through more intensive process modeling and rapid prototyping techniques,

which also can make it possible to concurrently engineer several process steps rather than having to wait for the completion of

earlier steps before focusing on later ones. Among tactics to prevent, control, and mini- mize waste and pollution are the conversion

of steel waste into cement and concrete feed- stock and the recovery of iron from the dust and slag of steel making.

These projects typically fall under the highrisk category that companies cannot pursue amid more immediate challenges. In addition, this ATP focused program will forge new forms of vertical integration among

companies, thereby creating versatile tech- nology development and commercial infrastructures that will outlast the ATP program

itself.

Contact:

Clare Allocca

(301) 975-4359

email: clare.allocca@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

Vapor Compression Refrigeration

Technology

Manufacturing of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment in the United States alone each year amounts to a $22 billion

industry, which is about 40 percent of the world's production, and employs about

125,000 people. Conventional technology,

however, is falling short on enough engineering, environmental, consumer, and

technological fronts that refrigeration and

air-conditioning engineers have entered an

innovate-or-wither phase. According to in- dustry projections, new demand for air- conditioning and refrigeration products by

developing countries will fatten the global market by an estimated $150 billion over

the next 10 years. With competition from

Japanese makers, who now win 40 percent of the market, and from those in Europe, China, and Korea, the U.S. share of this emerging market will depend heavily on who innovates faster and better. The goal of

the ATP focused program in advanced vapor compression refrigeration systems is to help

U.S. manufacturers build the technical basis

for developing lower cost and better performing products than all foreign competitors.

Besides bolstering industrial competitiveness

for these manufacturers, the program promises additional broad-based benefits. Increas- ing the average energy efficiency of air- conditioning and refrigeration equipment

could simultaneously save industry users billions of dollars in energy costs and signifi- cantly reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and other pollutants as a result of reduced fuel consumption at power plants. Moreover, the focused program includes air- cleaning technologies, which include chemical systems that absorb or catalytically

destroy many of the indoor air pollutants

thought to be responsible for the "sick build- ing syndrome." The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that as many as 50 percent of commercial buildings have problems with their indoor air and that improving air quality could yield annual savings of several billion dollars in the form of improved worker productivity, decreased

public health costs, and reduced mainte- nance costs.

The technical challenge centers on the va- por compression cycle, which is the principle of operation for the vast majority of cooling equipment now manufactured and

in use both in individual residences and in

industrial settings. During the cycle, liquid

refrigerants—among them the soon-to-be- phased-out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), as

well as their replacements—expand in a

metal coil. This is an energy-absorbing process that extracts heat from the space to be

cooled. A mechanical compressor then consolidates the expanded gas and pushes it

into a condenser where the vapor liquefies, which is an energy-releasing procedure that prepares the refrigerant for another run of

the cooling cycle while releasing the heat associated with the condensation process away

from the cooling system. The overall technical goals are to increase system efficiency by

25 percent, to reduce the noise levels and

size of refrigeration components by the
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

same amount, and to design and manufacture a system in which no refrigerant leaks. By providing a solid basis for industry col- laboration on high-risk, cutting-edge technologies, the ATP can catalyze development

that no individual company can undertake. ATP support will assist the industry in its own efforts to get a jump on the emerging

worldwide markets that are rapidly

developing.

Contact: John Gudas

(301) 975-3214

email: john.gudas@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

Motor Vehicle Manufacturing

Technology

Changeovers to new car, van, or truck models are engineering and manufacturing

marathons, taking U.S. auto makers and

their suppliers an average of 42 to 48 months. More agile equipment and processes that sharply reduce the time and cost

of converting factories to new models could

reduce significantly the span from initial design to consumer-ready vehicle and give the

U.S. automobile industry an important competitive advantage.

The ATP focused program on Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Technology fosters innovations in manufacturing practices that could

slash time to market to 24 months, markedly better than even the best times logged

to date by foreign or domestic car makers.

These advances will lead to more versatile equipment, better control and integration of

processes, and greater operational flexibility

at all levels, from suppliers of parts, dies, and machine tools to assembly plants. With

the reusable, modular equipment and processes envisioned by the program, the cost of retooling car-manufacturing facilities

now ranging between $1.2 billion and

$2.9 billion, depending on the extent of the changeover—could be reduced by as much

as tenfold. The savings would reduce the

size of break-even production volumes

needed to recover investment costs, making

it profitable for U.S. automobile companies

to compete in small-volume markets at mass-production prices.

The automotive sector, which accounts for about 4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic

product and employs more than 2 million

people, will be the initial beneficiary of the anticipated technologies. Within the sector, parts and equipment suppliers, who are directly involved in ATP program efforts, will

benefit most directly from the improved per- formance capabilities enabled by the technologies. Outside the sector, a variety of other manufacturing industries, from metal

furniture to precision instruments, will be

able to exploit targeted improvements in machining, grinding, and other widely used

processes.

The new focused program will concentrate on four major technical areas that underpin

significant improvements in capabilities and performance:

• Material forming processes: Develop

processes that substantially improve the

quality of stamped sheet metal parts; improve stamping precision to achieve sub- millimeter dimensional tolerances; reduce by 30 percent the time required to design,

test, and produce sheet metal dies; develop

manufacturing systems that enable a range

of cost-effective applications of advanced

materials in light vehicles.

• Material removal processes: Increase the

capabilities and speed of machining and

grinding processes; enable greater flexibility

so that machining stations can be reconfig- ured to meet new-model requirements;

accelerate design and fabrication of tool- ing—the most costly and time-consuming

phase of changeovers.

• Assembly processes: Develop economical,

modular systems for body and powertrain

assembly that can be implemented

(or reconfigured) within 4 to 6 months

(compared with today's average of 24

to 36 months); improve technologies for controlling paint and coating processes.

• Systems integration: Advance technologies for intelligent, or predictive, monitoring

and control of processes; accelerate progress

in efforts to achieve plug-and-play compatibility among equipment, processes, and

information management systems, an emphasis that complements other manufacturing R&D efforts.

Without the collaborative efforts that the ATP aims to marshal, U.S. auto makers and

their suppliers would not mount and sustain

the range of activities needed to achieve the major advances in technology, manufacturing practices, and industry performance that

are the objectives of the new program.

Contact: Jack Boudreaux

(301) 975-3560

email: jack.boudreaux@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

Digital Data Storage

The nation's digital storage industry

maker of the tapes, disks, and other gear

that have become the archives and the

retrieval tools of the information age

achieved its world-leading status by doubling storage capacity about every 3 years. Now foreign competitors match that rate of

progress, and new storage-hungry applications are multiplying rapidly. Industry observers say regaining lost market shares and

pulling away from the global pack will re- quire an annual improvement rate of about 60 percent—more than twice as fast as to- day's already-supercharged pace.
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

The ATP focused program on digital data

storage aims to build the springboard for that kind of ambitious leap in technological

capability and marketplace performance.

The program concentrates on six key technical objectives:

• Media: Push the ultimate limits of magnetic recording capacity by increasing stor- age densities to 10 billion to 100 billion bits per square inch for disks and to 1 trillion

bytes per cubic inch for tapes; for electrooptical disks, develop new materials to in- crease storage density and improve

performance.

• Heads: Develop technologies for highperformance magnetic recording heads that

are vastly superior to today's state of the art, and significantly improve magneto-optical

record and sense technologies.

• Tribology: Develop new lubricants and

surface finishes, because, as the space be- tween heads and media diminishes, separation cannot be assured, creating the

potential for wear and increased error rates.

• Tracking: Develop reliable micropositioning devices for high-precision placement of sensing devices over data tracks to achieve high signal-to-noise ratios.

• Channel electronics: Improve signalprocessing electronics to achieve very low

error rates.

• Software: Significantly advance the state

of the art in data storage and retrieval soft- ware over the range extending from error detection and correction within storage units and disk controllers to management of menageries of data storage systems.

Opportunities for improved data-storage

technologies are multiplying in business and consumer markets. The visual communications market, which includes video-on- demand services and video server hardware,

is growing at an annual rate of 40 percent. Companies adept at incorporating new tech- nologies will have a strategic advantage in

existing and emerging markets. For the do- mestic industry as a whole, that advantage

would advance efforts to establish U.S. for- mats as international standards, which

would be a boon to exports.

In helping U.S. industry to move to the head

of the curve of technology development and

application, the ATP program also will better position U.S. companies to compete in consumer markets now dominated by soonto-be-outdated analog storage products

made by foreign manufacturers. In turn, a

technologically advanced, globally competitive data storage industry will enhance the competitive prospects of computer manufacturers as well as the telecommunications,

entertainment, and other important user

industries.

In establishing a comprehensive set of technical goals far beyond the capabilities of in- dividual firms, the ATP focused program

will help companies and research organizations to pool their talents, expertise, and re- sources. Through collaborations that minimize risks and costs, the industry can make large strides in innovation that lead to markedly superior technologies beyond the

capabilities of competitors. Because of to- day's stiff competition in markets for digital data storage products, U.S. firms must concentrate almost exclusively on rapid, but

incremental, improvements to existing products, which are quickly matched or outdone

by other companies. Shared efforts, facilitated by the ATP, that concentrate on early- stage needs and obstacles can reduce overall R&D costs and accelerate the U.S. digital data storage industry's progress toward devel- oping technologies critical to ensuring that

it will be a top performer in a worldwide market projected to grow tenfold, to

$1 trillion, during the next decade.

Contact: Tom Leedy

(301) 975-2410

email: thomas.leedy@nist.gov A430 Administration Building

Economic Returns

ATP projects are expected to make signifi- cant contributions to scientific and technical knowledge, produce new technologies

that will be developed and introduced into the marketplace by the project awardees

(using their own funds), and in the long run yield substantial benefits to the econ- omy beyond those accruing directly to the award recipients.

This is a lengthy process. ATP projects

typically run from 2 to 5 years, the commercialization phase could add several more years, and the full economic impact

may not be realized for some years after commercial introduction. It also is costly

companies must spend additional time,

effort, and money on their own to pursue

product development and marketing. Be- cause of the risks involved—commercial as well as technical—some ATP projects will

fail. Others may proceed faster than anticipated, and intermediate results may lead to marketable products even before the ATP

project ends. Regardless of whether initial commercialization takes place before an ATP project ends, or long after, the company

must invest its own money to design specific products incorporating the technology and

to pay any other costs associated with commercialization.

True economic impacts occur when ATPfostered technologies enter the market

and not just as products. Long-term

evaluation of the ATP must take into ac- count downstream effects of the technologies: higher productivity and lower reject

rates for manufacturers using new processes and equipment based on ATP technologies;

better medical care at lower costs from hospitals and clinics that benefit from ATP

biotechnology projects or the ATP focused programs on Tools for DNA Diagnostics and

Information Infrastructure for Healthcare; and longer-lived, lower maintenance structures and equipment made possible by ATP

focused programs in advanced composites.
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM 17

Such long-range effects are real—even if

they are difficult to measure accurately.

Using a variety of analysis tools, including

third-party surveys and statistical analyses,

the ATP has documented several important

near-term results of the program, including:

• The majority of companies receiving ATP

awards would not have been able to pursue

the technology at all without the ATP, and

the balance would have been able to proceed

only at a significantly smaller scale. The

bottom line: U.S. industry today has important new technical capabilities that would

not exist without the ATP.

• R&D on the high-risk, high-payoff tech- nologies fostered by the ATP has been

significantly accelerated, according to award winners, a large majority estimating

that the award has put them ahead by

2 years or more. In today's marketplace, where product cycles are shorter, a lead time

of only a few months can mean the differ- ence between success and failure in timecritical markets.

• U.S. firms have found new commercial

opportunities—and some early growth

based on these new technical capabilities.

• A new element in the R&D culture of U.S. business is emerging—one that emphasizes more high-risk, high-payoff, enabling R&D

and greater use of cooperative research ventures and industrial alliances, and that views government and industry as partners

rather than opponents.

ATP Projects

Ongoing and completed ATP projects and

:| their participants are listed below, sorted

into related technical categories. The ATP

manages projects through three technical

offices: Information Technology and Electronics Office, Chemical and Life Sciences

Office, and Materials and Manufacturing

Office.

The focused programs for which each office

is responsible are listed under each office's heading. Projects selected in focused pro- gram competitions are listed under the corresponding focused program. Projects

closely related to the subject of a focused program but selected in our general competitions are included in the focused program

listing. When the ATP selects a number of

projects in one particular area, such a cluster of projects is managed for synergy as a

"virtual focused program" even though

there has not been a formal competition in

that technical area.

General competition projects that do not fit within a focused program category are listed

separately, grouped in appropriate technical

categories. For information, contact the office under which the project is listed.

Information Technology and

Electronics Office

Contact:

Cita Furlani

(301) 975-3543

email: cita.furlani@nist.gov A415 Administration Building

Focused Program in Information

Infrastructure for Healthcare

Contact:

Bettijoyce B. Lide (301) 975-2218

email: bettijoyce.lide@nist.gov A415 Administration Building

Infrastructure Development Technologies

(Enterprise Integration)

• Development of a Seamless Clinical Management System for Behavioral Health

Organizations—Instream Corp.

• An Expert Knowledge Server with a General Vocabulary Server Interface—Applied Medical Informatics, Inc.

• Voyager: Browsing and Automatically

Extracting Healthcare Data from Scattered Databases—Belmont Research, Inc.

• An Evolvable, Distributed Information Infrastructure for Interoperation of the Healthcare Delivery System—Andersen Consulting, Center for Strategic Technology Research*; Enigma Logic, Inc.; Expersoft Corp.; MedicaLogic; and Medical Records Corp.

• Healthcare Lifetime Data Repository In- frastructure—3M Co., Health Information

Systems

• "MEDencode": A Technology to Populate

a Clinical Data Repository as a Byproduct of Producing the Clinical Note—Datamedic

Clinical Systems

• Enterprise Tools for the Continuously

Available Medical Care (CAMC) Home

Healthcare System—Intermetrics, Inc.

• Enterprise Integration Tool Set (EITS) for Healthcare Professionals—Digital Systems

Resources, Inc.; and Unisys Corp *

• Patient-Oriented Management System

(POMS): An Integration Infrastructure for Health Care—Benchmarking Partners

Infrastructure Development Technologies

(Domain Analysis and Business Process Re-engineering)

• Healthcare Information Infrastructure Technology Proposal—BellSouth Network

Solutions; Coleman Information Services; Connecticut Health Technology Group;

Danbury Health Systems; General Electric Corporate R&D; Healthcare Research and

Education; Liberty Health Systems; Macro

International; Medical University of South

Carolina, Center for Computing & Information Technology; Microelectronics & Computer Technology Corp.; New Jersey Institute

of Technology; South Carolina Research

Authority*; Statewide Health Information

Network, Inc.; Unitron Medical Communications; and University of Georgia

* Joint venture lead partner
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

• Health Informatics Initiative—AT&T Bell Laboratories; Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc.; Corporation for Studies & Analysis; D. Appleton Co., Inc.; International Cancer Alli- ance; Koop Foundation, Inc.*; Logicon, Inc.;

Strategic & Information Systems; Meta Soft- ware Corp.; Oracle Corp.; Systems Research & Applications Corp.; and Wizdom Systems,

Inc.

• An Information Infrastructure to Redefine Caregiver Roles: A New Approach to Inte- gration—Health Data Sciences Corp.*; and

New York City Health and Hospitals Corp.

Infrastructure Development Technologies

(Total Quality Management)

• Methodologies for Automating Clinical Practice Guidelines—Cerner Corp.

• Automated Care Plans and Practice Guidelines—American Healthware Systems

• Development of an Episode Grouper

3M Co., Health Information Systems*; and

Actuarial Sciences Associates

User Interface and EfficiencyEnhancement Technologies (Information

Access, Transmission, Storage, and

Retrieval)

• Healthcare Information Technology

Enabling Community Care—Advanced Radiology; BellSouth Telecommunications;

Charleston Area Medical Center, Inc.; Connecticut Healthcare Research and

Education; General Electric Corporate R&D;

Shared Medical Systems Corp.; South

Carolina Research Authority*; Technology

2020; Univ. of Florida at Gainesville, Dept.

of Anesthesiology; and Univ. of Maryland at Baltimore, Diagnostic & Radiology

• Decision Support Technology for LDR

Infrastructure—3M Co., Health Information Systems

• Development of National Medical Practice Knowledge Banks—Allegheny-Singer Research Institute*; AT&T Corp., Business Markets Division; NCR Human Interface Technology Center; and NCR Parallel Systems

• Health Object Library On-Line Project

(HOLON) —Beth Israel Hospital; Concept

5 Technologies, Inc.; Forefront Group, Inc.; George Washington University, School of Engineering; IntelliTek, Inc.; Koop Foundation, Inc.*; Lumina Decision Systems; Meta

Software Corp.; Norwalk Hospital, Center for Informatics; Oracle Corp.; Talisman Dynamics, Inc.; Time Warner Cable; Windom

Health Enterprises; and Wizdom Systems

User Interface and EfficiencyEnhancement Technologies (Multimedia

Information)

• Automating Disease Surveillance from

Structured and Text Data—Sunquest Infor- mation Systems

• A Multimedia Medical Dialog (MMD)

System for Home Healthcare—Dragon

Systems, Inc.

• Intelligent Spoken Medical Records

Berdy Medical Systems

• Open, Voice-Enabled, Structured Medical Information—Kurzweil Applied Intelli- gence, Inc.

• WellnetTM: An Interactive Multimedia Consumer Health Management Tool

Caresoft, Inc.

• TELEOSTM: An Authoring System for

Virtual Reality Surgical Simulations

High Techsplanations, Inc.

• A Three-Dimensional Database for Visualization of Human Physiology—Engineering Animation, Inc.

Focused Program in Component-Based

Software

Contact: Barbara Cuthill

(301) 975-3273

email: barbara.cuthill@nist.gov A415 Administration Building

Creating New Software Development

Paradigms

• Component Integration: An Architecture Driven Approach—Andersen Consulting, Center for Strategic Technology Research

• Reusable Performance-Critical Software Components Using Separation of Implementation Issues—Xerox Corp., Palo Alto Research Center

• Cost-Based Generation of Scalable, Reliable, Real-Time Software Components

Sagent Corp.

• Design Maintenance System

Semantic Designs

Enhancing the Capability ofApplication

Experts

• Automatic Generation of Mathematical Modeling Components—SciComp, Inc.

• A Component Technology for Virtual

Reality (VR) Based Applications

Aesthetic Solutions

• Automation of Dependable Software Generation with Reusable Components

Lucent Technologies, Inc.

• A Component-Based Software Approach to Analog and Mixed Signal Model Develop- ment—Analogy, Inc.

• Component-Based Software for Advanced

Interactive Systems in Entertainment and

Education—Extempo Systems, Inc.

Automating the Software Development

Process

• Component-Based Re-engineering Tech- nology—Reasoning Systems, Inc.

* Joint venture lead partner
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

• Scalable Business Application Develop- ment Components and Tools—Continuum

Systems

• A Plausible Dependability Model for Component-Based Software—Reliable Soft- ware Technologies

• Graph Visualization Technology

Tom Sawyer Software

• Component-Based Software Tools for Real-Time Systems—Real-Time Innovations, Inc.

• Component-Based Software System for

Parallel Processing Systems—Applied Parallel Technologies, Inc.

Focused Program in Digital Video in Information Networks

Contact: David Hermreck

(301) 975-4328

email: david.hermreck@nist.gov A303 Administration Building

Improve Information Capacityfor Transmission and Distribution

• Mobile Information Infrastructure for

Digital Video and Multimedia Applications—Lucent Technologies; and Sun

Microsystems Computer Co.

• Perceptual-Based Video Encoding and

Quality Measurement—Bell Atlantic; David

Sarnoff Research Center*; Texas Instru-

, ments; and Sun Microsystems

• Adaptive Video Codec for Information

Networks—Cubic Defense Systems

Interoperable System Components

• HDTV Broadcast Technology—Advanced

Modular Solutions; Comark; David Sarnoff Research tenter*; IBM; MCI; Philips Laboratory; Sun Microsystems; and Thomson Con- sumer Electronics, Inc.

• Interoperability Tools for Digital Video Systems—Bell Communications Research,

Inc.

Digital Video Tools and Management

Capabilities

• Advanced Distributed Video ATM Network

for Creation, Editing, and Distribution

Tektronix, Inc.

Focused Program in Technologies for the

Integration of Manufacturing Applications

Contact: Barbara L.M. Goldstein (301) 975-2304

email: barbara.goldstein@nist.gov A415 Administration Building

• A Product-Family-Based Framework for Computer Integrated Manufacturing

IBM Corp.

• Model-Driven Application and Integration

Components for MES—Vitria Technology,

Inc.

• An Agent-Based Framework for Integrated

Intelligent Planning-Execution—IBM

Manufacturing Unit*; Berclaim USA,

Limited; Cimplex; Ingersoll-Rand Co.;J.D. Edwards; and QAD, Inc.

• Advanced Process Control Framework

Initiative—Advanced Micro Devices; and

Honeywell, Inc., Technology Center*

• Solutions for MES-Adaptable Replicable

Technology (SMART)—AMP, Inc.; Applied

Automation Technologies, Inc.; FASTech Integration, Inc.; IBM Corp. (NIIP Consortium

Project Office)*; IBM Manufacturing Industry Solutions Unit; IBM Software Solutions

Division; IBM Manufacturing Systems; Industrial Computer Corp.; International Technical Group, Inc.; MESA International; STEP Tools, Inc.; UES, Inc.; Univ. of Florida

at Gainesville, Database Systems R&D Center; and Wonderware Corp.

Focused Program in Digital Data Storage

Contact: Tom Leedy

(301) 975-2410

email: thomas.leedy@nist.gov A430 Administration Building

Optical Recording Technology

• A High-Density and High-Speed Read- only Optical Data Storage System

Calimetrics

• A Revolutionary, High Density, High

Speed, Low Cost Optical Information Storage

Technology—Optex Communications Corp.

• Digital Data Storage Technology via Ultrahigh- Performance Optical Tape Drive Using a Short-Wavelength Laser—LOTS

Technology, Inc.

• Electron-Trapping Optical Memory for

Digital Recording Applications—Optex

Communications Corp.

• Short-Wavelength Sources for Optical Re- cording—Carnegie Mellon University, ECE

Department; Eastman Kodak Co., Mass Memory Division, Research Labs; IBM Corp., Almaden Research Center; National Storage

Industry Consortium*; Uniphase; and University of Arizona, Optical Science Center

• Technology Development for OpticalTape-Based Rapid Access Affordable Mass

Storage (TRAAMS)—Carnegie Mellon University; Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.; Motorola, Inc., Phoenix Corporate Research

Laboratories; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Polaroid Corp.; Science Applications

International Corp.; Terabank Systems,

Inc.*; and University of Arizona, Optical Sciences Center

• Ultra High Capacity Optical Disk: Multi- Layer Short Wavelength Write-Once and

Erasable Optical Disk Recording System

Carnegie Mellon University; Eastman Kodak

Co.; National Storage Industry Consortium*; and SDL (Spectra Diode Laboratories, Inc.)

'Joint venture lead partner
20 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Magnetic Recording Technology

• Enhanced Rigid Disk Drive Technology:

High Resonance Suspension—Hutchinson

Technology, Inc.

• High-Performance, Variable-Data-Rate,

Multimedia Magnetic Tape Recorder—3M

Co.*; Advanced Research Corp.; and Seagate

Tape Technology, Inc.

• Ultra-High Density Magnetic Recording Heads—Applied Magnetics Corp.; Carnegie Mellon University, ECE Department, Data

Storage Systems Center; Eastman Kodak Co.; George Washington University, Dept. of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science; Hewlett-Packard Co.; IBM Corp., Almaden

Research Center; National Storage Industry Consortium*; Quantum Corp.; Read-Rite

Corp.; Seagate Technology; Stanford University, Department of Materials Science and

Engineering; Storage Technology Corp.; University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Center

for Materials Information Technology;

University of California at San Diego, Center

for Magnetic Recording; University of Minnesota, Electrical Engineering and Computer

Science; and Washington University, Depart- ment of Electrical Engineering

General Competition Projects Related to Information Technology

• New User-Interface for Computers Based on On-Line Recognition of Natural Handwriting—Communication Intelligence Corp.

• Advanced Spoken Language User Interfaces for Computer Applications—Kurzweil

Applied Intelligence, Inc.

• Pen-Based User Interface for the Emerging Chinese Computer Market—Communication Intelligence Corp.

• High Fidelity Digital Image Compression—Iterated Systems, Inc.

General Competition Electronics and

Photonics Projects

Displays and Graphic Image Manipulation

• Advanced Manufacturing Technology for Low-Cost Flat Panel Display—Electro- Plasma, Inc.; Kent Display Systems; Photonics Imaging, Inc.*; Planar America,

Inc., Division of Planar Systems; and

Westinghouse Norden Systems, Inc., Division of United Technologies

• FLC/VLSI High-Definition Image

Generators—Displaytech, Inc.

• High Information Content Display

Technology—Kopin Corp.*; and Philips Consumer Electronics North America

• High Resolution Multimedia Laser Projection Display—Laser Power Corp.*; and

Proxima Corp.

• Large Area Digital HDTV Field Emitter

Display Development—FED Corp.

• Mathematical Algorithms and Software

for the Restoration and Reformatting of Moving Pictures—Mathematical Technologies, Inc.

• Optically Controlled Alignment Materials

for Liquid-Crystal Displays—Alliant Techsystems, Research Center

• Patterning Technology for Color Flat- Panel Displays—Electro-Plasma, Inc.; Kent

Display Systems; Photonics Imaging, Inc.; Planar America, Inc., Division of Planar Sys- tems (American Display Consortium)*; and

Plasmaco, Inc.

• Scalable High-Density Electronics Based on MultiFilm Modules—Kopin Corp.*; and

Microelectronics & Computer Technology

Corp.

• Technology Development for the Smart

Display: A Versatile High-Performance Video

Display Integrated with Electronics

BFGoodrich Avionics Systems; Cetek Technologies, Inc.; FED Corp.*; InfiMed, Inc.; and Kaiser Electronics

• Diamond Diode Field Emission Display

Process Technology Development

SI Diamond Technology, Inc.*; and

Supertex, Inc.

Semiconductor Devices, Materials, and

Fabrication

• New Technology for High-Current,

Parallel, Broad-Beam Implanters for Microelectronics Fabrication—Diamond

Semiconductor Group, Inc.

• Dry Gas-Phase Cleaning Technology for Single-Wafer Surface Conditioning

FSI International, Inc.

• A Feedback-Controlled Metalorganic

Chemical Vapor Deposition Reactor

Spire Corp.

• Development of Blue/Green Emitters

Utilizing Homoepitaxial ZnSe-Based

Heterostructures—Eagle-Picher Research

Laboratory

• Fabrication and Testing of Precision Optics for Soft X-Ray Projection Lithography

AT&T Bell Laboratories

• Flip Chip Monolithic Microwave Inte- grated Circuit (MMIC) Manufacturing

Technology—Hughes Aircraft Co., Microelectronic Circuits Division

• GaAs Super Microprocessor Technology

Development—Vitesse Semiconductor Corp.

• Manufacturing Technology for High Per- formance Optoelectronic Devices Based on

Liquid Phase Electro-Epitaxy—AstroPower,

Inc.

• Solid-State Laser Technology for Point- Source X-Ray Lithography—Hampshire

Instruments, Inc.*; and McDonnell Douglas

Electronic Systems Co.

• Advancement of Monocrystalline Silicon Carbide Growth Processes—Cree Research

• Nonvolatile Magnetcresistive Semiconductor Technology—Nonvolatile Electronics,

Inc.

* Joint venture lead partner
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Optical/Electro-optical Components and

Systems (including lasers)

• Tunable Deep UV and VUV Solid-State Laser Source—Light Age, Inc.

• Incoherent Combining of Radiation from

a Two-Dimensional Array of Semiconductor

Lasers—Cynosure, Inc.

• Advanced Technology for MicroChannel

Plates—Galileo Electro-Optics Corp.

• A Novel Microminiature Light Source Technology—Philips Laboratories

• Fiber Fabry-Perot Tunable Filters for

All-Optical Networks—Micron Optics, Inc.

• Holographic Graded-Index NonLambertian Scattering Screens and Components with Light-Shaping Capability

Physical Optics Corp.

• Jitney: A Low-Cost, High-Performance

Optical Bus—3M Co.; IBM Corp., T.J. Watson Research Center*; and Lexmark

International, Inc.

• Monolithic Multiwavelength Laser Diode

Array Spanning 430 to HOOnm—SDL

(Spectra Diode Laboratories, Inc.)*; and

Xerox Corp., Palo Alto Research Center

• Precision Optoelectronics Assembly

Adept Technology, Inc.; AT&T Bell Laboratories, Engineering Research Center; Boeing

Co., Defense & Space Group; Ford Motor Co.,

Electronics Technical Center; Motorola,

Inc., Phoenix Corporate Research Labs; New Jersey Institute of Technology, Center

for Manufacturing Systems; and Precision

Optoelectronics Assembly Consortium

(c/oNCMS)*

• Wavelength Division Multiplexing for Optical Telecommunications Systems

Accuwave Corp.

• X-Ray and Neutron Focusing and Colli- mating Optics—X-Ray Optical Systems, Inc.

New Materials/Manufacturingfor Elec- tronics and Electrical Systems

• Diamond-Like Nanocomposite Technol- ogy—Advanced Refractory Technologies,

Inc.

• Integrated Force Array—Microelectronics Center at North Carolina

• Novel Synthetic Fused Quartz for Semiconductor Manufacturing—General Electric Corporate R&D

• Printed Wiring Board Interconnect Sys- tems—AT&T Bell Laboratories; AT&T Micro

Electronics; AlliedSignal Laminate Systems; Hughes Aircraft Co.; IBM Corp.; National

Center for Manufacturing Sciences, Inc.*; Sandia National Laboratories; Texas Instru- ments, Inc.; and United Technologies Corp., Hamilton Standard Division

Superconducting Systems and Devices

• High-Temperature Superconducting Racetrack Magnets for Electric Motor Applications—American Superconductor Corp.

• Technologies for HTS Components for Magnetic Resonance Applications—DuPont, Superconductivity Group; and Inter- magnetics General Corp.*

• Advanced Thallium Superconductor

Technology—DuPont

• Thick-Film Superconducting Materials

for Radiofrequency Communication

Illinois Superconductor Corp.

• Hybrid Superconducting Digital System

Conductus, Inc.*; Hewlett-Packard Co.; National Institute of Standards and Technology; Stanford University, Department of Applied Physics; TRW Applied Technology

Division, Space & Technology Group; and

University of California at Berkeley, Dept. of

Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Other Electronics, Electrical, and Photonics Projects

• Advanced Cathode for Flat Fluorescent

Light Sources—Thomas Electronics, Inc.

• Development of Rapid Thermal Process- ing to Produce Low Cost Solar Cells

Solarex, A Business Unit of Amoco/Enron

Solar

• Low Dielectric Foams for Microelectronics

Applications—IBM Corp., Almaden Research Center

• Low-Cost Amorphous Silicon Manufacturing Technology—EG&G Reticon; and

General Electric Corporate R&D*

• Polymeric Switches for Optical Interconnects—IBM Corp., Almaden Research Center

• Ultra-Low k Dielectric Materials for High-Performance Interconnects

Texas Instruments, Inc.

Chemistry and Life Sciences

Office

Contact: Linda Beth Schilling

(301) 975-2887

email: linda.schilling@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

Focused Program in Tools for DNA

Diagnostics

Contact:

Stanley Abramowitz

(301) 975-2587

email: stanley.abramowitz@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

• Genosensor Technology Development

Beckman Instruments; Baylor College of Medicine; Genometrix, Inc.; Genosys

Biotechnologies, Inc.; Houston Advanced

Research Center; Laboratories for Genetic

Services, Inc.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Microfab Technologies, Inc.; Triplex Pharmaceutical Corp.

• Joint venture lead partner
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

• Miniature Integrated Nucleic Acid

Diagnostics (MINDTM) Development

Affymetrix, Inc.*; and Molecular Dynamics,

Inc.

• DNA Diagnostic Systems Based on Novel Chem-jet Techniques—Combion, Inc.

• SBH Format 3 Megabase Diagnostics Instrumentation—Hyseq, Inc.

• An Integrated Microelectronic DNA Diagnostic System—Nanogen, Inc.

• Arrayed Primer Extension (APEX): The

Next Generation DNA Analysis System for Sequencing in DNA Diagnosis—Baylor

College of Medicine; Duke University; Identigene, Inc.; and Pharmacia Biotech,

Inc.*

• Integrated Microfabricated Devices for DNA Typing—Molecular Tool, Inc.

• MicroLab: A High-Throughput, Low-Cost Approach to DNA Diagnostics by Array Hybridization—David Sarnoff Research Center

• Development of Bar Code Diagnostics for DNA Analysis—Vysis, Inc.

• Development of Rapid DNA Medical Diagnostics—GeneTrace Systems, Inc.

• Diagnostic Laser Desorption Mass Spec- trometry Detection of Multiplex Electro- phore Tagged DNA—Bruker Analytical Systems, Inc.*; Genome Therapeutics; and

Northeastern University

• Development and Commercial Application of Genosensor Based Comparative

Genome Hybridization—Vysis, Inc.

• Molecular Cytogenetics Using the GeneScope: An Ultrafast, Multicolor System

for Automated FISH Analysis—Bio-Rad

Laboratories

• Integrated Microfabricated DNA Analysis Device for Diagnosis of Complex Genetic Dis- orders—CuraGen Corp.*; and Soane Technologies, Inc.

• Automated DNA Amplification and Frag- ment Size Analysis—E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., FQMS Group

• Real-Time Micro-PCR Analysis System

Cornell University Medical College; IC Sensors (EG&G); Louisiana State University; Perkin Elmer Corp.*; and University of Minnesota

• Compact Blue Laser for Diagnostics

Uniphase Corp.*; and Perkin-Elmer Corp.

• Development of a Generic Technology for

the Targeted Detection and Cleavage of DNA

and RNA—Third Wave Technologies, Inc.

• DNA Diagnostics Using Self-Detected Target-Cycling Reaction (SD-TCR)—

NAVIX, Inc.; and Profile Diagnostics, Inc.

• Hyperthermophilic Microorgansims in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

Amersham Life Sciences, Inc.

• Generation and Development of Novel

Nucleic Acid Binding Proteins and Their Use

as DNA Diagnostics—Sangamo Biosciences

• Self-Contained Cartridge Integrating Nucleic Acid Extraction, Specific Target

Amplification, and "Dip Stick" Immediate

Detection—Immunological Associates of Denver

Focused Program in Catalysis and

Biocatalysis

Contact: Linda Beth Schilling (301) 975-2887

email: linda.schilling@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

• A Process for Biocatalytic Desulfurization

of Crude Oil—Energy BioSystems Corp.

• Biosynthesis of Monomers—General

Electric Co.

• Continuous Biocatalytic Systems for the Production of Chemicals from Renewable

Resources—Argonne National Lab.; East- man Chemical Co.; Electrosynthesis Co.,

Inc.; Genencor International, Inc.*; and

MicroGenomics, Inc.

• Development of Improved Catalysts Using Nanometer-Scale Technology—Catalytica,

Inc.*; and Microfluidics International Corp.

• Three-Phase Circulatory Flow Reactor Technology for Vapor-Phase Organic Oxidations—Praxair, Inc.

• Thin-Film Solid Acid Catalyst for Refinery

Alkylation—ABB Lummus Global

• Breakthrough Process for Direct Oxidation of Propylene to Propylene Oxide

Dow Chemical Co.

• Breakthrough Technology for Oxidation

of Alkanes—Rohm and Haas Co., and Sun Co.*

• Elastomeric Polypropylene and Elastic Non-Wovens Venture—Amoco Corp.*; and

Fiberweb North America, Inc.

• Polar-Tolerant Organometallic Catalytic

Technology for Functionalized Linear Polyolefins—W.R. Grace & Co.

• Tailored Optical Polymers Through

a Novel Catalyst System (TOPCAT)—

3M Co.; and BF Goodrich Co.*

• Computational Methods for Catalyst Design—Phillips Petroleum Co.

General Competition Chemical and

Biomedical Technology Projects

Separations Technology

• Facilitated Transport Process for Low-Cost

Olefin-Parafin Separations—Amoco Corp.

• Novel Anion-Selective Separations Using

Molecular Recognition Technology

IBC Advanced Technologies, Inc.

• Dual Purpose Ceramic Membranes

BP Chemicals*; Praxair, Inc.; and Seattle

Speciality Ceramics, Inc.

• Advanced Sorbents for Reducing the Cost

of Oxygen—Praxair, Inc.

• Non-Chromatographic Enantiomer Separation and Purification with High Separation Factors—IBC Advanced Technologies,

Inc.

•Joint venture lead partner
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

• Development of New Technologies

for Treating and Reading Wastewater from Aquaculture Facilities—Aquatic

Systems/Kent SeaFarms Corp.

• Energy-Efficient Oxygen Production Using Novel Ion Transport Membranes

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

• Development of a High-Pressure Oxygen

Generator Using a Solid Electrolyte Oxygen

Separation (SEOS) Technology

Ceramatec. Inc.

Tissue Engineering

• Fabrication of Clinical Prosthesis from

Biomaterials—Tissue Engineering. Inc.

• Structurally New Biopolymers Derived from Alpha-L-Amino Acids—Integra

LifeSciences Corp.

• Application of Gene Therapy to Treatment

of Cardiovascular Diseases—Progenitor, Inc.

• Disease Treatment Using Living Implantable Microreactors—BioHybrid Technologies. Inc.*; and Synergy Research Corp.

• Treatment of Diabetes by Proliferated Human Islets in Photocrosslinkable Alginate

Capsules—VivoRx, Inc.

• Universal Donor Organs for Transplantation—Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

• Computer-Integrated Revision Total Hip

Replacement Surgery—Integrated Surgical

Systems, Inc.

Drug Design and Chemical Modeling

• Development and Applications of Density Functional Software for Chemical and Bio- molecular Modelings—Biosym Technologies, Inc.

• Molecular Recognition Technology for

Precise Design of Protein-Specific Drugs

American Home Products; and CuraGen

Corp.*

• Molecular Recognition Polymers as AntiInfectives—GelTex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

• Enhanced Molecular Dynamics Simulation Technology for Biotechnology Applications—Moldyn, Inc.

• Crystallization and Structural Determination of G-Coupled Protein Receptors

3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

• RNA Binding Protein Technology for

Identification of Novel Therapeutics

Symphony Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

• Marine Microorganisms and Saline Fer- mentation: A New Industrial Resource

Aphios Corp.

Other Chemistry, Biotechnology, Agricultural, andMedical Projects

• Standardization of 2-D Protein Analysis

Using Manufacturable Gel Media—Large

Scale Biology Corp.

• Development of Multi-Photon Detection Technique and Its Application to Environ- mental and Biomedical Diagnostics

BioTraces, Inc.

• Oleaginous Yeast Fermentation as a Pro- duction Method for Squalene and Other Iso- prenoids—Mycogen Corp.

• Transgenic Cotton Fiber with Polyester

Qualities via Biopolymer Genes—Agracetus,

Inc.

• U.S. Self- Sufficiency in High Quality Pyrethrin Production—Agridyne Technologies,

Inc.

• Low-Temperature Viral Inactivation

Aphios Corp.

• Human Stem Cell and Hematopoietic Ex- pansion Systems—Aastrom Biosciences, Inc.

• Plasma and Phosphor Technology7 for Mercury-Free Fluorescent Applications

General Electric Corporate R&D

Materials and Manufacturing

Office

Contact: John Gudas

(301) 975-3214

email: john.gudas@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

Focused Program in Manufacturing

Composite Structures

Contact:

Carol Schutte

(301) 975-6846

email: carol.schutte@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

Technologies for Vehicles

• Automotive Composite Structures: Devel- opment of High-Volume Manufacturing

Technology—Chrysler Corp., Organic Materials Engineering; Ford Motor Co., Scientific Research Labs; General Motors (Automotive

Composites Consortium)*; and General Motors Corp., Polymers Department

• Cyclic Thermoplastic Liquid Composite

Molding for Automotive Structures—Ford Motor Co., Scientific Research Labs*; and

General Electric Corporate R&D

• Development of Manufacturing Methodologies for Vehicle Composite Frames

Budd Co., Design Center

• Engineering Design with Injection- Molded Thermoplastics—General Electric Corporate R&D; and General Motors Corp., Research and Environmental Staff

• Integrated Agile Manufacturing for Advanced Composite Electric Vehicles

Bonded Technology, Inc.; Boston Edison

Co.; Composite Engineering; Massachusetts

Division of Energy Resources; Northeast

Alternative Vehicle Consortium*; Solectria

Corp.; TASC, Inc.; Textron-Defense Systems;

Tillotson Pearson, Inc.; and Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

'Joint venture lead partner
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

• Low-Cost Advanced Composite Process

for Light Transit Vehicle Manufacturing

Advance USA

• Low-Cost Automotive Manufacturing

With Injection Molding PET Composites

AlliedSignal, Inc.

• Low-Cost Elastomeric Composites with Application to Vehicle Tires—AlliedSignal, Inc.

• Manufacturing Methodologies for Auto- mated Thermoset Transfer/Injection Molding (TIM) —Budd Co., Design Center

• Vapor-Grown Carbon-Fiber Composites

for Automotive Applications—Applied Sci- ences, Inc.*; General Motors Corp., North American Operations R&D Center, Environmental; General Motors Delphi Chassis Sys- tems, Advanced Composite Engineering; and

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Goodyear Technical Center

Technologies for Off-shore Oil Production

• Composite Drill Pipes—Amoco Production Corp., Tulsa Technology Center; Cullen Engineering Research Foundation*; Phillips Petroleum Co., Engineering Materials and

Service; SpyroTech Corp.; and University of Houston—CEAC

• Composite Production Risers—Amoco

Corp., Worldwide Engineering (Composite

Production Risers JV); Amoco Performance

Products, Inc.; Brown & Root USA, Inc.; Conoco, Inc., Technology Infrastructure; Cullen Engineering Research Foundation

(Composite Production Risers JV)*; Exploration and Production Technology Co., a Divi- sion of Shell Co.; Hercules, Inc.; Hydril Co.; Lincoln Composites; Stress Engineering Services, Inc.; and University of Houston—CEAC

• Innovative Joining/Fitting Technology for Advanced Composite Piping Systems

Specialty Plastics, Inc.

• Light-Weight/High-Strength Composite

Intelligent Flexible Pipe Development

Wellstream Corp.

• Manufacturing Composite Structures for the Offshore Oil Industry—ABB Vetco Gray,

Inc.; Hercules, Inc.; Northrup Grumman

Corp./Westinghouse Electric Corp.*; Reading & Bates Development Co.; Texaco,

Inc./Deep Star Project; and Texas Engineering Experiment Station, Offshore Tech. Res.

Ctr. (UT and TX A&M)

• Spoolable Composite Tubing—Amoco

Corp., Resource Center; Cullen Engineering

Research Foundation (Spoolable Composite

Tubing JV)*; Elf Atochem North America,

Inc.; Exploration and Production Technology Co., a Division of Shell Co.; Hydril Co.;

Phillips Petroleum Co.; and University of Houston—CEAC

Technologiesfor Bridges and Other Large

Structures

• High-Performance Composites for Large

Commercial Structures—Brunswick Technologies, Inc.; Dow Chemical Co.; DuPont/Hardcore Composites, Inc., Advanced Materials Systems*; and Johns

Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering

• Innovative Manufacturing Techniques

to Produce Large Phenolic Composite

Shapes—Morrison Molded Fiberglass Co.

• Low Cost Manufacturing and Design/ Sensor Technologies for Seismic Upgrade of Bridge Columns—Composite Retrofit

Corp.*; Hercules, Inc.; and Trans-Science

Corp.

• Polymer Matrix Composite Power Trans- mission Devices—Hercules Aerospace Co.; New Venture Gear, Inc.*; Quantum Composites of Midland; and Quantum Consultants,

Inc.

• Polymer Matrix Composites for Surface Transportation Applications—Hexcel Corp.

• Structural Composites Manufacturing

Process—GenCorp, Inc., Corporate Technol- ogy Center

• Synchronous In-line CNC Machining of Pultruded Lineals—Ebert Composites Corp.

• Thermoplastic Composites for Structural Applications—Cambridge Industries, Inc.; and DuPont Fibers, Engineering Polymers*

Focused Program in Materials Processing for Heavy Manufacturing

Contact:

Clare Allocca

(301) 975-4359

email: clare.allocca@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

• Aqueous Injection Molding for Low-Cost

Fabrication of Silicon Nitride Components

AlliedSignal, Inc., Ceramic Components

• Ceramic Coating Technology for the Inter- nal Surfaces of Tubular/Cylindrical Components—Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc.

• Cost-Effective Blade Manufacturing for Combustion Turbine Applications—PCC

Airfoils, Inc., Manufacturing Technology

Center; and Westinghouse Electric Corp., Power Generation Business Unit*

• Cost-Effective, Near-Net-Shape, Superalloy Forgings for Power Generation Gas

Turbines—Wyman-Gordon Co.

• Development of Casting Technology to Produce Large Superalloy Castings for Industrial Applications—Precision Castparts Corp.

• Engineered Surfaces for Rolling and Slid- ing Contacts—Caterpillar, Inc., Advanced

Materials Technology*; General Motors

Corp., Gear Center; and Timken Co.

• Fabrication of Advanced Structures Using

Intelligent and Synergistic Materials Process- ing—A.O. Smith Corp.; Caterpillar, Inc., Fabricated Structures R&D*; Lincoln Electric Co.; and U.S. Steel

• Functionally Gradient Materials: Synthesis, Process and Performance—Caterpillar,

Inc.

• Intelligent Processing of Materials for Thermal Barrier Coatings—General Electric Corporate R&D, Power Generation

* Joint venture lead partner
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

• Low-Cost, Near Net-Shape Aluminium

Casting Processes for Automotive and Truck Components—AlliedSignal, Inc.*; Stahl

Specialty Co.; and Top Die Casting Co., Inc.

• Rapid Solidification Powder Metallurgy

for High-Nitrogen Stainless Steels

Crucible, Compaction Metals Division

Focused Program in Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Technology

Contact: Jack Boudreaux

(301) 975-3560

email: jack.boudreaux@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

• Advanced Welding Technology for Structural Automotive Products—Dana Corp., Parish Light Vehicle Structures Division

• Agile Precision Line Boring—Lamb

Technicon

• Agile Precision Sheet-Metal Stamping

A.J. Rose Manufacturing Co.; Allen Bradley

Co., Inc.; American Iron and Steel Institute;

Atlas Technologies; Autodesk, Inc.; Autodie

International, Inc.; Chrysler Corp.; Classic Design, Inc.; Data Instruments, Inc.; Deneb

Robotics, Inc.; Ford Motor Co.; General

Motors Corp., Flint Metal Fabricating Plant; HMS Products Co.; Helm Instrument; Lamb

Technicon; Lobdell-Emery Manufacturing

Co.; Near Zero Stamping, Inc. (c/o Auto

Body Consortium)*; Ohio State University; Perceptron, Inc.; Sekely Industries; Signature Technology; Tecnomatix Technologies,

Inc.; Tower Automotive; and Verson

• Flexible Low-Cost Laser Machining for Motor Vehicle Manufacturing—SDL

(Spectra Diode Laboratories, Inc.)*; Teledyne Brown Engineering; and Utilase Systems, Inc.

• Cubic Boron Nitride (cBN) Coatings for Cutting and Specialty Tools—Extrude Hone

Corp.; and Kennametal, Inc., Corporate

Technology Center*

• Development of Advanced Technologies

and Systems for Controlling Dimensional

Variation in Automobile Body Manufacturing—2mm-Auto Body Consortium*; CDI- Modern Engineering; Chrysler Corp.; Classic Design, Inc.; Detroit Center Tool, Inc.; General Motors Corp., Technical Center; ISI Robotics; Perceptron, Inc.; Pioneer Engineering & Manufacturing; Progressive Tool &

Industries, Inc.; University of Michigan, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics; and Weber Technologies, LLC

• Die Casting Technician's Digital Assis- tant—AI Ware; Doehler-Jarvis; and Edison

Industrial Systems Center*

• Flow-Control Machining—Extrude Hone

Corp.*; Ford Motor Co., Scientific Research

Labs; and General Motors Corp., Powertrain

Division

• Intelligent Resistance Welding—Alcan

Rolled Products Co.; Allen Bradley Co., Inc.; American Iron and Steel Institute; Ansys,

Inc.; Battelle Memorial Institute; Chrysler

Corp.; DuPont Central Research; Ford Motor

Co., Manufacturing Development Center; General Motors Corp., NAO, Mid-Lux; Helm

Instrument; InTech R&D U.S.A.; Intelligent Resistance Welding Consortium (c/o Auto Body Consortium)*; Johnson Controls, Inc., Automotive Systems Group; Lamb Technicon; Lobdell-Emery Manufacturing Co.; Medar, Inc.; Progressive (PICO); Robotron;

Sensotech; and Tower Automotive

• Machine Tool Process Monitoring Diagnostic System—Montronix, Inc.

• Manufacturing Composite Flywheel Structures—Dow-United Technologies Composite

Products, Inc.

• Non-Circular Turning Process for Camshaft Machining—Saginaw Machine Systems, Inc.

• Plasma-Based Processing of Lightweight

Materials for Motor-Vehicle Components

and Manufacturing Applications—A.O. Smith Corp.; ABB High Power Semiconductors; Diversified Technologies, Inc.; Empire Hard Chrome, Inc.; Environmental Research

Institute of Michigan*; General Motors

Corp., Electrical and Electronics Depart- ment; Harley-Davidson, Inc.; IONEX;

Kwikset Corp.; Litton Electron Devices; NANO Instruments Inc.; PVI; and University

of Wisconsin at Madison, Engineering

Research

• Rapid Fabrication of Superabrasive Grinding Tools—Abrasive Technology Aerospace,

Inc.

• Springback Predictability in Automotive Manufacturing—Alcoa Technical Center; Budd Co., Technical Center; Chrysler Corp.; Environmental Research Institute of Michigan*; Ford Motor Co., Scientific Research Labs; General Motors Corp., North American Operations Research Analytics; and U.S. Steel

• The Next-Generation Industrial Production Process for High-Density Powder Metal Products—General Motors Corp., Powertrain Division; IAP Research, Inc.*; and

Zenith Sintered Products, Inc.

• Wet Paint Thickness Measurement

System—Autospect, Inc.

• Fast, Volumetric X-Ray Scanner for Three- Dimensional Characterization of Critical Objects—EG&G Reticon; General Electric

Aircraft Engines; General Electric Corporate R&D; General Motors Corp., Technical Center; and Scientific Measurement Systems,

Inc.*

•Joint venture lead partner
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Focused Program in Vapor Compression

Refrigeration Technology

Contact: John Gudas

(301) 975-3214

email: john.gudas@nist.gov A625 Administration Building

• Ejector-Expansion Refrigeration Cycle

(EERC) —Calmac Manufacturing

• Advanced Screw-Compressor-Based Air- Cooled Chiller Technology Development

Trane Corp.

• Compact Heat-Pump-Based MicroChannel and Tangential Fan Technologies

Emerson Electric; Heatcraft, Inc.; and Lennox Industries, Inc.*

• Development of Closed Cycle Air Refrig- eration Technology for Refrigeration Markets—Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.*; and Toromont Process Systems, Inc.

• High- and Variable-Speed Co-Rotating

Scroll—Copeland Corp.

• Innovative, Small, High-Speed, Centrifugal Compressor and Integrated Heat- Exchanger/Fan Technologies

AlliedSignal, Inc.; Carrier Corp.; DuPont

Fluoroproducts; General Electric Corporate R&D; Martin Marietta Corp., Control Sys- tems; SatCon Technology Corp.; and United Technologies Corp., Research Center*

• Novel Leak Detection Technology Develop- ment—Adaptive Optics Associates, Inc.; DeMaria Electroptics Systems, Inc.; and

United Technologies Corp., Hamilton Standard Division, Research Division*

• Photocatalytic Indoor Air Purification for

Air Conditioning Systems—E. Heller & Co.

• York Coil Technology Project—York

International Corp.

General Competition Projects Related to Materials and Manufacturing

Ceramics

• Ceramic Technology for Broad Based Manufacturing—AlliedSignal, Inc.

• Novel Cost-Effective Process to Fabri- cate Surface Feature Micro-Optics in Pure

Silica—Geltech, Inc.

• Novel Near-Net-Shape Processing of Engi- neered Ceramics—Garrett Ceramic Components (Division of AlliedSignal Aerospace)

• Synthesis and Processing of Nanocrystalline Ceramics on a Commercial Scale-

Nanophase Technologies Corp.

Coatings, Diamond Deposition, and Multi- layer Materials

• Accelerated Commercialization of Diamond-Coated Round Tools and Wear

Parts—Kennametal, Inc., Corporate Tech- nology Center; and Norton Diamond Film*

• Film Technologies to Replace Paint on

Aircraft—3M Co.*; and Lockheed Martin

Corp.

• CVD Diamond-Coated Rotating Tools for Machining Advanced Composite Materials

Boeing Commercial Airplane Group; Electronic Designs, Inc.*; Ford Motor Co., Research Laboratory; General Motors Corp., Technical Center; Hughes Aircraft Co.; and

Rogers Tool Works, Inc.

• Plasma Technology for Low-Cost Dia- mond Production—SGS Tool Co.; and

Westinghouse Electric Co.*

Machine Tools

• Advanced Compensation Techniques for Enhancing Machine-Tool Accuracy

Saginaw Machine Systems, Inc.

• Development of an Adaptive Compensation Technique for Enhancing CMM Accuracy—Giddings & Lewis, Inc., Sheffield Measurement Division

• Octahedral Hexapod Machine Develop- ment Program—Ingersoll Milling

Machine Co.

• Strategic Machine Tool Technologies:

Spindles—Aesop; Ford Motor Co., Alpha De- velopment Center; General Motors Corp., NAO Technical Center; Giddings & Lewis,

Inc., Automation Technology; Manufacturing Laboratories, Inc.; National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, Inc.*; ORSCO,

Inc.; Olofsson Machine Tools, Inc.; Setco

Sales Co.; and Torrington Co.

Other Manufacturing and Materials

Projects

• Development of Improved Functional

Properties in Renewable-Resources-Based

Biodegradable Plastics—Cargill, Inc.

• A Software Technology for Optimizing

On-time Performance in the Transportation

Industry—Union Switch & Signal, Inc.

• Autonomous Navigation in QuasiStructured Environments—Transitions Research Corp.

• Collaborative Decision Support for Industrial Process Control—Amoco Corp., World- wide Engineerings Construction; Applied

Training Resources; BP Oil; Chevron; Exxon; Gensym Corp.; Honeywell, Inc., Technology Center*; Mobil; Shell Chemical Co.; and Texaco, Inc.

• Conducting Polymers: Three Dimensional

Engineering for Advanced Applications

IBM Corp., T.J. Watson Research Center

• Development of Cost-Effective Routes to Compatibilize Polymers in a Commingled

Waste Stream—Michigan Molecular

Institute

• Electrochromic Materials—3M Co.,

Industrial and Consumer Sector Research

Laboratory*; and SAGE Electrochromics

* Joint venture lead partner
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

• NCMS Rapid Response Manufacturing

Cimplex Corp.; Ford Motor Co., Manufacturing Development Center; General Motors

Corp., Technical Center; ICAD, Inc.; MacNeal Schwendler Corp.; National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, Inc.*; Spatial Technology Inc.; Teknowledge Corp.; Texas In- struments, Inc.; and United Technologies

Corp., Hamilton Standard Division, Research Division

• Neural Network Control and Sensors for Complex Materials—3M Co., Engineering

Systems & Technology; Alliant Techsystems;

Honeywell, Inc., Technology Center*; and

Sheldahl

• Novel X-ray Source for CT Scanners

Teledyne Electronic Technologies, Vacuum

Technology Business Unit

• PREAMP: Pre-Competitive Advanced

Manufacturing of Electrical Products

Boeing Co., Defense & Space Group; Hughes

Aircraft Co.; Martin Marietta Corp., Electronics Information & Missiles Group; Mentor

Graphics Corp.; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Rockwell International Corp., Collins Avionics & Communication Division; and

South Carolina Research Authority*

• Robust, Fast 3-D Image Processing and

Feature Extraction Tools for Industrial Auto- mation Applications—Perceptron, Inc.

• Solder Jet Technology Development

Microfab Technology, Inc.

• Thermal Insulation Materials: Morphology Control and Processes for the Next Generation of Performance—Armstrong World

Industries, Inc., Innovation Center

• Thick Ductile Metallic Glass for Electric Power Applications—AlliedSignal, Inc.

• Advanced Gear Measurement Technologies to Achieve Submicron-Level Accuracies—M&M Precision Systems Corp.

• Non-Contact Optical Metrology of Complex Surface Forms for Precision Industrial Manufacturing—Tropel Corp.

• Rapid Agile Metrology for Manufacturing—Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Co.;

Caterpillar, Inc., Technical Services Division; Central State University; Cleveland Advanced Manufacturing Program;

CyberOptics Corp.; Eaton Corp., Manufacturing Technical Center; General Electric Aircraft Engines; General Electric Corporate R&D; Industrial Technical Institute; Intelli- gent Automation Systems; NASA Lewis Research Center; Ohio Aerospace Institute (Consortium for Non-Contact Gauging)*;

and University of Cincinnati, Department of

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Applications

The ATP accepts project proposals only in re- sponse to specific, published solicitations. Notices of ATP competitions are published

in Commerce Business Daily. You also may request to be placed on a mailing list

(or emailing list) to receive notification of ATP competitions and other events by call- ing the ATP automated hotline (1-800-ATPFUND) or by sending email to atp@nist.gov.

The ATP Proposal Preparation Kit may be

requested at any time. In addition to the necessary application forms, the kit includes a thorough discussion of ATP goals and pro- cedures as well as useful guidance in the preparation of a proposal.

Contact: Advanced Technology Program

A430 Administration Building

1-800-ATP-FUND (1-800-287-3863)

email: atp@nist.gov

fax: (301) 926-9524 or (301) 869-1150

http://www.atp.nist.gov
MANUFACTURING

EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

Overview

The NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership is a nationwide network of locally managed centers offering technical assistance and the newest business practices to help the nation's 381,000 small and medium-sized

manufacturers improve their competitiveness. All centers rely on experienced field agents who work directly with smaller manufacturers to address their most critical needs. Typical MEP services include helping small manufacturers access information on new

equipment such as automation systems, find high-quality consultant advice for optimizing manufacturing systems, reduce costs by

lowering waste, improve quality, expand

markets for products, and find financing for modernization efforts. Today, all states and

Puerto Rico have centers affiliated with MEP.

To ensure that federal participation and in- vestment in manufacturing extension efforts add value and contribute new capabilities to the mix of services available to manufacturers, MEP:

• is industry driven and market defined;

• builds on the foundation of existing state and local industrial extension resources;

• focuses on needed services that the pri- vate sector cannot deliver economically to smaller manufacturers;

• focuses services on those companies that demonstrate a commitment to investing in

their own growth and development;

• develops common tools, resources, and

systems needed by each of the individual

centers—enhancing centers' local efforts while achieving economies of scale;

• supports shared learning between and in- tegration among individual manufacturing

extension centers;

• promotes continuous improvement of

services through common evaluation methodologies and a focus on bottom-line results;

• forges constructive working relationships with consultants to make private-sector

expertise more accessible to smaller manufacturers; and

• brings national technology and information resources—from federal laboratory

technology to national information data- bases—to support and enhance state and

local efforts.

MEP Extension Services

MEP extension centers are designed to help

link sources of improved manufacturing

technology and the small and mid-sized companies that need it. Center staff work

with individual companies or with groups of companies organized around common

needs, industries, or technologies.

While each center tailors its services to meet

the needs dictated by its location and manufacturing client base, some common services are offered by most extension centers. Broadly, these include helping manufacturers assess their current technology and business needs, define avenues for change, and implement improvements. Many centers

also assist companies with quality management, workforce training, workplace organization, business systems, marketing, or

financial issues.

With the goal of improving access for smaller manufacturers to public and privatesector resources, MEP and the individual

centers have developed relationships with hundreds of organizations. Among these partners are non-profit technology or busi- ness assistance centers, non-profit

economic development organizations, community colleges and technical schools, pri- vate consultants, universities and four-year

colleges, and federal agencies.

Centers encourage client companies to establish programs for continuous improvement

and to focus on long-term "bottom-line"

impacts, rather than working just to solve an immediate problem. Centers rely on experienced field agents and private consultants who provide the companies with on-site advice and practical assistance. Since 1989, MEP centers have provided services to more

than 44,000 companies.

NIST's Role

In 1988, Congress directed NIST to begin

helping the nation's smaller manufacturers

adopt and apply performance-improving

technologies as needed to meet intensifying domestic and global competition in manufacturing. NIST was selected for this role because of its expertise in manufacturing

engineering and its long-standing tradition

of productive partnerships forged with public and private organizations at the national, state, and local levels.

To carry out this role, NIST/MEP conducts a

variety of regional, national, and program

development activities. Regionally, MEP

works with the states or local organizations

to establish manufacturing extension centers or expand existing services that assist smaller manufacturers. Future centers are

cultivated through MEP's State Technology

Extension Program (STEP). STEP helps

states better understand the needs of their smaller manufacturing companies and offer

services these companies need to modernize

and to become more competitive. STEPfunded projects enable states to build their own infrastructure for business and technol- ogy outreach services by planning extension systems or technical and business assistance
MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

MEP Success Stories

MEP's locally managed centers have worked with thousands of smaller manufacturers, providing the technical and

business assistance the companies needed

to turn their businesses around. The fol- lowing examples show how companies

have benefited by working with an MEP

center.

• A producer of space solar arrays and

power subassemblies used in satellites, TECSTAR INC., City of Industry, Calif., wanted to cut down on solar cell breakage

and to reduce costs while increasing pro- duction throughput and yields to keep up

with increased sales. TECSTAR requested

the assistance of the California Manufacturing Technology Center (CMTC) to improve its process. With CMTC's help, TECSTAR was able to save $3 million annually, increase staffing by 56 employees,

reduce reactor downtime by 15 percent, and improve cycle time by 10 percent. "CMTC's recommendations to reduce

solar cell mechanical breakage and cycle time made us realize where the major dollar losses were occurring within our pro- duction processes," says Mark Shumaker,

director of quality and production support. The $3 million savings equals the amount the CMTC received in FY 1995 from NIST.

• Chicago Metal Rolled Products (CMRP), Chicago, 111., bends, rolls, and

coils metal, producing structural elements

for such major projects as the International Terminal at O'Hare Airport, the McCormick Place expansion, and the

Navy Pier renovation. The Chicago Manufacturing Center helped Chicago Metal

President George Wendt institute a company-wide learning program involv- ing basic reading, language and math

skills, and job training. Wendt believes his investment in workforce development is key to the company's growth. Over the

past 2 years, CMRP has seen a 30 percent

increase in sales and a 20 percent growth

in employment.

• Midland Lithographing Co., a North Kansas City, Mo., printer of greeting cards,

sports trading cards, and pre-printed litho

labels, decided it needed more efficient and effective ways of operating as well as a new marketing plan to attract new business. That's when Midland went to the Mid-America Manufacturing Technology

Center (MAMTC) for help. MAMTC's as- sessment of the company and subsequent

actions by Midland led to sales increases and cost decreases totaling $1 million in

the following year and a 30 percent reduction in press set-up time. "We're happy

with the progress we've made so far. We're working with MAMTC to apply this same

methodology to other plant functions, such as our pre-press operation," notes Janice Keefer, plant manager.

• With locations in Latrobe and Glassport, Pa., Pakco Industrial Ceramics asked

the Southwestern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (SPIRC) to help it de- velop an overall improvement program. A

SPIRC consulting team first started working with Pakco in June 1992 and has worked on a variety of Pakco projects over

the years. The partnership reduced set-up time by about 50 percent without major

capital expenditures and decreased throughput time from 10 to 12 weeks to

approximately 6 weeks in 1992-1993-

Sales rose more than 40 percent in 1994, and higher demand levels are now being

serviced with 10 percent less work-inprogress inventory than 2 years ago.

• Sherwood Plastics, Fostoria, Ohio, found its production area too small and

the layout too inefficient to meet in- creased market demands for its roto- molded plastic products. The Lake Erie Manufacturing Extension Partnership worked with Sherwood to create a larger, more efficient, and better organized plant. Their collaboration more than doubled

Sherwood's workforce and, with new

order-handling machinery, Sherwood

grew from a $3 million operation to a $6 million company in 2 years. "The Lake

Erie MEP helped us meet the demands of our growing markets. Now we have a much roomier, more efficient operation,"

notes President Mark Jones.

• After 3 years of declining profits, a feel- ing of slowly losing their competitive edge was prevalent among management at Tiffany Fine Woods, White Hall, Wis., so they contacted the Northwest Wisconsin Manufacturing Outreach Center (NWMOC) for assistance. Working with NWMOC, Tiffany had an initial cost savings of $250,000 and expects sales to grow

5 percent in 1995-1996 and 10 percent per year for the next 2 years. "Without this program we would have been forced to decrease our work force by 20 percent. As things now appear, we anticipate increas- ing our work force by 10 percent over the next 3 years," adds Vice President Robert

Ofsdahl.
MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

programs, supporting the initial implementation of such programs, or developing links between existing programs and those in other regions.

STEP grants provide matching funds (the grantee provides at least 50 percent of the

cost of the proposed project) to qualified

proposals from state governments and

public/private, non-profit organizations act- ing with the approval of state governments.

Since 1990, STEP has supported 32 states in building and improving manufacturing

extension programs. MEP also helps foster a more unified net- work by working with centers to identify and

coordinate the services, technology, and in- formation needed at a national scale. MEP

is developing a uniform system to help centers evaluate and continuously improve the success of services they deliver.

To increase the breadth and depth of capabilities at each center and of the entire net- work, MEP makes a variety of services available to the centers. For example, MEP

is funding projects that will develop training

and tools to help MEP center field engineers

provide improved services to smaller manufacturers. Easy-to-use, readily available courses are being designed in sales skills, assessment skills, and solving business problems. These courses will help field agents diagnose a smaller manufacturer's prob- lems and then work with the company to

find the right solutions that fit its financial

resources. Special tools will better prepare

agents to help smaller firms in areas such as environmental assessment, benchmarking,

and marketing.

Access to credit and financing is vital for small manufacturing firms to survive and

prosper. A study by the National Research

Council found that a scarcity of capital and

difficulty acquiring sufficient investment funds are barriers to increased manufacturing competitiveness for America's smaller manufacturers. MEP is funding four pilot

projects to help smaller manufacturers better understand, identify, and access sources

of financing and credit options that will en- hance their ability to compete. The pilots are being conducted at four MEP affiliates: the Chicago Manufacturing Center, the Michigan Manufacturing Technology

Center/Industrial Technology Institute, the Mid-America Manufacturing Technology

Center, and the New York City Industrial Technology Assistance Corp.

The purpose of these pilot projects is to de- velop a method by which service providers at the MEP centers can forge strong relation- ships with financial intermediaries and institutions such as investment banking firms, merchant bank operations, leasing firms, venture capital firms, and private investors

that are looking for qualified firms with which they can do business. Ultimately, the goal is to satisfy the financing demands of extension center clientele by developing in- novative services that expand their range of financing alternatives, including private

placements of debt and equity, industrial revenue and bonds, employee stock ownership plans, mergers and acquisitions, and

equipment leasing.

Developing working linkages with other organizations in support of the entire extension network also is a high MEP priority. Among MEP's strategic partners are the National Governors Association, the National

Alliance for Business, the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency (EPA), and the

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). With the EPA, for example, MEP has launched several programs aimed at helping smaller manufacturers solve environmental concerns in the most cost-effective manner before they

become problems requiring regulatory or compliance action.

MEP currently is providing cost-shared funding for 17 projects to help smaller manufacturers reduce or eliminate pollution sources

in their operations. The projects are in the following three areas:

• Integration of environmental services

into Manufacturing Extension Centers. Eleven projects, for which an MEP center is the lead partner, support the integration of environmentally focused technical assis- tance, especially pollution-prevention assistance, into the broader services provided by

MEP centers.

• Development of environmentally related technical assistance tools and techniques.

Five projects encourage the development and implementation of tools or techniques

that will aid manufacturing extension centers in providing environmentally related

services to smaller manufacturers.

• Pilot for a national industry-specific pollution prevention and environmental compliance information center. This project enables pilot implementation of a national

center to provide specific industries with

easy access to current, reliable, and comprehensive information on innovative technologies, pollution prevention opportunities, and

regulatory compliance.

Other activities provide information, best

practices, and professional development to help centers address the workforce develop- ment needs of smaller manufacturers. Some

examples of current projects are:

• Labor Participation in Modernization

Project—works to involve organized labor more effectively in the process of planning and implementing modernization efforts in unionized manufacturing plants. The project funds labor specialists and educational and modernization projects in four manufacturing extension centers and is conducted

in conjunction with the Work and Technol- ogy Institute and Eastern Michigan

University.
MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

• Skills for Industrial Modernization

develops regional skills coalitions in Cleveland. The project's goal is to model the

effectiveness of networks of small manufacturers in jointly addressing training and de- velopment needs.

• Competitive Firms, Skilled Workers

promotes the integration of workforce,

technology, and economic development

activities at the state level through working

conferences and research. The work is conducted in cooperation with the National

Governors' Association.

• Implementing High-Performance Work

Organizations—supports two consortia of supplier firms in the implementation of training necessary for the adoption of high-performance work practices. Conducted by the Council of Adult and Experiential Learning, the National Association of ManufacturersAlanufacturing Institute, and

the Massachusetts Industrial Service Pro- gram, the project's funding partners include

the PEW Charitable Trusts and DOL.

Looking toward the future, MEP conducts

research to better understand the barriers small firms face in modernizing and is find- ing new services, products, and delivery sys- tems to help them overcome these hurdles.

In addition, MEP is exploring new partnerships with organizations that have a stake in manufacturing modernization and new tech- nology to help smaller manufacturers take advantage of electronic information and

communications.

For example, MEP is funding a project to provide MEP centers with tools and tech- niques that will make it easier to find, synthesize, and present electronic information needed by center staff. In particular, centers

will be able to access a variety of on-line and internal information sources using a

single information interface.

How Are Centers Funded?

Funding to support this network of nonprofit manufacturing extension centers

initially is shared by the federal, state, and

local partners. Federal funding is provided

either directly by NIST or through the Technology Reinvestment Project, led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

In all cases, federal support is matched by

state or local funding, fees for services, and

industry contributions. The regional sponsor must contribute 50 percent or more of the

center's capital and annual operating and

maintenance costs. At least 50 percent of the sponsor's initial contribution must be in cash. As the center's program becomes more

established, federal funding decreases.

How Are Centers Created?

NIST selects which programs to fund

through a rigorous, merit-based competition

that begins with a request for proposals

posted in the Federal Register. NIST cannot

accept proposals unless they are in response

to a specific solicitation. In general, proposals are evaluated and selected based on

knowledge of the numbers, types, and needs

of target firms in the proposed region; tech- nology and business resources; technology

delivery mechanisms; and an effective management and financial plan.

Where Are MEP Centers

Located?

ALABAMA

Alabama Technology Network

1500 Resource Dr. Birmingham, Ala. 35242

(205) 250-4727

Serving firms throughout Alabama via 10

regional centers. In development.

ALASKA

Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership

c/o Industry Network Corp. 1155 University Blvd. S.E. Albuquerque, N.M. 87106

(505) 843-4250

Serving firms throughout Alaska. Affiliated with the Alaska Science and Technology

Foundation, the Alaska Human Resource

Investment Council, and the University

of Alaska Small Business Center. In development.

ARIZONA

Industry Network Corp. 1155 University Blvd. S.E. Albuquerque, N.M. 87106

(505) 843- 4250

Serving firms throughout Arizona through

service centers in Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma,

Kingman, and Prescott.

ARKANSAS

Arkansas Technology Exchange Centers 100 Main St., Suite 450

Little Rock, Ark. 72201

(501) 324-9006

Serving firms throughout Arkansas through

seven field offices. Affiliated with the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority.

In development.
MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

CALIFORNIA

California Manufacturing

Technology Center 13430 Hawthorne Blvd. Hawthorne, Calif. 90250

(310) 355-3060

Serving the five-county Los Angeles basin through two regional offices and three manufacturing outreach centers. Established in 1992 and affiliated with the El Camino Community College District, the California Trade and Commerce Agency, the California Community Colleges, and the California Employment Training Panel.

Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence 46750 Fremont Blvd., Suite 200

Fremont, Calif. 94537

(510) 249-1480

Serving firms initially in the nine-county San Francisco Bay region. Established in

1995.

San Diego Manufacturing Extension Center World Trade Center 1250 Sixth Ave., 5th Floor San Diego, Calif. 92101-4301

(619) 685-1425

Serving firms in San Diego county. Affiliated with the Center for Applied Competitive

Technologies-San Diego and UCSD

CONNECT. In development.

COLORADO

Mid-America Manufacturing

Technology Center 10561 Barkley, Suite 602

Overland Park, Kan. 66212

(913) 649-4333 or (800) 653-4333

Serving firms throughout Colorado through

six offices. Affiliated with Colorado State

University.

CONNECTICUT

Connecticut State Technology

Extension Program

185 Main St., Suite 408 New Britain, Conn. 06051

(860) 832-4600

Serving firms throughout Connecticut through four offices. Established in 1994 and affiliated with the Connecticut Technol- ogy Associates, the Edison Welding Institute, and the Central Connecticut State University.

DELAWARE

Delaware Manufacturing Alliance Delaware Technology Park One Innovation Way, Suite 301 Newark, Del. 19711

(302) 452-2520

Serving firms throughout Delaware. Established in 1994 and affiliated with the Delaware Development Office.

FLORIDA

Florida Manufacturing Extension

Partnership Sun Trust Center 200 S. Orange Ave., Suite 1200

Orlando, Fla. 32801

(407) 425-5313

Serving firms throughout the state through

four regional centers. Established in 1995 and affiliated with Enterprise Florida Innovation Partnership, Inc.

GEORGIA

Georgia Manufacturing Extension Alliance Georgia Institute of Technology

223 O'Keefe Building

Atlanta, Ga. 30332-0640

(404) 894-8989

Headquartered in Atlanta, with 18 regional

offices serving firms throughout Georgia.

Established in 1994 and affiliated with Georgia Tech's Economic Development Institute, the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education, the University of Georgia Small Business Development Centers, and Georgia Power Co.

HAWAII

Hawaii Manufacturing Extension

Partnership

c/o Industry Network Corp. 1155 University Blvd. S.E. Albuquerque, N.M. 87106

(505) 843-4250

Serving firms throughout Hawaii. Affiliated with the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, the Hawaii Board of Agriculture, the Hawaii De- partment of Labor and Industrial Relations, and the Hawaii Small Business Development

Center. In development.

IDAHO

Idaho Manufacturing Alliance 1021 Manitou Ave.

Boise, Idaho 83706

(208) 385-3767

Serving firms throughout Idaho through

three regional offices. In development.

ILLINOIS Chicago Manufacturing Center Homan Square 3333 West Arthington

Chicago, 111. 60624

(312) 265-2020

Serving metropolitan Chicago. Established

in 1994 and affiliated with the Economic

Development Commission of the City of Chicago.

Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center

1501 W. Bradley Ave.

Peoria, 111. 6l625

(309) 677-2264

Serving firms throughout Illinois outside

the Chicago metropolitan region. Affiliated with Bradley University. In development.
MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

INDIANA

Indiana Business Modernization and

Technology Corp. One North Capitol Ave., Suite 925

Indianapolis, Ind. 46204-2242

(317) 635-3058

Serving firms throughout Indiana through

13 regional offices.

IOWA

Iowa Manufacturing Technology Center Des Moines Area Community College

ATC Bldg. 3E

2006 South Ankeny Blvd. Ankeny, Iowa 50021

(515) 965-7040

Serving firms throughout Iowa via 24 field

agents. Established in 1994 and affiliated with Iowa State University and the Des Moines Area Community College.

KANSAS

Mid-America Manufacturing

Technology Center 10561 Barkley, Suite 602

Overland Park, Kan. 66212

J (913) 649-4333 or (800) 653-4333

Serving firms throughout Kansas through

eight offices. Established in 1991 and affiliated with the Kansas Technology Enterprise

Corp.

KENTUCKY

Kentucky Technology Service

1 P.O. Box 1125

1 Lexington, Ky. 40589

1 (606) 252-7801

Serving firms throughout Kentucky.

Established in 1994 and affiliated with the Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet.

LOUISIANA

Louisiana Manufacturers Technical

Extension Center

P.O. Box 44172

Lafayette, La. 70504-4172

(318) 482-6767

Serving firms throughout Louisiana.

Affiliated with the Louisiana Productivity Center at the University of Southwestern

Louisiana. In development.

MAINE

Maine Manufacturing Extension

Partnership 87 Winthrop St. Augusta, Maine 04330

(207) 621-6350

Serving firms throughout Maine through

three regional offices. Established in 1995 and affiliated with the Maine Science and

Technology Foundation.

MARYLAND

Maryland Manufacturing Modernization Network

University of Maryland Engineering

Research Center Potomac Building 092, Room 2104

College Park, Md. 20742-3415

(301) 405-3883

Serving firms throughout Maryland. Established in 1994 and affiliated with the

University of Maryland.

MASSACHUSETTS

Massachusetts Manufacturing Partnership

Bay State Skills Corp. 101 Summer St., 4th Floor Boston, Mass. 02110

(617) 292-5100, ext. 271

Serving firms throughout Massachusetts through five regional offices. Established in 1994 with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Affairs and the Bay State

Skills Corp.

MICHIGAN

Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center

P.O. Box 1485 2901 Hubbard Rd. Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106

(800) 292-4484

Serving firms throughout Michigan,

through seven regional offices. Established

in 1991 and operated by the Industrial Technology Institute.

MINNESOTA

Minnesota Manufacturing Technology

Center

111 Third Ave. South, Suite 400

Minneapolis, Minn. 55401

(612) 338-7722

Serving firms throughout Minnesota

through six regional offices. Established

in 1992 and operated by Minnesota

Technology, Inc.

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi Technology Extension

Partnership

Building 1103, Room 140

Stennis Space Center, Miss. 39529

(601) 688-3144

Serving firms throughout Mississippi.

Affiliated with the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology. In development.

Mississippi Polymer Institute and Pilot Manufacturing Extension Center

P.O. Box 10003

Hattiesburg, Miss. 39406-5157

(601) 266-4607

Serving polymer and polymer-related firms throughout Mississippi. Affiliated with the

University of Southern Mississippi. In development.

MISSOURI

Mid-America Manufacturing Technology

Center 10561 Barkley, Suite 602

Overland Park, Kan. 66212

(913) 649-4333 or (800) 653-4333 Through two offices, serving 21 counties in western Missouri as well as the seven-county

St. Louis metropolitan area. MAMTC Missouri Rolla Regional Office 800 W. 14th St., Suite 111

Rolla, Mo. 65401

(573) 364-8570

Serving rural Missouri through four re- gional offices. Affiliated with the Missouri

Enterprise Business Assistance Center.
MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

MONTANA

Montana Manufacturing Extension Center 315 Roberts Hall Montana State University

Bozeman, Mont. 59717

(406) 994-3812

Serving firms statewide. Established in 1995 and affiliated with Montana State University.

NEBRASKA

Nebraska Industrial Competitiveness Service 8800 0 St. Lincoln, Neb. 68520

(402) 437-2535

Serving firms statewide via 10 field agents. Established in 1994 and affiliated with

the Nebraska Department of Economic

Development.

NEVADA

Nevada Manufacturing Extension

Partnership

c/o Industry Network Corp. 1155 University Blvd. S.E. Albuquerque, N.M. 87106

(505) 843-4250

Serving firms throughout Nevada. Affiliated with the University and Community College

System of Nevada and the Nevada Manufacturers Association. In development.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire Regional Manufacturing

Technology Center 505 Amherst St. Nashua, N.H. 03061-2052

(603) 598-8800

Serving firms throughout New Hampshire.

Established in 1995 and affiliated with the New Hampshire Regional Community Technical College System.

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey Manufacturing Extension

Partnership Center for Manufacturing Systems, NJIT 218 Central Ave., Suite 350 ITC

Newark, N.J. 07102-1982

(201) 642-4869

Serving firms statewide through two re- gional offices. Affiliated with the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology. In development.

NEW MEXICO

Industry Network Corp. 1155 University Blvd. S.E. Albuquerque, N.M. 87106

(505) 843-4250

Serving firms statewide through eight field engineers. Established in 1994. NEW YORK

New York Manufacturing Extension

Partnership

New York Science and Technology

Foundation

99 Washington Ave., Suite 1730

Albany, N.Y. 12210

(518) 474-4349

Serving firms statewide through 10 regional

manufacturing outreach centers listed below. Affiliated with the New York Science and Technology Foundation.

• Alliance for Manufacturing and

Technology

61 Court St., 6th Floor Binghamton, N.Y. 13901

(607) 774-0022

Serving a nine-county area within New

York's southern tier through two offices.

• Center for Economic Growth One Key Corp. Plaza, Suite 600

Albany, N.Y. 12207

(518) 465-8975

Serving the 11-county Capital District in the Albany area.

• Central New York TDO

1201 E. Fayette St. Syracuse, N.Y. 13201

(315) 425-5144

Serving the five counties in Central New

York in the Syracuse area.

• CI-TEC Box 8561

Peyton Hall Potsdam, N.Y. 13699-8561

(315) 268-3778

Serving six counties in the North Country

area through three offices.

• High Technology of Rochester

Five United Way

Rochester, N.Y. 14604

(716) 327-7930

Serving the nine-county Finger Lakes region

in and around Rochester.

• Hudson Valley Technology Development

Center 300 Westage Business Center, Suite 130

Fishkill, N.Y. 12524

(914) 896-6934

Serving the seven-county mid-Hudson

region.

• Industrial Technology Assistance Corp. 253 Broadway, Room 302 New York, N.Y. 10007

(212) 240-6920

Serving the five boroughs of New York City.

• Long Island Forum for Technology

P.O. Box 170

Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735

(516) 755-3321

Serving Nassau and Suffolk counties.

• Mohawk Valley Applied Technology

Commission

207 Genessee St., Room 1604

Utica, N.Y. 13501

(315) 793-8050

Serving Oneida, Herkimer, Hamilton,

Fulton, Montgomery, and Schohari counties.
MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

• Western New York Technology

Development Center 1576 Sweet Home Rd. Amherst, N.Y. 14228

(716) 636-3626

Serving New York's five western-most

counties through three field offices.

National Center for Printing, Publishing and Imaging (CIMSPrint)

Rochester Institute of Technology

1 1 1 Lomb Memorial Dr.

Rochester, N.Y. 14623

(716) 475-5101

Center will partner with and act as a print- ing industry resource for all MEP affiliates.

Affiliated with the Rochester Institute of Technology. In development.

NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina Manufacturing Extension

Partnership

IES Technical Services Box 7902

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, N.C. 27695-7902

(919) 515-5408

Serving firms statewide through six out- reach offices. Two additional offices in development. Established in 1995 and affili- ated with North Carolina State University Industrial Extension Service.

NORTH DAKOTA

North Dakota Manufacturing Technology

Partnership 1833 East Bismarck Expressway

Bismarck, N.D. 58504

(701) 328-5300

Serving firms statewide through four field

offices. Established in 1995 and affiliated with Technology Transfer, Inc.

OHIO

Great Lakes Manufacturing Technology

Center

Prospect Park Building 4600 Prospect Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44103-4314

(216) 432-5322

Serving northeast Ohio through seven field

offices. Established in 1989 and affiliated with the Cleveland Advanced Manufacturing

Program.

Lake Erie Manufacturing Extension

Partnership 1700 N. Westwood St. Toledo, Ohio 43607

(419) 534-3705

Serving 26 counties of northwest Ohio

through four satellite offices. Established in 1995 and affiliated with the Edison Industrial Systems Center.

Miami Valley Manufacturing Extension

Center 3171 Research Blvd.

Kettering, Ohio 45420

(513) 258-6187

Serving 23 counties of southwest Ohio.

Established in 1994 in partnership with the

Institute for Advanced Manufacturing Sciences. Affiliated with the Edison Materials Technology Center.

Plastics Technology Deployment Center GLMTC Manufacturing Outreach Program

Prospect Park Building 4600 Prospect Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44103

(216) 432-5340

Serving 10 counties in northeast Ohio

surrounding Cleveland and 14 counties in northwest Pennsylvania surrounding Erie.

Established in 1994 and affiliated with the Great Lakes MTC and Penn State-Erie.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing

Excellence 525 South Main St., Suite 500

Tulsa, Okla. 74103

(918) 592-0722

Serving firms throughout Oklahoma via a network of over 25 broker/agents and sector

specialists. Established in 1994 and affili- ated with the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.

OREGON

Oregon Manufacturing Extension

Partnership 29353 Town Center, Loop East

Wilsonville, Ore. 97070

(503) 657-6958

Serving manufacturing firms throughout

Oregon. Affiliated with the Oregon Advanced

Technology Consortium. In development.

PENNSYLVANIA

North/East Pennsylvania Manufacturing

Extension Partnership 125 Goodman Dr. Bethlehem, Pa. 18015

(610) 758-5599 Through two offices, serving the region north of Doylestown, east of Reading, and

west of the Delaware River. Established in 1994 and affiliated with the Manufacturers

Resource Center.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Manufacturing

Extension Partnership A coalition of organizations providing

assistance to manufacturers throughout

the region:

• Delaware Valley Industrial Resource

Center 12265 Townsend Rd., Suite 500

Philadelphia, Pa. 19154-1286

(215) 464-8550

Serving the five counties surrounding

Philadelphia and greater southeastern Pennsylvania in coordination with the following two offices. Established in 1995.
MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

• Industrial Modernization Center, Inc. Farm Complex

R.R. #5, Box 220-62A

Montoursville, Pa. 17754

(717) 368-8361

Serving 12 counties in central Pennsylvania. In development.

• Manufacturing Technology Industrial Resource Center 227 W. Market St. P.O. Box 5046

York, Pa. 17405

(717) 843-5054

Serving nine counties in southcentral Pennsylvania. In development.

Southwestern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center/Northwest Pennsylvania

Industrial Resource Center 4516 Henry St. Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213

(412) 469-3530

Serving firms in western Pennsylvania.

Established in 1994. Expansion into north- west Pennsylvania in coordination with the Northwest Pennsylvania Industrial Resource

Center. In development.

Plastics Technology Deployment Center

c/o Penn State-Erie Behrend College Station Rd.

Erie, Pa. 16563-0101

(814) 898-6132

Serving 14 counties in northwest Pennsylva- nia surrounding Erie. Established in 1994 and affiliated with the Great Lakes Manufacturing Technology Center and Penn StateErie.

PUERTO RICO

Puerto Rico Manufacturing Extension, Inc. Economic Development Administration

Mercantil Plaza Building, Suite 819

2 Ponce de Leon Ave. HatoRey, Puerto Rico 00918

(787) 756-0505

Serving firms throughout Puerto Rico.

Affiliated with Puerto Rico's Economic

Development Administration.

RHODE ISLAND Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension

Services 205 Lippitt Hall

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, R.I. 02881

(401) 874-2381

Serving firms throughout the state. Established in 1995 and affiliated with the

University of Rhode Island.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Southeast Manufacturing Technology

Center 1136 Washington St., Suite 300

Columbia, S.C. 29201

(803) 252-6976 Through 13 regional outreach centers, serving firms in South Carolina and the

western/foothills region of North Carolina. Established in 1989 and operated jointly by

the University of South Carolina and Enterprise Development, Inc.

SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakota Manufacturing Extension

Partnership Center South Dakota State University

Harding Hall

P.O. Box 2220

Brookings, S.D. 57007-0199

(605) 688-4184

Serving manufacturing firms throughout South Dakota. Affiliated with South Dakota

State University. In development.

TENNESSEE

Tennessee Manufacturing Extension

Partnership

Department of Economic and Community

Development

7th Floor, Rachel Jackson Building 320 6th Ave. North

Nashville, Tenn. 37243-0405

(615) 741-2626

Serving firms throughout Tennessee through five regional offices. Established in 1994 and affiliated with the State of Tennessee Economic and Community Development

Department and the University of Tennessee.

TEXAS

Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center 1700 Congress Ave., Suite 200

Austin, Texas 78701

(512) 936-0235

Serving firms throughout Texas through

five regional offices. Established in 1995 and affiliated with the Texas Department of Commerce.

UTAH

Utah Manufacturing Extension Partnership Western Coalition for Advanced

Manufacturing Processes 1025 Riverbreeze Dr., Suite 300 Orem, Utah 84058

(801) 378-9000

Serving firms via a network of manufacturing and business resource centers located throughout the state. Established in 1995.

VERMONT

Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center Box 500 Randolph Center, Vt. 05061

(802) 728-1312

Serving firms throughout the state through

three regional offices. Established in 1996 and affiliated with Vermont Technical

College.

VIRGINIA

A.L. Philpott Manufacturing Center

P.O. Box 5311 645 Patriot Ave.

Martinsville, Va. 24115

(540) 666-8890

Serving 23 counties of southern Virginia

through four regional offices. Established in

1994.

WASHINGTON

Washington Manufacturing Extension

Partnership 2001 6th Ave., Suite 2700

Seattle, Wash. 98121

(206) 464-6009

Serving firms throughout Washington.

In development.
MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

WEST VIRGINIA

West Virginia Partnership for Industrial Modernization 634 8th St. Huntington, W.Va. 25701

(304) 525-1916

Serving firms throughout West Virginia

through five regional offices. Established in

1995 and affiliated with the West Virginia

Development Office, the Marshall University Research Corp./Robert C. Byrd Institute, and the West Virginia University Extension

Service.

WISCONSIN

Northwest Wisconsin Manufacturing

Outreach Center

University of Wisconsin

Stout Technology Transfer Institute 103 First Ave. West Menomonie, Wis. 54751

(715) 232-2397

In coordination with Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership, serving 32

counties in northwest Wisconsin through

five satellite offices. Established in 1994 and

affiliated with the University of WisconsinStout.

Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension

Partnership Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and

Productivity 432 N.Lake St., Room B121-B

Madison, Wis. 53706-1498

(608) 262-2224

Serving manufacturers throughout the state through four regional offices, including the Northwest Wisconsin Manufacturing Outreach Center.

WYOMING

MAMTC Wyoming Regional Office 10561 Barkley, Suite 602

Overland Park, Kan. 66212

(913) 649-4333 or (800) 653-4333

Serving firms throughout Wyoming. Affiliated with the Mid-America MTC.

Additional Information

For further information contact:

Manufacturing Extension Partnership

(301) 975-5020

email: MEPinfo@mep.nist.gov

fax: (301) 963-6556

http://www.mep.nist.gov C121 Building 301

or phone 1-800-MEP-4MFG

for the center serving your area
NATIONAL QUALITY PROGRAM

First presented in 1988, the Malcolm

Baldrige National Quality Award has become

the nation's premier award for business per- formance excellence and quality achieve- ment. The Baldrige Award program was

established by Congress in 1987 not only to recognize individual U.S. companies for

their achievement but also to promote quality awareness and to provide information on

successful performance and competitiveness

strategies. The award is not for specific products or services. Two awards may be given

annually to companies in each of three categories: manufacturing, service, and small

business. In conjunction with the private

sector, NIST developed and manages the award program.

Award Criteria

The award program focuses on quality as an

integral part of today's business management practices. The award criteria, which

are used by thousands of organizations as a

general performance and business excel- lence model, are designed to help companies deliver ever-improving value to customers and improve overall company per- formance and capabilities. More than a million copies have been distributed since 1988. The criteria's seven categories focus on re- quirements that all businesses—especially those facing tough competitive challenges

should understand. The criteria are:

• Leadership. Have senior leaders clearly defined the company's values, goals, and

ways to achieve the goals? Is the company a model "corporate citizen"?

• Information and analysis. Does the company effectively use data and information to support customer-driven performance excel- lence and marketplace success?

• Strategic planning. How does the company develop strategies and business plans

to strengthen its performance and competitive position?

• Human resource development and management. How does the company develop the

full potential of its work force? How are its human resource capabilities and work sys- tems aligned with its strategic and business

plans?

• Process management. How does the company design, manage, and improve key processes such as customer-focused design and

product and service delivery?

• Business results. How does the company

address performance and improvement in key business areas—product and service

quality, productivity and operational effectiveness, supply quality, and financial per- formance indicators linked to these areas?

• Customer focus and satisfaction. How

does the company determine requirements,

expectations, and preferences of customers? What are its customer satisfaction results?

Using the criteria as an assessment tool provides firms with a clear view of where they stand and of how far they must go to achieve world-class levels of performance.

Rigorous Evaluation

Applications for the award undergo a rigor- ous evaluation by an independent review board composed of more than 250 business and quality experts from many industries (along with a smaller contingent from universities and governments at all levels)

.

These experts volunteer many hours review- ing applications for the award, conducting

site visits at firms that receive high scores after an initial screening, and providing each

applicant with an extensive feedback report

citing strengths and areas to improve.

interactions

The National Quality Program has proven to be a remarkably successful government and

industry team effort, starting in 1987 with

industry's assistance in raising more than $10 million to help launch the program.

Since that time, NIST has worked closely with a wide variety of groups to extend the

benefits of quality management and stimulate activities nationwide. These organizations run the gamut from trade,

professional, and business groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to state and local government organizations such as the National Governors' Association, to broad-based interest groups like the National Education Association.

The cooperative nature of this joint government/private-sector team is perhaps

best captured by the award's board of examiners. In addition to many hours spent dur- ing the award evaluation process, board members have given thousands of presentations on quality management and the award

program.

The award-winning companies, too, have

taken seriously the charge to be quality advocates. One of the main purposes of the award is to pass on information about the winners' quality programs that other companies can tailor for their own needs. Representatives from the winning companies have

willingly shared their companies' quality

strategies and methods with thousands of other firms. Their efforts to educate and in- form other companies and organizations on

the benefits of using the Baldrige framework and criteria have far exceeded expectations.
NATIONAL QUALITY PROGRAM

Award as Quality Model

Private-sector reviews and surveys are showing that the award is having a profound

effect on shaping how people and organizations operate and work. For example, a report on the Baldrige Award program by the Council on Competitiveness states, "More

than any other program, the Baldrige Quality Award is responsible for making quality a national priority and disseminating best

practices across the United States."

The program has helped to stimulate an amazing movement to improve quality

among U.S. organizations, including companies; academic institutions; and federal,

state, and local government agencies. Nationwide, interest in the Baldrige model is growing steadily. In 1991, fewer than 10

state and local quality awards existed. Now, more than 40 states have or are establishing award programs. Most are modeled after the

Baldrige Award.

For many companies, these award programs

are "proving grounds," helping them to better understand quality management before

they consider an application for the national Baldrige Award. In 1991, state pro- grams received 110 applications; in 1995 that number climbed to over 575, about a 25 percent increase over 1994's 428 applications.

Internationally, more than 25 quality awards have been established, most within

the past several years. Many of them are based on the Baldrige Award. Japan, home of

the Deming Prize, recently launched an

award that more closely resembles the U.S. Baldrige Award.

Interest also is increasing in organizations

other than for-profit businesses. Working

with experts from health care and education

organizations, NIST tailored the Baldrige Award criteria and framework for these sectors and conducted a pilot application pro- gram in 1995.

Quality Award Winners

Winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award:

1995—Armstrong World Industries' Build- ing Products Operation, Lancaster, Pa. (manufacturing); and Corning Telecommunications Products Division, Corning,

N.Y. (manufacturing)

1994—AT&T Consumer Communications

Services, Basking Ridge, N.J. (service); GTE Directories Corp., Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas (service); and Wainwright Industries

Inc., St. Peters, Mo. (small business)

1993—Eastman Chemical Co., Kingsport, Tenn. (manufacturing); and Ames Rubber

Corp., Hamburg, N.J. (small business)

1992—AT&T Network Systems Group/

Transmission Systems Business Unit, Morristown, N.J. (manufacturing); Texas

Instruments Inc. Defense Systems &

Electronics Group, Dallas, Texas (manufacturing); AT&T Universal Card Services,

Jacksonville, Fla. (service); The RitzForty-six health care and 19 education or- ganizations submitted applications. NIST

distributed over 20,000 copies of the criteria

for the pilot programs. NIST is continuing to work with the health care and education communities to establish a base of longterm, private-sector funding to support an award program.

Contact:

National Quality Program

(301) 975-2036

email: oqp@micf.nist.gov

fax: (301) 948-3716 A526 Administration Building

http://www.nist.gov/director/quality_program

Carlton Hotel Co., Atlanta, Ga. (service); and Granite Rock Co., Watsonville, Calif, (small business)

1991—Solectron Corp., Milpitas, Calif, (manufacturing); Zytec Corp., Eden

Prairie, Minn, (manufacturing); and

Marlow Industries, Dallas, Texas (small

business)

1990—Cadillac Motor Car Division,

Detroit, Mich, (manufacturing), IBM Rochester, Rochester, Minn, (manufacturing);

Federal Express Corp., Memphis, Tenn.

(service); and Wallace Co. Inc., Houston, Texas (small business)

1989—Milliken & Company, Spartanburg,

S.C. (manufacturing); and Xerox Corp. Business Products and Systems, Rochester,

N.Y. (manufacturing)

1988—Motorola Inc., Schaumburg, 111. (manufacturing); Commercial

Nuclear Fuel Division of Westinghouse

Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa. (manufacturing); and Globe Metallurgical Inc.,

Beverly, Ohio (small business)
LABORATORY PROGRAMS

Higher quality products, more reliable and more flexible processes, fewer rejected parts, speedier product development, more effi- cient market transactions, higher levels of

interoperability among machines, factories, and companies. These are some of the practical advantages that U.S. companies realize from the NIST laboratories' research, services, and standards-related activities. The

ultimate U.S. reference point for measure- ments with counterpart organizations

throughout the world, the laboratories provide companies, entire industries, and the whole science and technology community

with the equivalent of a common language

needed in nearly every stage of technical activity. In furthering the technical aims and

capabilities of U.S. industry, the NIST laboratory program serves as an impartial source of expertise, developing highly

leveraged measurement capabilities and

other infrastructural technologies.

Several hundred laboratory projects are under way at NIST during a single year. Some

relate to the evolving needs of mature industries such as steel, machine tools, automobiles, and chemical processing. Others concentrate on the technical challenges

confronting emerging industries such as those sprouting from advances in nanotechnology or the ones facing established high-technology sectors undergoing rapid

technology change such as microwave communications. NIST has stepped up efforts to address the infrastructural needs of the biotechnology and information technology

industries as well as others pursuing commercial prospects in young, rapidly developing areas of technology.

Collaborative Research

NIST actively seeks industrial, academic,

and non-profit research partners to work

collaboratively on projects of mutual benefit. A wide variety of mechanisms are avail- able for carrying out these research

collaborations. Special efforts are made to

tailor collaborations to specific needs.

Most research collaborations start with one-to-one interactions between industry or other researchers and NIST scientists and

engineers. To locate NIST researchers in specific fields of interest, see the project listings on pages 51 to 155. For further information about the process for implementing specific

types of research agreements, contact the

Industrial Partnerships Program,

(301) 975-3084.

The most common types of arrangements

include:

Cooperative Research and Development

Agreements (CRADAs)

Typically cover joint research efforts in which both NIST and the cooperating company provide staff, equipment, facilities, and/or funds, in any number of possible

combinations, for a project of mutual

interest. NIST is currently working with more than 300 research partners on 365 CRADAs in nearly 230 different areas of

research. Ninety-five percent of NIST's CRADA partners are U.S. businesses, with about equal numbers from large and small companies.

When companies conduct joint research with the Institute under a CRADA, NIST can

protect confidential or proprietary information exchanged during the project, keep

research results confidential, and provide

exclusive rights for intellectual property developed during the course of the project. Each CRADA is negotiated separately be- tween NIST and prospective partners. Most CRADAs take 6 to 8 weeks to implement.

Copies of a model NIST CRADA agreement

are available from the NIST Industrial Part- nership Program, (301) 975-5073.

Guest Researcher Agreements

Typically used when an industrial or other

researcher wishes to join an ongoing NIST

research effort. The researcher gains access

to NIST research staff and facilities and, in return, results from the collaboration are made publicly available. Such agreements cannot protect proprietary information and

do not allow cooperating companies to re- ceive exclusive intellectual property rights. Once a NIST research group agrees to host a guest researcher, implementation of such agreements takes only about 1 week. Each

year NIST hosts about 1,200 guest scientists and engineers at its Gaithersburg, Md., and

Boulder, Colo., laboratories. Contact: domestic guest researchers, (301) 975-3084; inter- national guest researchers, (301) 975-4119.

Research and Development Contracts Used when external organizations contract with NIST researchers to receive specific technical services or results uniquely avail- able at the Institute. The cooperating

organization funds the NIST effort on a cost- reimbursable basis. Individual contracts may provide protection of proprietary infor- mation under certain circumstances.

Research results are made publicly available, and any intellectual property rights

revert to NIST. Preparation of contracts for such agreements typically takes about

4 weeks.

Informal Collaborations Informal one-to-one collaborations between

Institute and other researchers. Such col- laborations often involve exchange of research results and/or samples between NIST and other researchers, rather than

transfers of personnel or research funds.
LABORATORY PROGRAMS 41

Examples of NIST Lab Projects

The examples of recent accomplishments

described below are a small sampling of laboratory activities. They illustrate the ways in which NIST is carrying out its mission to provide infrastructural support to

U.S. industry.

• NIST measurements are vital to the functioning of the entire economy, helping to ensure fairness and efficiency7 in the

sale of more than $2 trillion worth of goods and services. Accurate and uniform measurements of weight, size, volume, and other quantities maximize efficiency and promote customer confidence in the

sale of goods ranging from lunch meat

at the deli counter to natural gas flowing

through transnational pipelines to ultrapure gases purchased by semiconductor manufacturers.

• NIST tools and services are the ultimate

references for the hundreds of millions of measurements made daily by U.S. companies, small and large. More than 350 different NIST-deve loped measurement tools and services are embedded into the quality control systems of the automotive industry—from small suppliers of metal parts

to large refiners of gas and oil. Virtually

all U.S. semiconductor manufacturers de- pend on NIST-developed test methods to evaluate their raw materials, processes, and products. The entire U.S. steel industry relies on more than 125 NIST Standard

Reference Materials in assessing the quality of raw materials and finished products.

• Women getting mammography exams

at licensed U.S. facilities will have greater assurance of receiving proper X-ray exposures thanks to a new NIST radiation

standard and instrument calibration facility. The new facility will allow the operators and inspectors of more than 10,000

U.S. mammography centers to trace the accuracy of their X-ray exposure measure- ments to the primary X-ray standards at NIST. The calibration facility was estab- lished to help the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration implement the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992.

• A NIST computer model that compensates for a common source of error in co- ordinate measuring machines (CMMs)

promises to increase greatly manufacturers' ability to check accurately the shape and dimensions of products. The new

"SuperFit" software corrects "probelobbing" errors, a chronic and relatively

large source of measurement uncertainty

in 98 percent of the 30,000 CMMs in U.S.

factories and laboratories.

• NIST researchers have produced quantitative images of dopant densities in semi- conductor circuits with 20 to 30 nanometer (billionths of a meter) resolution. The achievement brings the industry

closer to meeting a key requirement of the National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors for producing next-generation

microcircuits by the year 2000. Dopants

are chemical elements such as boron or phosphorus that are introduced into sili- con and other semiconducting materials

to selectively change their electrical

characteristics.

• NIST scientists completed work on a fingerprint classification system for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that

helps to automate the last step in

fingerprint analysis done completely by

hand. For the last 30 years, NIST researchers have worked with the FBI to

speed up the process by which fingerprint evidence is matched against the FBI's

files—currently some 30 million sets of

fingerprints.

• A new NIST quality assurance standard

will help forensic and medical laboratories ensure that DNA profiles made with

the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR,

method are accurate. PCR is a relatively new method of DNA analysis that produces

results in hours rather than the weeks re- quired for earlier methods and requires

only tiny amounts of DNA, such as the few

cells carried in saliva left on a cigarette butt or a postage stamp.

• Working in collaboration with engineers at Howmet Corp., Whitehall, Mich., NIST researchers have developed an X-ray

sensor that could take some of the guess work out of turbine blade technology. Manufacturers of jet turbine blades often can't tell if a blade has been "cooked"

right until they remove the mold and take a look. The NIST system should allow manufacturers to optimize their processes

so that they consistently grow singlecrystal blades in the shortest amount of time.

• In collaboration with voluntary standards organizations, NIST has developed a

standard, called BACnet, to allow interoperability of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning control systems in buildings. NIST worked with a consortium of 17 companies to test their prototype products implementing the standard. Use of the standard should lead to competitive, open

procurement; integration of separate sys- tems; and increased energy efficiency.
LABORATORY PROGRAMS

Research Consortia

On research topics of broad interest to a number of different research partners, NIST may sponsor research consortia. Research

consortia usually are structured through NIST CRADAs and involve groups of companies and other organizations that ex- change data, ideas, researchers, and/or

materials among themselves and with NIST

to meet agreed-upon research goals. Most

consortia require payment of membership

fees in exchange for advance knowledge of research results produced by the consortia

effort. Currently active NIST-centered consortia include the following:

Flowmeter Installation Effects Supports research in fluid flow measure- ments to help industry understand, evaluate, and assess flowmeter performance under

non-ideal installation conditions. Contact: George Mattingly, (301) 975-5939-

North American Integrated Services Digital Network Users' Forum

Promotes the implementation and use of ISDN standards and the development of interoperable systems for the simultaneous

transmission of voice, data, and images

over high-speed digital networks. Contact:

Leslie Collica, (301) 975-4856.

Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuits Develops metrology for design and manufacture of microwave monolithic integrated circuits, especially measurement methods and

standards to reduce testing costs. Contact: Roger Marks, (303) 497-3037.

Ceramic Machining Consortium

Develops cost-effective production processes

for grinding components made from ad- vanced, structural ceramics, such as silicon

nitride and silicon carbide. Contact: Said Jahanmir, (301) 975-3671.

Casting of Aerospace Alloys

Supports efforts to improve understanding

and, ultimately, control of the net-shape

casting process so that the alloys in finished

parts attain the desired structural and per- formance properties required by the aero- space industry. Contact: Robert

Schaefer, (301) 975-5727.

BACnet Interoperability Testing

Works to overcome communication barriers among building control systems from differ- ent manufacturers, making it possible to design truly "smart" buildings where all sys- tems work together and are controlled from

a central location. Contact: Steven Bushby,

(301) 975-5873.

Coatings Service Life Prediction Develops test methods to quickly and reli- ably predict the service life of painted products exposed to the elements in order to help

the paint industry get better products to market more quickly. Contact: Jonathan Martin,

(301) 975-6717.

EPDM Seams

Develops test protocols and criteria for evaluating the performance of pre-formed tape

for bonding seams of EPDM roof membranes (a system commonly used to make

low-sloped roofs watertight) to assist roofing

contractors, consultants, and manufacturers

in the selection and design of satisfactorily performing tape adhesive systems. Contact: Walter Rossiter, (301) 975-6719-

Air Speed Proficiency Testing

Improves measurement of very low air flows

of importance to semiconductor fabricators, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and others whose products are very sensitive to air- borne contaminants or whose facilities require clear air environments such as nuclear power plants. Contact: Vern Bean,

(301) 975-4830.

Scanning Capacitance and Electromagnetic Sensors

Researches new ways to measure accurately

the relative location or overlay of features in successive semiconductor chip layers, in- cluding examining and comparing the merits of two new methods—scanning

capacitance probes and electromagnetic

sensors. Contact: Michael Cresswell, (301) 975-2072.

Computer-Aided Manufacturing Engineering

Develops standards and interfaces for a manufacturing engineering tool kit de- signed to allow software tools made by differ- ent vendors with different engineering

functions to work together. Contact: Swee Leong, (301) 975-5426.

Enhanced Machine Controller Develops interface standards needed to pro- duce an open architecture controller for manufacturing equipment that would allow machine builders, users, and systems inte- grators to customize more effectively equip- ment, reduce training and maintenance

costs, and make retrofitting of existing

equipment with new capabilities more practical. Contact: Fred Proctor, (301) 975-3425.

Orthopedic Accelerated Wear Resistance

Helps shorten development and approval time for new orthopedic implants by identify- ing test methods with the greatest promise

for accelerated screening of materials for wear resistance. Contact: John Tesk, (301) 975-6799-

Environmentally Friendly New Flame

Retardants Works to replace current fire retardants with environmentally friendly additives that re- duce heat release rates of polymers used in

carpets, upholstery, and other products with- out increasing smoke or carbon monoxide

production. Contact: Jeff Gilman,

(301) 975-6573-
LABORATORY PROGRAMS

Technical Assistance

N'IST provides without charge informal technical advice to U.S. companies and others seeking assistance in specific areas. Often NIST experts can help a company solve a

technical problem through one or several phone conversations or a brief visit to the

Institute's Gaithersburg, Md., or Boulder,

Colo., laboratories. (Institute researchers are not permitted to consult on their own behalf

or to receive personal payments for technical advice in areas within NIST's mission.) See project descriptions on pages 51 to 155

to locate a NIST expert in a specific research

field or call the General Inquiries Unit for

assistance, (301) 975-3058.

Technology Services and

Products

NIST provides many different technology

services and products to help U.S. industry

improve the quality, reduce the cost, and

increase the competitiveness of its products.

Summaries of the NIST programs providing

these services and products appear on pages 44 to 50. Examples include Standard Refer- ence Materials, Standard Reference Data,

calibration and laboratory accreditation

services, and evaluations of energy-related

inventions.

Use of NIST Facilities

The Institute operates more than 40 differ- ent research facilities that are accessible to outside researchers for collaborative or inde- pendent research. Some are one-of-a-kind

facilities not available elsewhere in the United States.

Access to NIST facilities generally occurs through one of four mechanisms: under the

provisions of a NIST CRADA or consortium

agreement; through a guest researcher agreement; through contract R&D in which

Institute staff members conduct specific experiments or tests at NIST and are reimbursed for their time and supplies; and, for a

limited number of facilities, through sched- uled appointments for qualified researchers wishing to conduct proprietary research.

Scheduling and priorities for NIST facilities use are determined by the relevant director

for each NIST disciplinary laboratory, in some cases assisted by designated user group

committees.

An index of NIST facilities appears on

page 156. For detailed information on capabilities and availability of individual facilities, call the contact person listed for that

facility. For general information on typical

facility use agreements, contact the Industrial Partnerships Program, (301) 975-3084.

Technology Licenses

NIST seeks patents for its product and process inventions with commercial potential. Individuals or companies may obtain a

license to use, make, or sell NIST patented

inventions, on either an exclusive or nonexclusive basis. Normally licenses are granted only in cases where the licensee agrees that resulting products will be manufactured substantially in the United States.

The goal of NIST's licensing process is

to encourage commercial use of NISTdeveloped technologies. For a current listing

of the more than 100 NIST inventions available for licensing, contact the NIST Industrial Partnerships Program, (301) 975-4188.

Research Grants

Grants supporting research at industry, aca- demic, and other institutions are available on a competitive basis through several differ- ent Institute offices. For general information on NIST grants programs, contact Sharon

Green, (301) 975-6328.

Small Business Innovation Research Program

Funds proposals by small businesses for research and development efforts that fall within areas recommended yearly by the

U.S. Department of Commerce. See descrip- tion on page 45.

Precision Measurement Grants

Supports researchers in U.S. colleges and

universities for experimental and theoretical

studies of fundamental physical phenomena. Contact: (301) 975-4220.

Fire Research Grants Sponsors research by academic institutions, non-federal government agencies, and inde- pendent and industrial laboratories that supports NIST's fire research laboratory programs. Contact: (301) 975-6854.

Standard Reference Data Grants Supports research at academic, industrial, and other non-federal institutions to critically evaluate data in chemistry, physics,

and materials properties. Contact: (301) 975-2200.

Materials Science and Engineering Grants Supports work in polymers, ceramics, metallurgy, and neutron scattering and spectros- copy research at academic, industrial, and

other non-federal institutions. Contact: (301) 975-5731.
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

SERVICES

AND PROGRAMS

NIST provides a wide variety of services and programs to help U.S. industry improve its international competitiveness,

commercialize new technology, and

achieve total quality in all facets of business operations.

Companies spanning nearly all industrial sectors depend on the precision and

reliability of NIST measurement services and products to keep their production

processes running smoothly, efficiently, and safely. NIST reference materials,

data, and calibrations help industry

maintain quality control in the production of everything from aerospace alloys

to voltmeters to breakfast cereals.

Responding to increased emphasis on

quality standards in international markets, NIST provides information and as- sistance to about 20,000 organizations

and individuals every year concerning

national and international voluntary

and regulatory product standards and

certification systems.

In addition, NIST offers a user-friendly

environment for businesses interested in cooperative research and development

efforts, NIST-developed technologies

available for license, guest researcher

opportunities, technical information, or

technical assessments.

The most current information is avail- able from our home page on the World

Wide Web (http://ts.nist.gov/ts/). There you can find the latest information on

normative standards, laboratory accreditation, technology transfer, catalogs of calibration services, Standard Reference

Databases, and Standard Reference

Materials.

Contact:

Peter L.M. Heydemann, Director (301) 975-4500

email: peter.heydemann@nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-2183 Room 306 NIST North

http://ts.nist.gov/ts

SERVICES AND PROGRAMS

44 Metric Program

45 Small Business Innovation Research Program

Standards Services

45 Office of Standards Services 45 Laboratory Accreditation Program 45 Technical Standards Activities Program

46 Global Standards Policy Program 46 Standards Information Program 47 Standards Training and Support Program

Technology Partnerships

47 Office of Technology Partnerships 47 Research and Technology Applications

Program 47 Industrial Partnerships Program

Measurement Services

47 Office of Measurement Services 48 Standard Reference Data Program 48 Standard Reference Materials Program 48 Calibration Program 49 Weights and Measures Program

Technology Innovation

49 Office of Technology Innovation 49 Technology Evaluation Services Program 50 Commercialization Assistance Program 50 Office of Information Services

METRIC PROGRAM

The Metric Program helps implement the national policy to establish the metric sys- tem as the preferred system of weights and

measures for U.S. trade and commerce. It provides leadership and assistance on metric usage and conversion to federal agencies,

state and local governments, businesses, trade associations, standards

organizations, and the educational community.

Implementing the 1988 amendments to the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, the Metric Program coordinates the metric transition

activities of all federal agencies. Executive Order 12770, "Metric Usage in Federal Government Programs," issued in 1991,

reaffirms the legislation by instructing federal agencies to implement formal plans for using the metric system and to report metric

progress annually. The order authorizes the

Secretary of Commerce to direct and coordi- nate the federal agency metric transition and to assess progress in annual reports to the President. The Metric Program carries out the direction and coordination responsibilities of the Secretary.

Because of the metric system's importance

as an international standard, its use in product design, manufacturing, marketing, and

labeling is essential for U.S. industry's success in the global marketplace. The use of

the metric system in federal agency pro- grams relating to trade, industry, and commerce is intended to support industry's

voluntary adoption of the metric system.

Current Metric Program initiatives focus on

education and public awareness to gain broad-based support for national metrication from industry and the general public.
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

Jnder the banner "Toward a Metric America," a series of regional metric town meetngs and workshops seeks to build state and

regional partnerships to accelerate adoption

of the metric system in trade and commerce;

encourage use of the metric system in all

facets of education, including honing of worker skills; and develop programs of

public awareness.

Contact: Gerard C. Iannelli

(301) 975-3690

email: metric_prg@nist.gov

fax: (301) 94S-1416 Room 306 NIST North

SMALL BUSINESS

INNOVATION RESEARCH

PROGRAM

The Small Business Innovation Research

(SBIR) Program provides funding on a competitive basis to small high-tech businesses

that can carry out research on topics of interest identified by each of NIST's laboratories. Annually in October, NIST issues a list of research and development topics for which

proposals are solicited. There are two phases

of awards. In Phase I, awardees can receive up to $50,000 for a 6-month study to establish the technical feasibility of a proposed

project. Successful Phase I participants may

compete in Phase II for up to $200,000 not

to exceed 2 years to support further develop- ment of the work. Funds available for SBIR

contract awards are tied directly to the NIST

appropriation for Industrial Technology

Services.

Contact: Norman H. Taylor

(301) 975-4517

email: norman.taylor@nist.gov

fax: (301) 548-0624 Room 306 NIST North

OFFICE OF STANDARDS

SERVICES

The Office of Standards Services (OSS) is the

focal point for the Commerce Department's

standards and conformity assessment activities. The office formulates and implements

standards-related policies and procedures to enhance domestic commerce and international trade. The office provides repre- sentation to domestic and international organizations and federal agencies concerned with standardization, product testing, certification, laboratory accreditation, and other forms of conformity assessment. It chairs the Interagency Committee on Standards Policy to implement the Office of Management and Budget Circular No. 119, "Federal Participation in the Development

and Use of Voluntary Standards," which is aimed at harmonizing standards and related programs of federal agencies.

Contact: Belinda L. Collins (301) 975-4000

email: belinda.collins@nist.gov

fax: (301) 963-2871 Room 287 NIST North

LABORATORY

ACCREDITATION

PROGRAM

The National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) provides thirdparty accreditation of testing and calibration

laboratories. Accreditation programs are established in response to mandates or administrative action by the federal government or

requests from private-sector organizations.

Accredited laboratories are listed in a published directory and on the Technology Services site on the World Wide Web. NVLAP is in

full conformance with the standards of the

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), including

ISO Guides 25 and 58. Accreditation provides confidence that a laboratory can provide the technical services claimed and has

the quality system to maintain high levels of

proficiency.

NVLAP accredits laboratories in the follow- ing fields of testing: acoustics, asbestos fiber,

carpet, commercial products, computer

applications, construction products, electro- magnetic compatibility and telecommunications, energy efficient products, ionizing

radiation dosimetry, and thermal insulation. NVLAP also accredits laboratories in these calibration areas: dimensional, electro- magnetic-dc/low frequency, electromagnetic-rf/microwave, ionizing radiation, mechanical, optical radiation, thermodynamics, and time and frequency.

Contact: James L. Cigler (301) 975-4016

email: james.cigler@nist.gov

fax: (301) 926-2884 Room 282 NIST North

TECHNICAL STANDARDS

ACTIVITIES PROGRAM

The Technical Standards Activities Program

(TSAP) provides technical support for public

and private-sector standardization and

standards-related activities. TSAP manages

U.S. representation and participation in the International Organization of Legal Metrol- ogy (OIML). OIML is a treaty organization

of the international measurement community that promotes global trade through har- monization of performance requirements

(regulations) for measuring instruments used to ensure equity in commerce, assure

public and worker health and safety, and

monitor environment protection.
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

TSAP also manages technical support for domestic and international standardization

activities and coordination for U.S. stand- ards advisers posted abroad. The program

serves as the Commerce Department's tech- nical contact point to investigate non-tariff trade barriers for non-agricultural products under the Agreement on Technical Barriers

to Trade of the World Trade Organization.

It administers the DOC Voluntary Standards Program, providing a mechanism for

private-sector sponsors to develop standards

in the public interest with significant domestic and international trade impact. Current

standards pertain to construction and industrial plywood, wood-based structural-use panels, and softwood lumber. The program

provides the executive secretariat for the In- teragency Committee on Standards Policy

and coordinates NIST participation in the annual U.S. observance of World Standards

Day.

Contact: Samuel E. Chapped

(301) 975-4023

email: samuel.chappell@nist.gov

fax: (301) 926-1559 Room 164 NIST North

GLOBAL STANDARDS

POLICY PROGRAM

The Global Standards Policy Program

(GSPP) provides technical information and

support to federal agencies and industry to

assist them in resolving trade issues related

to standards and conformity assessment. GSPP monitors developments in standards and conformity assessment activities in the

Western Hemisphere, the European Union,

Russia and the Newly Independent States (NIS), Central Europe, the Middle East, and

the Asia-Pacific region. It supports programs

of the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration, such as the Special American Business Intern Training for Russian and NIS technical experts, and conducts standards-related economic and policy

analyses.

GSPP works with standards and conformity assessment bodies in other countries to en- sure the adoption of common procedures based on international guidelines. It also chairs or participates in the activities of in- teragency groups to establish U.S. govern- ment positions on standards- related aspects of major international agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The program provides assurance of the competence of U.S. conformity assessment bodies that are deemed to be qualified under the procedures of the National Voluntary Conformity Assessment System Evaluation Pro- gram, an essential element of mutual

recognition agreements between the United

States and foreign governments.

Contact: Mary H. Saunders

(301) 975-4023

email: mary.saunders@nist.gov

fax: (301) 963-2871 Room 282 NIST North

STANDARDS INFORMATION

PROGRAM

The Standards Information Program (SIP) operates the National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI), a

central repository for standards-related infor- mation in the United States. NCSCI provides

access to standards, technical regulations,

and related documents published by U.S. and foreign governments as well as by domestic, foreign, and international private- sector standards organizations. SIP responds

to domestic and foreign requests for infor- mation on U.S. standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures

and to requests for information about for- eign standards and technical regulations

through its access to the network of information centers (ISONET) of the International Organization for Standardization.

SIP serves as the U.S. inquiry point under

the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade of the World Trade Organization

(WTO) to inform the WTO Secretariat in Geneva of proposed U.S. government regulations that might affect trade, receiving corre- sponding proposed foreign regulations and

disseminating them to U.S. industry and cog- nizant government agencies. SIP operates

the U.S. NAFTA inquiry point, which provides information about standards and technical regulations of the NAFTA countries. SIP also operates two telephone hot-lines

that offer weekly updates on draft European standards [(301) 921-4164] and

proposed foreign regulations for those con- cerned about regulations and standards that might create technical barriers to trade [(301) 975-4041]. The EC hotline reports on draft standards of the European Committee for Standardization, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization,

and the European Telecommunications

Standards Institute.

Contact: JoAnne R. Overman

(301) 975-4037

email: joanne.overman@nist.gov

fax: (301) 926-1559 Room 164 NIST North
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

t

STANDARDS TRAINING

WD SUPPORT PROGRAM

Tie Standards Training and Support Pro- ;ram (STSP) administers a network of tandards experts in foreign countries who

vorkwith U.S. businesses, other U.S. governnent agencies, and foreign organizations to

dentify and remove technical barriers to

rade. The program also conducts a series of

raining workshops to familiarize foreign

.tandards officials with U.S. standards and

:onformity assessment procedures. STSP re-

:ruits and assigns standards experts to posts

it key U.S. embassies and missions to provide U.S. industry, government agencies,

ind standards developers with timely and ac-

:urate information about foreign standards

ind conformity assessment procedures and

o provide U.S. embassy personnel with techlical advice for resolving trade issues reated to technical barriers to trade.

STSP conducts workshops to furnish timely nformation on U.S. practices in standards

and conformity assessment for foreign standards officials, to encourage their adoption of narmonized programs, and to build good

working relationships for resolving future

technical problems.

Contact: Kathleen D. Gaaserud

(301) 975-6094

email: kathleen.gaaserud@nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-2183 Room 306 NIST North

OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY

PARTNERSHIPS

The primary objective of the Office of Technology Partnerships (OTP) is to build and

sustain technology partnering activities between the NIST laboratories and its missionrelated organizations. OTP does so by

managing various technology transfer pro- grams; managing NIST's intellectual property; carrying out assigned technology

transfer functions under the Stevenson- Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 and the Federal Technology Transfer Act of

1986; performing industrial and intergovern- mental liaison; and strengthening NIST- wide awareness of technology transfer options and their implications. The office

assists NIST leadership in reviewing related

policies and practices and in helping to propagate improvements in research and de- velopment relationships throughout NIST.

Contact: Jack Williams

(301) 975-3850

email: jack.williams@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-2751 Room 213 NIST North

RESEARCH AND

TECHNOLOGY

APPLICATIONS

PROGRAM

The Research and Technology Applications

Program is located at NIST laboratories in Boulder and provides information on NIST

activities and services to industry, academia,

and state and local governments in the west- ern region.

Contact: Joseph G. Berke

(303) 497-7038

email: joseph.berke@nist.gov

fax: (303) 497-5222

Mail Stop 104

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

Jack Williams

(301) 975-3850

email: jack.williams@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-2751 Room 213 NIST North

INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS

PROGRAM

The Industrial Partnerships Program provides assistance on:

• working with NIST research and develop- ment (R&D) programs;

• joint R&D relationships;

• cooperative R&D agreements (CRADAs);

• domestic (U.S.) guest researchers;

• industry fellow agreements;

• NIST R&D relationship policies;

• use of NIST facilities;

• intellectual property issues;

• patents;

• licenses;

• non-disclosure arrangements; and

• commercializing NIST technologies

Contact: Bruce E. Mattson

(301) 975-3084

email: IPP@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-2751 Room 213 NIST North

OFFICE OF MEASUREMENT

SERVICES

The four components of the Office of Meas- urement Services (OMS) —data, materials,

calibrations, and weights and measures

provide U.S. technologists with access to the

U.S. national standards of measurement.

Uniform and accurate measurements order

the marketplace and reduce risk and cost to buyers and sellers. Connection to a solid
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

measurement foundation is essential to in- dustry in attaining quality and performance

goals, demonstrating standards conformity,

and removing non-tariff trade barriers. The

business of America is business, and the competitive forces within business drive the need for increased use and accuracy of measurement. NIST measurement services meet

these needs at the point of measurement us- age by delivering services directly to about

10,000 companies. A current thrust of the program is to expand service delivery via

accredited, NIST-traceable intermediate

service providers.

Contact:

Stanley D. Rasberry

(301) 975-3602

email: stanley.rasberry@nist.gov

fax: (301) 948-3825 Room 232 NIST North

STANDARD REFERENCE

DATA PROGRAM

For critical technical decisions, engineers

and scientists in industrial and academic re- search rely on the NIST Standard Reference Data Program (SRDP). For 30 years, SRDP

has provided well-documented numeric data

to scientists and engineers for use in technical problem solving, research, and develop- ment. These recommended values are based on data that have been extracted from the world's literature, assessed for reliability, and then evaluated for the preferred values. These data activities are conducted by scientists at NIST and other institutions.

The NIST Standard Reference Database series has grown to over 50 electronic databases in chemistry, physics, materials, building and fire research, software recognition, and electronics. Versatile interactive

databases provide easy access to NIST highquality data. A World Wide Web catalog of data products distributed by the NIST Standard Reference Data Program is available at http://www.nist.gov/srd. To receive a printed copy of the catalog, contact Joan Sauerwein

at (301) 975-2216.

Contact: John Rumblejr.

(301) 975-2200

email: srdata@enh.nist.gov

fax: (301) 926-0416 Room 113 NIST North

STANDARD REFERENCE

MATERIALS PROGRAM

The Standard Reference Materials Program

(SRMP) has pioneered and continues to be

the leader in the development of certified ref- erence materials for quality assurance of measurements. Through the Standard Refer- ence Materials Program, NIST provides more than 1,300 different Standard Refer- ence Materials (SRM®) that are certified for

their specific chemical or physical properties. SRMs are used for three main purposes:

to help develop accurate methods of analysis

(reference methods); to calibrate measure- ment systems; and to assure the long-term

adequacy and integrity of measurement

quality assurance programs. NIST SRMs

also legally constitute part of the National Measurement System infrastructure of the United States and, as such, are essential

transfer mechanisms for national (and inter- national) measurement traceability. The

SRM Program provides a series of publications, known as the SP260 series, that is

available to assist users in the application of SRMs. Some of these publications give practical guidance for using the SRMs while others give additional information about the

certification process of particular SRMs. Of

special note is S?2d0-\00 Standard Refer- ence Materials Handbook: Handbookfor SRM Users, by John K. Taylor, which was

written to discuss general concepts of preci- sion and accuracy as applied to SRMs and

their impact on quality assurance and the measurement process.

Contact: Thomas E. Gills (301) 975-2015

email: srminfo@enh.nist.gov

fax: (301) 926-4342 Room 112 Engineering Mechanics Building

CALIBRATION PROGRAM

The calibration services of NIST link the makers and users of precision instruments

to the basic and derived units of the International System (SI) of measurements. As one

of the cornerstones for assuring the consis- tency of measurements in the United States and internationally, this measurement transfer system is a critical factor in controlling

manufacturing, assembly processes, and

marketing as well as assuring the quality of manufactured goods. Users of these services send transfer standards to NIST where they

are calibrated according to a measurement

process that is stable, predictable, and statistically controlled. Currently, NIST provides more than 500 different calibrations, special

tests, and measurement assurance programs

in seven major measurement areas.

The Calibration Program distributes selected publications of general interest, including

the Calibration Services Users Guide

(SP 250), describing the calibration services
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

NIST provides; the Calibration Fee Schedule (SP 250 appendix); Guidelinesfor Evaluating and Expressing the Uncertainty ofNIST Measurement Results (TN 1297) ; Guidefor the Use ofthe Inter- national System of Units (SP 811) ; and

Experimentation and Measurement

(SP 672). To request these publications,

fax your name and address to the number

below.

Contact:

Sharrill Dittmann

(301) 975-2002

email: calibrations@enh.nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-3548 Room 232 NIST North

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

PROGRAM

The Weights and Measures Program pro- motes uniformity among the states in weights and measures standards, laws, and

practices to facilitate trade and protect U.S. businesses and citizens, whose sales or purchases by weight or measure total over

$2 trillion annually. The program is known

outside of NIST as the Office of Weights and

Measures (OWM), a name that dates back to 1837 when the program was established. OWM sponsors the National Conference on

Weights and Measures (NCWM), an organization of state weights and measures officials and representatives of industry, consumers, and federal agencies. NCWM develops uniform laws, regulations, and methods of practice that are published by NIST. When these standards are adopted by regulatory agencies, they become mandatory.

OWM administers the State Standards Pro- gram, which accredits state weights and

measures laboratories; the National Type

Evaluation Program, which evaluates models of commercial weighing and measuring

equipment to determine compliance with NIST Handbook 44; and the NCWM National Training Program.

Contact:

Gilbert M. Ugiansky

(301) 975-4004

email: owm@nist.gov

fax: (301) 926-0647 Room 232 NIST North

OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY

INNOVATION

The Office of Technology Innovation (OTI)

encourages, stimulates, and facilitates private-sector innovation. Special attention

is directed to small businesses and the indi- vidual inventor or technical entrepreneur. It provides evaluation services designed to com- ment on product feasibility for the benefit of

the developers and to establish technical

credibility for the benefit of potential investors. OTI develops educational and other mechanisms to improve inventor/ entrepreneur capabilities and supports their dissemination and implementation by state and local public-sector agencies. The office outreach activities are designed not only to promote use of evaluation services but also

to build networks aimed at integrating state and local agency efforts to assist or support

small businesses in technology commercialization efforts.

OTI also provides evaluation services to other federal agencies and to state small

business assistance and economic develop- ment organizations. Services include peer and oversight reviews through OTI's staff engineers and its consultant network.

Contact: George P. Lewett

(301) 975-5500

email: innovate@enh.nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-3839 Room 264 NIST North

In addition, OTI provides an unbiased inde- pendent evaluation service to other federal agencies and state organizations. Services include peer reviews through OTI's staff engineers and its consultant network, in a

confidential manner. The review service is conducted in accordance with the customized review criteria provided by the clients to meet their specific needs.

Contact: Jogindar (Joe) S. Dhillon

(301) 975-5521

email: jogindar.dhillon@nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-3839 Room 264 NIST North

TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION

SERVICES PROGRAM

Under the Energy-Related Inventions Pro- gram, the Technology Evaluation Services Program (TESP) evaluates inventions, technologies, and new product ideas submitted

by small businesses/individual inventors as a prerequisite to possible financial and other support by the Department of Energy (DOE).

Technology is evaluated for technical feasibility, energy savings, and commercial potential. The evaluations provide feedback from recognized experts drawn from a net- work of over 450 consultants. This "added

value" enhances the attractiveness of promising technology as business opportunities

for private-sector investors. TESP recom- mends promising technology to DOE, which

provides financial support and other commercialization services.

Contact: George P. Lewett

(301) 975-5500

email: innovate@enh.nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-3839 Room 264 NIST North
50 TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

COMMERCIALIZATION

ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

The Commercialization Assistance Program

encourages technology innovation by devel- oping networks in selected technologyoriented communities and marketing the Technology Evaluation Services Program

(TESP) support services to small businesses and individual inventors. TESP's services, which include technology evaluation and

commercialization training, are marketed

either directly to small businesses/

individual inventors or through grass roots

service providers such as state small busi- ness development centers, economic develop- ment agencies, universities, and trade associations/professional societies. Networks

supporting technology commercialization

also have been developed by marketing and

supplying TESP services to other federal agencies such as DOE, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Patent and Trade Office (PTO) as well as other NIST

activities such as Manufacturing Extension

Partnership and Small Business Innovation

Research. OTI builds these networks or

infrastructures through an outreach

program that includes presentations at national and regional conferences and peri- odic nationwide mailings to inventors through the PTO.

Contact: Jack E. Pevenstein

(301) 975-5519

email: jack.pevenstein@nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-3839 Room 264 NIST North

OFFICE OF INFORMATION

SERVICES

The Office of Information Services (OIS) maintains a comprehensive, international

collection of information in scientific disci- plines such as metrology, mathematics,

physical sciences, computer science, and materials science. OIS staff serve the technical information needs of NIST scientists and

engineers and communicate the results of NIST research to scientific and engineering

communities worldwide.

OIS programs include selecting, acquiring,

organizing, and disseminating primarily scientific and technical information in print

and electronic forms. The NIST Library, with its specialized collection of approximately 200,000 volumes, including subscriptions to approximately 1,500 journals,

microform collections, and electronic databases available on CD-ROMs or through online services, serves the entire NIST scientific and research community.

OIS also can be reached on the Internet through the NIST Virtual Library

(http://ts.nist.gov/nvl), a resource that brings a selection of information resources

available at the OIS Library, as well as pointers to other related information resources

available through the Internet, including

the World Wide Web.

To obtain further information about the NIST Library and the specialized reference

services, on-line search services, and available databases, contact NIST Library refer- ence staff at (301) 975-3052 or email:

reflib@nist.gov

Contact: Paul Vassallo

(301) 975-2784

email: paul.vassallo@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-8071 E106 Administration Building
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL

ENGINEERING LABORATORY

The Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory (EEEL) provides the fundamental basis for all electrical measurements in the United States. In close consultation with industry, research and

calibration programs are tailored to meet

the most critical measurement needs for

the manufacture and operation of electrical and electronic systems, including

semiconductor, magnetic, radio- frequency, microwave, optical, optoelectronic and superconducting equipment;

flat-panel displays; electronic instrumentation; and electrical power apparatus and

systems.

Other programs are concerned with basic research to develop quantum standards

that enable more accurate maintenance

of the fundamental electrical units. Laboratory researchers also conduct studies on

the new measurements needed for the successful development of promising future technologies such as high-temperature su- perconductors, quantum mechanical devices, and hybrid computer chips that

utilize both electronic and lightwave signals. These measurement techniques, as well as Standard Reference Materials, such as those developed for optical fiber diameter, silicon resistivity, and superconducting critical current, play a significant

role in helping to improve the efficiency and quality of manufacturing.

In addition, the laboratory7 manages metrology development work across NIST in response to the needs of mainstream sili- con semiconductor device manufacturing.

It also applies science and technology to

solve key problems of the criminal justice communities.

Contact: Judson C. French, Director

(301) 975-2220

email: judson.french@nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-4091 B358 Metrology Building

http://www.eeel.nist.gov

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

52 Office of Microelectronics Programs 52 Office of Law Enforcement Standards

Electricity

52 Resistance Standards and Materials

53 Quantum Hall Effect

53 Applying High-Tc Superconductors to Precision Electrical Measurements

53 Josephson-Effect Voltage Standards 54 Advanced AC-DC Voltage and Current Measurements

54 Synthesis of Precise Signals 54 Testing Electronic Systems 54 Fast Pulse and Waveform Acquisition Standards

55 Metrology for Electrical Power Systems

55 Dielectrics Research

55 Plasma Processing/Plasma Chemistry 56 Video Processing 56 Metrology for Flat-Panel Displays

56 Automated Electronics Manufacturing

Program

Semiconductor Electronics

56 Metrology for Nanoelectronics 57 Optical Characterization Metrology

57 Electrical Characterization Metrology 57 Thin-Film Process Metrology

58 Silicon-on-lnsulator Metrology

58 Metrology for Devices and Packages

58 Metrology for Process and Tool Control

58 Interconnect Reliability Metrology

59 Dielectric Reliability Metrology

59 Microelectromechanical Systems

Electromagnetic Fields

59 Guided-Wave Microwave Standards and Measurements

60 High-Speed Microelectronics

Electromagnetic Technology

61 Josephson Array Development

61 Nanoscale Cryoelectronics

61 High-Performance Sensors, Infrared Detectors, and Mixers

62 Superconductor Standards and Technology

62 Superconductor Interfaces and Electrical Transport

62 High-Temperature Superconducting

Electronics

63 Microstructural Analysis for Electromagnetic Technology

63 Magnetic Recording Metrology

63 Magnetic Instruments and Materials

Characterization

64 Nanoprobe Imaging for Magnetic

Technology

Optoelectronics

64 Laser Radiometry

64 High-Speed Measurements

65 Fiber-Optic Metrology

65 Integrated Optic Metrology

65 Optical Fiber Sensors

66 Fiber and Discrete Components

66 Dielectric Materials and Devices

66 Semiconductor Materials and Devices

RESEARCH FACILITIES

67 Semiconductor Processing Laboratory

68 Molecular-Beam Epitaxy Facility

68 Wafer Probing Laboratory

68 Mode-Stirred Chambers

68 Ground Screen Antenna Range

69 Transverse Electromagnetic Cell

69 Electromagnetic Anechoic Chamber

69 Concentric Loop Antenna Systems

70 Standard Transient/Impulsive Field

Facility

70 Mobile Transient Reception/Transmission

System

71 Integrated-Circuit Fabrication Laboratory

71 Ultralow-Temperature Electronics Facility

71 Magnetic Thin-Film Fabrication and

Imaging Facility
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

from NSMP activities are largely public in- formation and are freely available to domestic manufacturers.

Contact: Robert I. Scace

(301) 975-4400

email: scace@nist.gov

fax: (301) 948-0978 A323 Technology Building

OFFICE OF LAW

ENFORCEMENT

STANDARDS

The mission of the Office of Law Enforce- ment Standards (OLES) is to apply science and technology to the needs of the criminal

justice community, including law enforce- ment, corrections, forensic science, and fire

service. To accomplish this mission, OLES

develops methods for testing equipment per- formance and for examining evidentiary materials; develops standards for equipment

and operating procedures; develops Standard

Reference Materials; and performs other

scientific and engineering research as re- quested by external sponsors.

The areas of research investigated by this

office include clothing, communication sys- tems, emergency equipment, investigative

aids, protective equipment, security systems,

vehicles, speed measuring equipment, weapons, analytical techniques, and Standard

Reference Materials used by the public safety community. Exact projects are based upon

the most recent recommendations of the Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Advisory Council and vary depending upon the priorities of the criminal justice community.

Contact: Kathleen M. Higgins

(301) 975-2757

email: kathleen.higgins@nist.gov

fax: (301) 948-0978 A323 Technology Building

ELECTRICITY

Division Contact: William E. Anderson

(301) 975-2400

email: william.anderson@nist.gov

fax: (301) 926-3972 Bl64 Metrology Building

RESISTANCE STANDARDS

AND MATERIALS

Component precision resistors of both film and wire construction have found wide- spread use as references and dividers in precision instrumentation such as digital multimeters and calibrators. The quality of these resistors and their level of immunity to

the effects of environmental parameters, such as temperature and mechanical shock, have enabled the 3-month performance of these instruments to begin to approach that

of the standards most commonly used to

calibrate them. This fact and the desirability

of calibrating such instruments where they

will be used have heightened the need for a

next generation of resistance standards

standards whose performance in adverse conditions would eclipse that of existing standards in a laboratory environment.

NIST scientists are beginning a program to develop new standards with sub-ppm per- formance, both short- and long-term, under

field conditions. To do so, the electrical/ physical properties of a number of alloys are being investigated, and new resistor designs

are being formulated and tested. Future efforts will investigate metallurgical tech- niques such as rapid quenching, ion

OFFICE OF

MICROELECTRONICS

PROGRAMS

The Office of Microelectronics Programs

(OMP) serves as an information focal point

for semiconductor-related research at NIST. OMP is responsible for matrix management

and contemporary relevance of the National Semiconductor Metrology Program (NSMP).

OMP also manages NIST's strong working

relationships with the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), and SEMATECH.

The NSMP was established by Congress

(within the Department of Commerce) in 1994 in direct response to industry needs. The FY 1996 program portfolio consists of 23 multiyear projects with activities spanning

nearly all of the NIST laboratory organizations. Strong emphasis is on metrological

issues for mainstream silicon CMOS technol- ogy identified in the National Technology

Roadmap for Semiconductors (SIA, 1994). OMP actively seeks industry collaborations

in support of the portfolio and sets priorities based on direct industry contact and

through participation in the planning activities of the SIA, SRC, and SEMATECH. Results
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

implantation in semiconductors and glasses

for resistors > 10

7

, and Evanohm or Nichrome film deposition on Si substrates. The desired output will be fixed-value standards in the range from 1 Q to 10

12 Q. with sub-ppm per year drift rates, temperature

coefficients less than 0.1 ppm/°C, and low power and voltage coefficients. A metallurgical facility with the capability of monitoring

the electrical properties of materials during

annealing and a silicon processing facility

are available, along with access to precision

resistance measurement systems and the national resistance standards.

Contact: Ronald F. Dziuba

(301) 975-4239

email: ronald.dziuba@nist.gov Norman B. Belecki

(301) 975-4223

email: norman.belecki@nist.gov

B146 Metrology Building

QUANTUM HALL EFFECT

The quantum Hall effect now provides the

basis for the national unit of resistance. The

realization of the resistance standard presents many interesting problems; re- searchers at NIST are investigating the

physical principles underlying the effect, understanding sample-specific artifacts, exploring the ac quantum Hall effect, and

improving the measurement systems. Research is being conducted on the range of parameters over which the quantum Hall effect provides the most accurate and repro- ducible standard of resistance.

Using GaAs heterostructures grown at NIST,

researchers are using a dedicated class-10 clean room facility to investigate different methods of making contacts to the devices

that will have very low resistances (in the milli-ohm range) even at temperatures be- low 4.2 K and in high magnetic fields.

NIST researchers also are working to improve and simplify the measurement sys- tems used to calibrate resistors; a new

3He

refrigerator and 16-T magnet facility have been developed for use with a new cryogenic

current comparator. This improved the accuracy of NIST calibrations severalfold.

Contact: Marvin E. Cage

(301) 975-4224

email: marvin.cage@nist.gov

Alan F. Clark

(301) 975-2139

email: alan.clark@nist.gov

B258 Metrology Building

APPLYING HIGH-Tc

SUPERCONDUCTORS TO

PRECISION ELECTRICAL

MEASUREMENTS

NIST and other national standards laboratories for years have used cryogenic current comparators (CCCs) to make ratio measure- ments of voltage, current, and resistance with uncertainties of 0.01 ppm or less. This approach has not found widespread commercial use because the cryogenic current comparator must be operated at liquid-helium

temperatures, which presents a variety of operational difficulties. Moreover, existing

comparators are working prototypes rather than completed instrumentation systems and are difficult to use.

Recent advances in superconductivity tech- nology have made the application of hightemperature superconductors practical. In at

least one case, an integrated circuit SQUID

magnetometer, similar to devices used in CCCs to detect low levels of magnetic flux, has been built that operates at liquid- nitrogen temperatures. Thus, the possibility

for developing a commercial instrument

based on a CCC now has been opened. Such

an instrument might be run with a refrigerator at liquid-nitrogen temperatures.

This development and the possibility of commercialization make it feasible to automate

the basic CCC design, which then will be more attractive for general calibration use. NIST scientists are engaged in designing,

building, and testing CCCs to support measurements of the new national resistance standards based on the quantized Hall effect. This involves establishing a few select ratios

that range from 1:1 to 100:1. Future efforts

will include the development of CCCs with

selectable ratios over a somewhat larger

range.

Contact: Ronald F. Dziuba

(301) 975-4239

email: ronald.dziuba@nist.gov

Randolph E. Elmquist

(301) 975-6591

email: randolph.elmquist@nist.gov

B146 Metrology Building

JOSEPHSON-EFFECT

VOLTAGE STANDARDS

High-accuracy voltage-standard systems have proliferated among many industrial, government, and international standards

laboratories with the advent of the Josephson-array device. Within this laboratory, there are three array voltage-standard systems in operation, including a fully auto- mated 10-V array system. Guest researchers can gain hands-on experience with array sys- tem operation and verification, as well as cooperate on studies into both precision volt- age metrology and Josephson-array physics.

The metrology goals are to improve meas- urement precision to better than one part in

o 10 in applications of direct system-to- system intercomparisons and lab-to-lab volt

transfers, achieve greater reliability in auto- mation algorithms, and further the develop- ment of solid-state reference standards and

precision digital voltmeters.
54 ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

The physics research addresses the effects of electromagnetic noise on the stability and

accuracy of the Josephson quantized-voltage

steps, studies the boundaries of chaotic be- havior in junction- junction interactions, and explores other possible array device applications, such as the generation of ac sig- nals through frequency modulation of the millimeter-wave drive frequency.

Contact: Richard L. Steiner

(301) 975-4226

email: richard.steiner®. nist.gov Alan F. Clark

(301) 975-2139

email: alan.clark@nist.gov

B258 Metrology Building

ADVANCED AC-DC

VOLTAGE AND CURRENT

MEASUREMENTS

Thermal voltage and current converters

offer the most accurate and broadband method for measuring ac voltage and current for applications in communications, power generation, aerospace, and defense. Thermal transfer standards are calibrated by NIST in terms of reference converters, which

themselves have been characterized by refer- ence to the NIST primary standards

special multijunction thermal converters whose performance is known. These primary and working standards in common use throughout the metrology community employ thermal converters fabricated from wire

elements. Researchers at NIST are studying new methods for the manufacture of film thermal converter structures made by the

use of photolithography on silicon substrates. The application of this new technol- ogy may result in improved performance

and reduction in the cost of thermal

converters.

Contact: Joseph R. Kinard

(301) 975-4250

email: joseph.kinard@nist.gov

Norman B. Belecki

(301) 975-4223

email: norman.belecki@nist.gov

B146 Metrology Building

SYNTHESIS OF PRECISE

SIGNALS

NIST is conducting both theoretical and ex- perimental research on the synthesis of precision ac waveforms for use in ac voltage standards operating nominally below

100 MHz and producing both sinusoidal and

arbitrary waveforms. The theoretical work

includes Walsh functions and Fourier analysis, time-domain analysis, and precision RMS-to-dc conversion techniques. Experi- mental work involves high-speed, high- accuracy digital-to-analog conversion;

precision, high-speed switching; assembly

and interpretive-level programming for hardware control; and wideband, fastsettling amplifiers.

Contact:

Nile M. Oldham

(301) 975-2408

email: nile.oldham@nist.gov

Barry A. Bell (301) 975-2402

email: barry.bell@nist.gov

B162 Metrology Building

TESTING ELECTRONIC

SYSTEMS

NIST scientists are developing new testing approaches for electronic systems to mini- mize the attendant testing costs while assur- ing product quality. Program emphasis is on

development and application of generic error modeling methods for describing the sys- tems to be tested. Once an accurate model is

available, it can predict the performance of a device based on the fewest possible tests. Theoretical work centers on dimensionality

selection for empirical models to minimize

prediction errors and on the assignment of uncertainties and confidence limits when

making predictions based on empirical models. Results of this work are being used by

the semiconductor industry to reduce the

costs of testing mixed-signal integrated circuits and by electronic instrument manufacturers to cut the high costs of calibration

test points.

Contact:

T. Michael Souders

(301) 975-2406

email: t.souders@nist.gov

Barry A. Bell (301) 975-2419

email: barry.bell@nist.gov

Bl62 Metrology Building

FAST PULSE AND

WAVEFORM ACQUISITION

STANDARDS

NIST has an active program to provide a

basis for characterizing both the time do- main and frequency domain performance of sampling and digitizing systems, including

analog/digital converters, sampling oscilloscopes, and waveform recorders. Theoretical and experimental research establishes test methods, reference waveforms, and state-ofthe-art sampling technology to support

these systems. Research areas include optoelectronic and electro-optical techniques for
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

sampling and pulse generation in the

1- to 5-picosecond regime; advanced signal

processing methods, including deconvolution, phase-plane compensation and spectral estimation; and ultrahigh accuracy

techniques to support modern sigma-delta

sampling technology.

Contact:

T. Michael Souders

(301) 975-2406

email: t.souders@nist.gov Barry A. Bell

(301) 975-2419

email: barry.bell@nist.gov

B162 Metrology Building

METROLOGY FOR

ELECTRICAL POWER

SYSTEMS

Electrical measurements are critical to the operation of electrical power systems in many ways: they are fundamentally important to control power flow, the maintenance

of reliability and quality, and the revenue metering of electrical power. NIST research

is conducted to support the high reliability

of electric power deliver}', public safety, and fairness in the sale of electric power to customers.

Nearly all equipment installed in the electric power system is subjected to acceptance tests

at high voltage to ensure it can withstand accidental high voltage surges as well as ones

occurring during normal system operation. NIST researchers are working both to improve the precision of conventional methods

traditionally used in high voltage testing as

well as to develop optical and electro-optical

techniques that complement and offer significant advantages over conventional measurement approaches. Power quality is also

of great concern for utilities, who provide

the electric power, and for consumers, who

have equipment such as computers that is

sensitive to electric power surges, sags, and

other transient phenomena. NIST is working

with the electric power industry to identify the sources and presence of electric power

degradation and to mitigate its effects on

sensitive equipment. Magneto-optical meas- urement devices of electrical current are be- ing developed for metering of electrical power. Research at NIST includes the verifi- cation of the accuracy of these devices that

are being introduced into the power system. Other research areas include measurement

of electric and magnetic fields and precision measurements of electric power and energy.

Contact: Gerald J. FitzPatrick

(301) 975-2737

email: gerald.fitzpatrick@nist.gov James K. Olthoff (301) 975-2431

email: james.olthoff@nist.gov

B344 Metrology Building

DIELECTRICS RESEARCH

NIST scientists are developing measurement

methods to characterize dielectrics used as

electrical insulators in electric power sys- tems. Emphasis is on the investigation of phenomena that affect reliability and safety

associated with operation of electrical sys- tems. Specific projects include investigation

of the production of toxic byproducts in electrical discharges, research on the environ- mental impact of the use of gaseous

dielectrics, and the development of diagnostics for predicting failure (or breakdown) of insulating materials. Theoretical work addresses Boltzmann equilibrium statistics, chemical kinetic computer codes, and

computer-aided data acquisition and analysis. Experimental work focuses on highvoltage ac and dc tests, gas chromatography

and mass spectrometric techniques for chemical characterization, and partial discharge measurements in cables and in gas- and liquid-insulated systems.

Contact: Richard J. Van Brunt

(301) 975-2425

email: richard.vanbrunt@nist.gov James K. Olthoff (301) 975-2431

email: james.olthoff@nist.gov

B344 Metrology Building

PLASMA PROCESSING/

PLASMA CHEMISTRY

NIST scientists are investigating the chemical and physical processes occurring in low- temperature discharges by applying a wide

range of diagnostics to well-characterized discharges that are similar to those used in

the manufacturing of microelectronic devices. The goal of this research is to improve

the measurement techniques required to ensure the reproducibility and control of semiconductor etching discharges. The dis- charges under study include radio-frequency

(rf) discharges (generated in Gaseous Electronic Conference rf reference cells, a standard cell used by research labs worldwide)

and low current dc Townsend discharges.

Diagnostics applied to these discharges in- clude mass spectrometric detection of neutral and ionic species generated in the

discharges, analysis of discharge electrical parameters, detection of plasma optical

emission, and laser-induced fluorescence. Additional areas of research include the ac- cumulation and critical analysis of standard

reference data (such as cross sections and

rate coefficients) for use by the semiconductor industry, the measurement of electron attachment cross sections for etching gases, and the investigation of the role of surface charging in low-temperature discharges.

Contact: James K. Olthoff (301) 975-2431

email: james.olthoff@nist.gov B344 Metrology Building
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

VIDEO PROCESSING

Video quality is presently evaluated using

subjective means; however, the exploding

digital video revolution requires signifi- cantly more sophisticated and accurate measurements. The static test patterns and

linear measurement tools for analog video systems do not characterize adaptive, nonlinear digital compression systems. NIST is developing a collection of measurement

tools for the testing and evaluation of digital video signals subjected to compression processing. Similarly, measurement techniques

are being developed for the evaluation of the

visual performance of video displays.

One of the tools used for real-time video processing is the Princeton Engine, a video supercomputer. Consisting of 1,024 parallel processors with wideband video input and

output channels, each processor operates on

one picture element per video scan line, and

all processors execute the same instruction. Programming is accomplished using a subset of the C language having special constructions for parallel operation. Video

recorders, multiscan monitors, highdefinition monitors, and additional video support equipment are available. NIST re- searchers are interested in using the Video Technology Laboratory for a wide variety of collaborative research projects. Such collaborations would focus on precompetitive re- search with broad applications in advancing

the state of the art in digital video systems.

Contact:

Charles Fenimore

(301) 975-2428

email: charles.fenimore@nist.gov B343 Metrology Building

METROLOGY FOR

FLAT-PANEL DISPLAYS

Researchers at NIST are developing the measurement technology for the characterization of advanced image display sys- tems. A set of meaningful performance

specifications is needed that can be used to

assess display quality and that can be applied across the wide spectrum of display

technologies that either are available or will

shortly become available. Display quality

issues are not simply a matter of light measurement, power efficiency, display envi- ronment, or signal quality. Rather, many of these factors act in concert to affect display

quality, with an important addition—the complexities of human visual perception. Research topics include the development of radiometric and colorimetric measurements

of emissive and non-emissive displays, the automation of such measurements, investi- gation of the visual perception of the eye, and modeling of display characteristics us- ing the Princeton Engine video supercomputer (see item above).

Contact: Edward F. Kelley

(301) 975-3842

email: edward.kelley@nist.gov James St. Pierre

(301) 975-4124

email: james.st.pierre@nist.gov

B343 Metrology Building

AUTOMATED

ELECTRONICS

MANUFACTURING

PROGRAM

The Automated Electronics Manufacturing

Program (AEMP) at NIST is working with industry to build the infrastructure for an electronic marketplace and to demonstrate and

apply this technology to the electronics industry. AEMP researchers are actively working in the area of electronic commerce of component information (ECCI). The objective of ECCI is to show the viability of today's technology coupled with emerging

standards to broker electronic component in- formation across the national information

infrastructure. Another enabling technology

for electronic commerce is a complete and

consistent suite of standards for the ex- change of electronic product data descriptions. AEMP is involved in efforts to "harmonize" existing, overlapping standards (such as EDIF, AP210, and IGES) to help industry test for compliance with those

standards, and to work with industry to de- velop standards in critical areas where none

exist. Another emerging area in which AEMP

researchers are involved is the manufacturing execution systems domain for electronics manufacturers. One current project involves technical support and testing of SEMATECH's object oriented computer inte- grated manufacturing framework project. This framework is intended to streamline in- tegration of new equipment and software on

the semiconductor manufacturing floor, thereby helping to minimize the time to market for new products. This technology is crucial to helping the United States maintain a leadership role in the global semiconductor manufacturing industry.

Contact: James St. Pierre

(301) 975-4124

email: james.st.pierre@nist.gov B343 Metrology Building

SEMICONDUCTOR

ELECTRONICS

Division Contact: David G. Seiler

(301) 975-2054

email: david.seiler@nist.gov

fax: (301) 948-4081

B344 Technology Building

METROLOGY FOR

NANOELECTRONICS

The goal of this project is to provide technological leadership to semiconductor and

equipment manufacturers by developing

and evaluating the methods, tools, and artifacts needed to improve the state of the art
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

in compound semiconductor growth and

nanometrology (measurements on a scale of 10 to 100 nm). A state-of-the-art molecular- beam epitaxy facility- is devoted to in-situ metrology using a variety of X-ray and optical in-situ methods. Among these are an insitu X-ray fluorescence probe, multiple

wavelength ellipsometry, X-ray reflectivity, and various radiometric methods to measure wafer temperature during deposition. A

focused ion beam facility is used to fabricate nanostructures for both research and metrol- ogy of nanoscale devices. In-situ measure- ments of growth and structural parameters

are being examined in addition to fabrication properties required for the reliable manufacture of nanostructure devices. Research materials and methods to improve measurement standards also are being

developed.

Contact: Joseph G. Pellegrino

(301) 975-2123

email: joseph.pellegrino@nist.gov

Wen F. Tseng

(301) 975-5291

email: wen.tseng@nist.gov

A305 Technology Building

OPTICAL

CHARACTERIZATION

METROLOGY

Optical spectroscopic studies in the visible and near-visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are invaluable for determining both materials- and device-related

properties. The ability to couple to electronic

states of interest in device applications and

their non-destructive nature make optical

spectroscopic analyses attractive research and analytical tools. Studies currently under way at NT ST focus on understanding the

electronic and structural behavior of semiconductor materials, such as Si, GaAs, and

GaN; microstructures, including quantum

wells and superlattices; and photonic and

electronic devices. Excellent spectroscopic

facilities are available to perform highresolution photoluminescence,

photoluminescence-excitation, Raman

and resonance Raman scattering, reflection, absorption, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and

modulation spectroscopic measurements,

such as electroreflectance and photoreflectance. The equipment used includes spectro- scopic ellipsometers, high-resolution

spectrometers, excitation lasers, spectrometers, cryostats, and associated optical and

electronic instruments.

Contact: Paul M. Amirtharaj

(301) 975-5974

email: paul.amirtharaj@nist.gov David G. Seiler

(301) 975-2081

email: david.seiler@nist.gov

A305 Technology Building

ELECTRICAL

CHARACTERIZATION

METROLOGY

This project conducts research on semiconductor materials, processes, and devices to provide the necessary basis for understanding measurement-related requirements

in semiconductor technology. Electrical methods are used to study such quantities as

the resistivity, densities, and mobilities of

the charge carriers and the deep-level properties in semiconductor materials. The Hall

effect and magnetoresistance can be measured as a function of temperature and magnetic field in a high-field superconducting

magnet system. Software has been developed

to resolve the density and mobility of each component from these measurements in a

multicarrier system. A computer-automated

system for deep-level transient spectroscopy permits high-accuracy measurements of

deep-level cross sections and energies. A new

technique, scanning capacitance microscopy, has been developed for determining

dopant distributions in processed wafers. This method is based on atomic-force microscopy (ATM), with the probe metallized and connected to a very sensitive capaci- tance meter. This represents an advance in capacitance-voltage profiling by replacing

the traditional metal probe pad with a metallized AFM probe. Measurements can be made down to 20 nm resolution. Advanced computer codes for two- and three- dimensional simulations have been devel- oped to obtain the dopant distribution from

the capacitance values measured as a function of probe position and bias voltage.

Contact: Jeremiah R. Lowney

(301) 975-2048

email: jeremiah.lowney@nist.gov

Joseph J. Kopanski

(301) 975-2089

email: joseph.kopanski@nist.gov

A305 Technology Building

THIN-FILM PROCESS

METROLOGY

Fabrication of thin films of various types is a fundamental building block in the semiconductor device industry. Increasingly strin- gent requirements on the structure and

composition of those films are reflected in increasingly stringent requirements on the metrology tools and procedures used for process development and process monitoring. NIST researchers are developing improved procedures, reference data, and

calibration artifacts to support in-situ process monitoring needs as well as in-line and

at-line measurements. Current activities fo- cus on thin-film dielectrics and ion-implant

technology. Research on dielectrics, principally Si02 but also including nitrides and

layered structures, includes improving ellip- sometric characterization of materials needed for gate dielectrics for the year 2000 and beyond, developing an understanding of
58 ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

the effect of interface roughness on accurately determining the film properties needed by industry, developing new and more flexible mechanisms for supporting

traceability to NIST in the area of measure- ment of thin-gate dielectrics, and developing a database of high-accuracy optical constants for silicon and important dielectric layers at temperatures typical of silicon processing steps. Research in ion-implant

technology focuses on the development of

reference artifacts for ion-implant absolute dose tied to common at-line measurements

such as sheet resistance.

Contact: James R. Ehrstein (301) 975-2060

email: james.ehrstein@nist.gov B3 10 Technology Building

SILICON-ON-INSULATOR

METROLOGY

Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers have ad- vantages over bulk silicon in process simplicity and for applications involving low power, high temperature, integrated power, high

speed, and radiation hardness. The National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors

notes that development of low-cost SOI substrate wafers could advance integrated circuit performance a full generation. SOI has been identified as the material of choice for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Low Power Electronics Program,

which is developing the infrastructure for the fabrication of integrated circuits for the

portable, battery-operated, communications/computer electronics of the future. This project supports development of improved SOI material by creating and applying advanced metrology techniques to the evaluation of the material. NIST has devel- oped the capability of annealing SOI wafers

at the high (1350 °C) temperatures required

for fabricating the material and has the capability to fabricate simple test structures on

SOI. Analytical capabilities include ad- vanced chemical-etching techniques combined with optical and electron microscopy

and precision electronic measurements.

Contact:

Peter Roitman

(301) 975-2077

email: peter.roitman@nist.gov

B310 Technology Building

METROLOGY FOR

DEVICES AND PACKAGES

The efficient and reliable application of semiconductor devices and packages re- quires accepted methods for characterizing and modeling these structures. This requires

technically sound methods for measuring

the electrical and thermal properties of devices and packages as well as procedures for validating models and simulations. Studies currently under way at NIST are focusing on model validation procedures for power semi- conductor devices and microelectronic package thermal characterization and model

validation procedures. To accomplish these

tasks, NIST has state-of-the-art modeling and simulation capability for electrical and

thermal behavior of semiconductor device

structures, electronic circuits and systems, and computational fluid dynamics simulations for electronic cooling. Laboratory capabilities include infrared microthermography, low to very high current and voltage

metrology systems, and time-domain reflec- tometry for package characterization.

Coyitact: David L. Blackburn

(301) 975-2068

email: david.blackburn@nist.gov

Allen R. Hefner, Jr. (301) 975-2071

email: allen.hefner@nist.gov

B3 10 Technology Building

METROLOGY FOR

PROCESS AND TOOL

CONTROL

Integrated-circuit (IC) test structures, test- structure-based reference materials, and test methods developed by NIST are used widely

by the semiconductor industry and other government agencies. These devices can be

used to characterize IC manufacturing processes, to evaluate the effectiveness of semi- conductor processing equipment, to obtain

crucial parameters for process or circuit simulators, to perform product acceptance

tests, and to determine the reliability of the products manufactured. NIST work involves

test-structure design, modeling, data acquisition, and data analysis. Institute engineers

are investigating pattern recognition tech- niques for the rapid diagnosis of IC manufacturing processes. They also are developing new structures for nanometerlevel metrology and for establishing methods to determine the reliability of thin films used in state-of-the-art microcircuits.

Coyitact: Michael W. Cresswell

(301) 975-2072

email: michael.cresswell@nist.gov B360 Technology Building

INTERCONNECT

RELIABILITY

METROLOGY

Electrical interconnect reliability of inte- grated circuits continues to be a topic of in- tense interest as evidenced by an increasing

number of publications on the subject each

year. This interest is the result of the planned aggressive scaling of integrated circuits and the need for ever greater reliability

as expressed in the National Technology

Roadmap for Semiconductors. A key under- pinning of efforts in this area is the develop- ment of the measurement tools and

standards to facilitate the goals of the industry. NIST researchers work with domestic
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY 5 g

semiconductor manufacturers and others to develop new and improved test structures,

test methods, and diagnostic procedures for enhanced characterization and reliability of thin-film metal interconnects used in inte- grated circuits.

Advances in microelectronic circuit density, complexity, and reliability as well as greater demands for ever-shorter times to develop and market new products are forcing the

U.S. semiconductor industry to use a new ap- proach to reliability. The traditional ap- proach of using screen and accelerated

stress tests is becoming increasingly impractical to assure the reliability of microelectronic products because too many parts and

too much time are required. NIST is working with the semiconductor industry to im- plement the new "building-in reliability approach," which emphasizes understanding and controlling the causes for reduced reliability.

Contact: HarryS. Schafft

(301) 975-2234

email: harry.schafft@nist.gov B360 Technology Building

DIELECTRIC RELIABILITY

METROLOGY

The U.S. semiconductor industry is aggressively scaling gate-oxide film thickness in microelectronic devices to achieve higher

chip performance and packing density. Re- duced time to market and new oxide processes require fast and effective reliability characterization techniques. NIST, in col- laboration with the semiconductor industry,

is developing physically correct models and

tests to predict reliability of thin oxides under dc and ac operating conditions. Research is being performed to advance the understanding of time-dependent dielectric breakdown in thin Si02 films by verifying

the electric field dependence of the mechanism. High temperature is used to accelerate

dielectric failure so data can be obtained at lower electric fields in reasonable test times.

Current projects focus on the evaluation of accelerated stress tests for predicting the long-term reliability of ultra-thin dielectrics. The project also facilitates the development of national standards for characterizing dielectric integrity to help ensure

consistent measurements among a company's multiple manufacturing plants and

between vendors and customers.

Contact: John S. Suehle

(301) 975-2247

email: john.suehle@nist.gov B360 Technology Building

MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS

(MEMS)

MEMS is a rapidly growing segment of the

U.S. semiconductor industry with a multibillion-dollar market expected to expand

tenfold over the next decade. This emerging

technology uses mechanical structures, made with integrated circuit microfabrication techniques, to perform sensing and ac- tuation functions. Commercial applications

for this technology include pressure sensors,

inertial sensors, fluid regulation and control, optical switching, mass data storage, and chemical- and biological-sensing and

control. Areas of interest include standardization, environmental monitoring, and

control in biomedical, military, and space

applications. Systems aspects address the de- velopment of new circuits and processing

techniques for monolithic integration of MEMS-based systems with new circuits for

control, communication, self-test, and selfcalibration functions. Standards aspects address the need for test structures and test methods for measuring and understanding

the electromechanical properties and reliability aspects of these micromechanicalbased systems. Custom processing

techniques and incorporation of these tech- niques to post-processing of commercial

foundry-fabricated ICs are being developed

and utilized for device fabrication. Computer-aided design methods and stand- ard libraries of device designs are being de- veloped for rapid commercialization and

technology transfer. Areas of specialization include microheating elements to produce

temperature-programmable surfaces for applications in thermal flat-panel displays and

integrated gas analyzers and development of CMOS-based broad-band power detectors for precision power measurement.

Contact: Michael Gaitan

(301) 975-2070

email: michael.gaitan@nist.gov B360 Technology Building

ELECTROMAGNETIC

FIELDS

Division Contact:

Allen C. Newell

(303) 497-3131

email: allen.newell@nist.gov

fax: (303) 497-3122

Division 813.00

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

GUIDED-WAVE

MICROWAVE STANDARDS

AND MEASUREMENTS

The commercial and defense electronic industries rely on microwaves for a variety of

applications. Microwaves are used in many

applications, such as communications, radar, navigation, and environmental monitoring. Microwaves are desirable because of

their high frequency and short wavelength.

The high frequencies allow for very wide

bandwidths, and the short wavelengths are important for reducing the size of components and devices. The accurate characterization of microwave devices and
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

components is critical to the design, develop- ment, testing, and performance of modern

microwave systems. The primary task of device characterization at microwave frequencies consists of measuring the transmission

or reflection response of a device to a known

or controlled stimulus.

The principal quantities that characterize electromagnetic waves propagating in trans- mission lines or similar guided wave structures are impedance, attenuation, scattering parameters, power, and noise. Rapidly devel- oping microwave technology requires the support of advanced measurement tech- niques and standards for these quantities. The microwave industry and the U.S. Depart- ment of Defense rely on NIST for calibrations of transfer standards to provide

accurate, traceable measurements required

for product development, performance evaluation, quality assurance, and commercial in- terchangeability. To support international

traceability requirements, NIST compares its measurements of these quantities with those made by other national metrology institutes by participating in international comparisons coordinated by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures.

During the past decade, NIST researchers have developed six-port vector network analyzers (VNAs) for measuring scattering parameters, impedance, and attenuation. The

six-ports provide an independent measure- ment technique for verifying the accuracy of commercial VNAs. Calibration services for

scattering parameters, impedance, and at- tenuation are offered in popular coaxial and

waveguide sizes from 10 MHz to 100 GHz. NIST also supports the microwave community by developing new measurement tech- niques and evaluating the accuracy of current techniques. Commercial VNAs have become an indispensable tool for modern

microwave measurements. NIST is currently

working on methods for assessing and for

verifying the accuracy of vector network analyzers. As part of this effort, NIST administers a measurement comparison program

with the IEEE Automatic RF Techniques

Group that allows VNA users to compare

their measurements with the measurements

of others.

Microcalorimeters have been developed at NIST for the most accurate microwave

power measurements. NIST researchers have

developed both coaxial and waveguide microwave calorimeters to characterize ther- mistor mounts. Thermistor mounts serve as reference standards for calibrating power

meters and other power measuring equip- ment. Present efforts are directed toward de- veloping coaxial power standards that will operate up to 50 GHz. Calibration services

for coaxial and waveguide thermistor mounts are available from 10 MHz to 100 GHz.

NIST does research on primary noise standards and radiometer systems to support

noise temperature and noise figure measurements. One port noise temperature is deter- mined by reference to a standard noise generator via a radiometer. Calibration services for measuring the thermal noise of coaxial and waveguide noise sources are available at limited frequencies from

30 MHz to 100 GHz. Researchers are developing an automated noise figure radiometer

that will operate over the frequency range from 1 to 18 GHz. This system will measure

the noise figure of active devices.

Contact: Robert M.Judish

(303) 497-3380

email: robert.judish@nist.gov

Division 813.06

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

HIGH-SPEED

MICROELECTRONICS

While the explosion of wireless applications

is fueling the demand for microwave and

radio-frequency microelectronics, advances

in the silicon industry continue to drive the

size of digital circuits down and their clock

rates up. These trends in the wireless and

digital industries have led to increasingly

stringent requirements for the electromagnetic characterization of monolithic micro- wave integrated circuits (MMICs), dense

multilayer interconnects, and other highspeed microelectronic structures. In re- sponse to these requirements, NIST

researchers are developing measurement

methods to characterize key, high-frequency

components and high-performance electronic packages and interconnections.

NIST supports the industry through research and development of on-wafer metrology, particularly for the measurement of scattering, impedance, and noise parameters. Fabrication of co-planar and microstrip calibration standards is an important element in the

task. The project is supported by the NIST

Industrial MMIC Consortium, which provides close collaboration with industry in developing accurate and traceable on-wafer measurements.

The project aims for practical calibration and measurement methods that are suitable

for commercial laboratories. Methods are implemented in instrument control and

data processing software that interface with

a range of laboratory instruments, including

microwave network analyzers, radio- frequency network analyzers, and digital sampling oscilloscopes. This range of options brings the advanced NIST technology

into the hands of microwave, wireless, and

digital engineers.

Contacts: Roger Marks

(303) 497-3037

email: roger.marks@nist.gov

Dylan Williams

(303) 497-3138

email: dylan.williams@nist.gov

Division 813.06

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

ELECTROMAGNETIC

TECHNOLOGY

Division Contact: Richard E. Harris

(303) 497-3776

email: richard.harris@nist.gov

fax: (303) 497-3066

Division 814.00

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

JOSEPHSON ARRAY

DEVELOPMENT

Manufacturers of precision electronic components and instrumentation need intrinsic

electrical standards at a level of accuracy above that achievable by traditional electrical metrology and artifact standards. The

characterization and calibration of modern

digital voltmeters, reference standards, and

analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters require the development of new and

improved intrinsic standards for the meas- urement of ac and dc voltage. Target cus- tomers are electronic instrument makers,

Department of Defense contractors, and national and military standards laboratories.

The project pioneered the development of

practical Josephson voltage standards and, by encouraging the commercialization of

these standards, has allowed U.S. industry to dominate the world market for Josephson

voltage systems and components. Continuing work is designed to make these systems

faster, easier to use, and more reliable. The

project is developing a new generation of programmable voltage standards that can move rapidly to any specified output voltage,

j Ultimately, the new standards should be fast enough to synthesize ac waveforms.

Contact:

Clark A. Hamilton

(303) 497-3740

email: clark.hamilton@nist.gov

Division 814.03

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

NANOSCALE

CRYOELECTRONICS

Ultrasmall electronic devices operated at cryogenic temperatures offer unique capabilities that impact both fundamental metrology and industrial instrumentation. This

project is developing a device for accurately

counting electrons that will provide a funda- mental standard for capacitance and allow an essentially new determination of the fine- structure constant. Operated in ultrasmall (100 nm) tunnel junctions at ultralow temperature (0.05 K), the device pumps electrons onto a capacitor one by one at a rate determined by an external clock. This device

will become metrologically important when

it is improved to the point where electrons

are counted with an error rate less than

about 1 part in 10

9

.

Another cryogenic device under development

meets the need for an X-ray detector with

the improved energy resolution required for

precise X-ray microanalysis. Such an X-ray

detector, with an energy resolution of a few

electron volts, can be made using the rapid

change in resistance of a superconductor

near its transition temperature to sense the X-ray-induced temperature rise of electrons

in a normal metal film held at about 0.1 K. Such ultrasensitive thermometers offer enor- mous potential to materials analysis in the semiconductor and other industries and

promise remarkable advances for optical detectors, high-energy physics, and analysis of

biological molecules.

Contact: Richard L. Kautz

(303) 497-3391

email: richard.kautz@nist.gov

Division 814.03

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

HIGH-PERFORMANCE

SENSORS, INFRARED

DETECTORS, AND

MIXERS

This project addresses the needs of users and

manufacturers of long-wavelength infrared (IR) detectors. Precise radiometric calibration of such systems requires an improved

absolute cryogenic radiometer for blackbody

and band-limited IR radiation with higher accuracy and sensitivity than is presently

available. The physical foundation of the

project is the low noise and high sensitivity

of superconducting transition-edge ther- mometers. Use of a transition-edge detector

also is expected to improve the sensitivity of

the ac/dc thermal conversion measurements

by a factor of between 10 and 100 over room

temperature detectors. In addition, manufacturers and users of room-temperature

infrared imagers are seeking increased functionality from their systems. With support from the Department of Energy and a large commercial defense contractor, the project

explores novel means of obtaining increased

functionality, such as antenna-coupling of IR detectors for polarization discrimination.

This project also explores the capabilities of very high frequency diodes of various types, particularly superconducting and roomtemperature metallic tunnel junctions. The

frequency agility provided by such highspeed diodes will be important to applications such as the wavelength-division

multiplexed telecommunications system in which very precise measurement and control of IR frequency is required. A further application for these devices is infrared rectification for solar energy generation, which, because it offers the possibility of raising the
52 ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

efficiency beyond conventional solar cells, is

of great interest to the Department of Defense for size-constrained, power-starved environments such as satellites.

Contact:

Erich N. Grossman

(303) 497-5102

email: erich.grossman@nist.gov

Division 814.03

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

SUPERCONDUCTOR

STANDARDS AND

TECHNOLOGY

Manufacturers of superconducting wire need

practical and accurate methods for characterizing critical current, ac loss, and other performance parameters. The unbiased

feedback of conductor performance and measurement considerations to U.S. manufacturers is important to maintain their competitive position in support of magnetic

resonance imaging, electric power, laboratory magnets, and other applications.

For Nb3Sn wires, the properties and handling of the sample mandrel can signifi- cantly affect the measured critical current. For high-temperature superconductors, sample damage, sample variability, and mounting variability can significantly affect the measured critical current. This project provides standards, measurement techniques,

quality assurance, reference data, and clarification of issues for both high- and low- temperature superconducting wire

technology. In conjunction with international standards organizations, it develops standards for critical current and other pa- rameter measurements, conducts research, and leads interlaboratory comparisons. It

represents, updates, and seeks input from

U.S. industry throughout the process of

standards creation in order to protect U.S.

interest in international trade.

Contact: Loren F. Goodrich

(303) 497-3143

email: loren.goodrich@nist.gov

Division 814.05

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

SUPERCONDUCTOR

INTERFACES AND

ELECTRICAL TRANSPORT

The high-temperature-superconductor

(HTS) industry needs high-quality contacts and interfaces for both thin-film and bulk

conductors. Industry has looked to NIST for engineering help and an understanding of how to control the surfaces of these new materials. The new HTS materials also have significant magnetic field anisotropy, which

has opened a new set of measurement and

modeling problems for conductor performance. Many of the companies that have ex- pressed a need for the expertise and the equipment available at NIST are small

start-up companies without extensive

infrastructure.

The thin-film fabrication equipment offers both sputter and laser- ablation deposition of HTS materials, reflection high-energy elec- tron diffraction analysis, in situ characterization of process gas and background

contaminants, ion-milling, and etching, all

in the same vacuum chamber. Equipment

to perform in situ scanning tunneling microscopy surface analysis of HTS films al- lows surface conductivity maps to be made

immediately after film fabrication.

In magnet technology, both HTS and low- temperature-superconductor magnets are being developed with larger volumes and

higher fields. Both lead to higher magnetic

loading of the superconductor, which necessitates measurements of the effect of stress on electrical performance. The project in- strumentation in the electromechanical

area is the only apparatus in the United

States for electrical transport measurements

of superconductors at high magnetic fields.

Contact: John W. Ekin

(303) 497-5448

email: john.ekin@nist.gov

Division 814.05

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

HIGH-TEMPERATURE

SUPERCONDUCTING

ELECTRONICS

High-temperature superconductivity (HTS)

has opened the possibility for operating su- perconducting electronic instrumentation at temperatures accessible with present-day

cryocoolers. Low-temperature superconductors are used to produce unique standards, such as the Josephson volt, and measure- ment apparatus, such as superconducting

quantum interference devices (SQUIDs).

Equivalent HTS devices would expand the

applicability of these devices far beyond

standards and research laboratories.

This project has developed fabrication, test- ing capabilities, and theoretical competence

for HTS devices in the areas of microwave and terahertz metrology and technology.

The project works with the HTS communication industry to measure and improve the power-handling capabilities of HTS devices

as well as improve microwave measurement

and characterization techniques for HTS

films and devices. It works with industry and

with other NIST divisions to develop and test HTS bolometers for calibrated radiometers,

and it evaluates and improves HTS Joseph- son junctions for use in voltage standards,

terahertz detectors, and other devices to meet the measurement and application needs of industry.

Contact: David A. Rudman

(303) 497-5081

email: david.rudman@nist.gov

Division 814.03

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

MICROSTRUCTURAL

ANALYSIS FOR

ELECTROMAGNETIC

TECHNOLOGY

Microstructural properties are primary limitations for applications of high-temperature

superconductivity, magnetic recording, and

non-linear optics. Understanding and controlling the relationships between microstructure and properties are key to improving and implementing these technologies. Flux pinning, phase uniformity and stability, surface roughness, process reproducibility, and degradation due to processing are a few of the issues restricting applications of high-temperature superconductors. Magnetic recording materials must

be improved to achieve higher recording

densities and faster data storage and retrieval. Non-linear optical materials are emerging with broad applications for the communications and medical industries. The further development and understanding

of the microstructures of all these materials

are important for supporting national

goals of improved communications and

competitiveness.

This project performs detailed evaluations of

the microstructures of a variety of electro- magnetic materials by using scanning probe

microscopies, electron microscopies, and

X-ray analysis. By correlating these data

with measured properties, an understanding

is developed of how the microstructures de- pend on processing and how they, in turn, influence properties. This knowledge is used

to determine the materials and processing

conditions necessary to obtain desired properties for specific applications, such as step- edge junctions, microwave devices,

magnetic recording media, read-write heads, and compact blue-green lasers.

Contact: Alexana Roshko

(303) 497-5420

email: alexana.roshko@nist.gov

Division 815.04

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

MAGNETIC RECORDING

METROLOGY

The magnetic recording industry is rapidly

advancing the state of the art in highdensity information storage and read devices. To maintain their competitive

advantage in rigid-disk manufacture, U.S. firms must constantly look to new properties

of magnetic materials. The accurate characterization of new materials is often beyond

the capability of small companies most

eager to exploit them. Thus, NIST develops

metrology to assist the magnetic recording

industry and develops techniques to characterize the performance of ultrahigh-density

magnetic recording systems and of sub- micrometer magnetoresistive sensors.

This project has developed a scanning micro- magnetic recording system to characterize ultrahigh-density recording. The system combines the ability to read and write conventional bit tracks under a variety of controlled conditions with the ability to image

the magnetic structure and allows the characterization of advanced sensors without the need for full head fabrication. Development

is coordinated with the needs of commercial

disk drive, head, and media manufacturers

as well as with the National Storage Industry

Consortium heads program. The project develops micromagnetic models of magnetoresistive sensors and media and develops

characterization techniques for the new generation of submicrometer magnetoresistive

sensors to be used in ultrahigh-density magnetic recording.

Contact: Stephen E. Russek

(303) 497-5097

email: stephen.russek@nist.gov

Division 814.05

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

MAGNETIC INSTRUMENTS

AND MATERIALS

CHARACTERIZATION

Researchers, developers, producers, and

users of magnetic and superconductor

materials need tools for the accurate deter- mination of magnetic properties and the

analytical interpretation of data. This project develops the instruments, devices, tech- niques, and theoretical models needed to characterize the magnetic properties of

films, particles, and bulk and amorphous

material as functions of magnetic field

strength, field history, temperature, and

time. Industries supported include low- temperature and high-temperature super- conductor wire manufacturers; manufacturers and users of magnetic particles, thinfilm recording media, and thin-film record- ing and read-back heads; producers of microwave materials; companies re- searching uses of magnetoresistive sensors; and researchers in medicine.

NIST develops, promotes, and transfers to in- dustry magnetic metrology for applications

in magneto-optics, magnetic recording,

practical superconductors, medicine, power

conversion, and high-frequency electromagnetics. This project also provides measure- ment services, often in the form of

collaborations, to laboratories that do not have magnetic measurement capability and

maintains unique measurement instrumentation. Examples are ultra-sensitive magnetic instruments based on superconducting
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

quantum interference devices and a magneto-optic microscope with a resolution

better than the wavelength of light.

Contact: Ron Goldfarb

(303) 497-3650

email: ronald.goldfarb@nist.gov

Division 814.05

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

niques tailored to specific problems desig- nated by the magnetic recording industry.

Contact: John M. Moreland

(303) 497-3641

email: john.moreland@nist.gov

Division 814.05

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

OPTOELECTRONICS

Division Contact: Gordon Day

(303) 497-5204

email: gordan.day@nist.gov

fax: (303) 497-7671

Division 815.00

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

LASER RADIOMETRY

This project develops measurement methods

and standards for characterizing laser sources and detectors used primarily with continuous-wave radiation. It also develops

and maintains measurement services for laser power and energy, optical fiber power, and related parameters.

Accurate characterization of optoelectronic sources and detectors is crucial to the effective development and use of industrial technologies such as lightwave telecommunications, laser-based medical instrumentation, materials processing, photolithography, data storage, and laser safety equip- ment. The laser radiometry project focuses on selected critical parameters intrinsic to optoelectronic sources and detectors, especially the calibration of optical fiber power

meters and laser power/energy meters at commonly used wavelengths and power levels. In addition, special test measurements

are available for linearity, spectral responsivity, and spatial uniformity of optical power

meters and detectors. In support of source

characterization, measurement methods are developed to evaluate and reduce laser intensity noise and to characterize beam intensity

profiles and propagation of laser beams.

Project members participate in national and

international standards committees developing standards for laser safety, laser radiation measurements (such as beam profile and

pointing stability), and optical-powerrelated measurements. They extend and improve source and detector characterizations, including development of low-noise, spectrally flat, highly uniform pyroelectric detectors and tunable-wavelength optical-fiber power measurement systems.

Contact: Thomas R. Scott

(303) 497-3651

email: thomas.scott@nist.gov

Division 815.01

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

HIGH-SPEED

MEASUREMENTS

This project provides advanced metrology,

standards, and measurement services relat- ing to temporal properties of optical sources and detectors used with optoelectronic

systems.

High-bandwidth measurements are needed

to support high-performance systems that take advantage of the potential bandwidth of

optical fiber. Systems presently being installed operate at 5 to 10 gigabits per second

(Gbit/s) using pure optical time division multiplexing (OTDM); research is being conducted on the next generation of OTDM sys- tems at 20 to 40 Gbit/s. Methods are needed

to characterize the frequency and impulse

response of high-speed sources and detectors

to at least the third harmonic of the system

modulation rate. Burst mode operation in asynchronous transfer mode networks re- quires characterization at very low frequencies. Increasingly tight tolerances in both

digital and analog systems require fre- quency response measurements with low

uncertainty. Source and detector noise measurements are required to predict low bit

NANOPROBE IMAGING

FOR MAGNETIC

TECHNOLOGY

Magnetic recording technology in the mid

1990s is a $50 billion worldwide industry

consisting mainly of tape-drive and diskdrive manufacturers. The technology has advanced to where nanometer-scale morphological, magnetic, and electrical properties

play important roles in drive performance.

Images showing microroughness, device di- mensions, magnetic field patterns, and local

electronic processes provide important infor- mation about the fundamental operation and ultimate limitations of drive components. In addition, images of components

shipped for assembly can be used to deter- mine quality before manufacture of the complete drive. Scanned-probe microscopies, such as scanned-tunneling, atomic-force,

and magnetic-force microscopies, and scan- ning potentiometry are uniquely qualified

for many of these applications because of the nanometer-scale dimensions of the vari- ous types of probes.

By working closely with industry, this project helps to determine which kinds of SPM

technology developed by the scientific community may have commercial impact. By

optimizing techniques for measurement, the

project establishes standard levels of instru- ment performance. This project maintains an active research program to develop new

imaging and image measurement tech-
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

error ratios in computer interconnects, high

carrier-to-noise ratios in analog systems, and to support Erbium-doped fiber amplifier

noise-figure measurements using electrical noise methods. The high-resolution photolithography and corneal sculpting markets re- quire pulsed Excimer laser measurements.

Intensive use of laser target designators by

the armed forces requires traceable, lowlevel pulse power and energy calibration standards at 1.06 \im and 1.55 fim.

Contact: Paul D. Hale

(303) 497-5367

email: paul.hale@nist.gov

Division 815.01

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

FIBER-OPTIC

METROLOGY

Optical fibers have largely replaced coaxial

cable in long-distance telecommunications

systems and rapidly are being installed in local-area applications. NIST staff interact with industry groups to develop measure- ment methods and reference standards for the characterization of these components.

The joining of optical fibers requires the

fiber to have accurately controlled dimensions. NIST-developed Standard Reference

Materials for cladding diameter allow manufacturers to calibrate instrumentation used

in manufacturing and quality control; geometrical standards for fiber coatings and

connector ferrules are being developed as

well. Dispersion, the variation of propagation velocity with wavelength or polarization, sets the limit for the rate at which

information can be transmitted; measure- ment methods and standards for both chro- matic dispersion and polarization-mode

dispersion are currently under development.

The development of optical amplifiers has brought revolutionary changes to the design

of communications; these new components

require special methods of characterization now in development. Non-linear properties

of fiber, such as four-wave mixing and soliton effects, have been studied and applied to instrumentation. Novel implementations of reflectometry in fiber are also studied.

This project develops advanced measure- ment methods and Standard Reference

Materials for optical fibers and interacts with standards groups to provide a metrol- ogy base for the lightwave communication

industry.

Contact: Douglas L. Franzen

(303) 497-3346

email: douglas.franzen@nist.gov

Division 815.02

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

INTEGRATED OPTIC

METROLOGY

Optical waveguides in planar geometries,

often called integrated optics, are increasingly used in communications and other

optoelectronic systems. This project develops advanced measurement methods for inte- grated optical waveguides and interacts with

standards groups to provide a metrology

base for the lightwave communications industry. As the optical communications industry moves toward local area networks and

toward fiber to the home, there is increasing need for inexpensive passive components,

such as splitters. Additionally, such components are needed because long-distance

telephony is retrofitting to wavelengthdivision multiplexing. Several companies

are manufacturing 1 x N splitters or are about to market them. There are, however, no standard measurement procedures similar to those for fiber-index profile and

mode-field diameter. Nor are there artifact standards similar to those for fiber geometry. It also is not obvious how to perform

analogous measurements when the mode

field pattern of an integrated optical

waveguide is not circularly symmetric or when the fiber measurement is performed

using a cutback technique or a mandrel

wrap. Thus, several critical measurements

are under examination.

Contact: Matt Young

(303) 497-3223

email: matt.young@nist.gov

Division 815.02

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

OPTICAL FIBER SENSORS

The NIST optical fiber sensors project supports the sensor industry broadly by providing measurements and standards for the characterization of optical materials and components used in sensors. Researchers

also develop and evaluate new fiber optic sensors for other government agencies and

industry. Most of the work has been devoted

to high-sensitivity, high-bandwidth electric current and magnetic field sensing,

although recent work has involved other measurands. A broad range of research and

development is performed, including trans- ducer, component, systems, and materials work. When possible, newly developed sensor technology is transferred to interested U.S. companies. A successful example involves annealed fiber coil technology that creates

stable current sensors out of common optical fiber and is now commercially available.

In collaboration with U.S. companies NIST

also is developing a Standard Reference Material for optical retardance. The device, based on Fresnel rhombs, will have nominally 90 degree retardance at 1.3 |J.m with

0.1 degree stability over wide ranges of wavelength, angle, and temperature. In addition

to the Standard Reference Material, special measurement services for retardance using

the accurate methods developed at NIST will be offered.

Contact: Sarah L. Gilbert

(303) 497-3120

email: sarah.gilbert@nist.gov

Division 815.03

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

FIBER AND DISCRETE

COMPONENTS

Advanced optical communications systems

use many different types of components to control and modify propagating signals. NIST develops measurement technology to characterize these components and understand their limits.

This project is currently conducting re- search on polarization-dependent loss and

gain metrology, characterization of photo- induced Bragg fiber gratings, and wavelength standards for optical fiber communications. Polarization-dependent

loss and gain in components affect a sys- tem's performance, especially when many

components are in the system. NIST is devel- oping a polarization-dependent loss calibration standard for commercial test instru- ments and is characterizing polarizationdependent gain of fiber amplifiers. Photo- induced Bragg gratings in optical fiber are

likely to be incorporated in fiber lasers, dis- persion compensators, and filters. The project evaluates the growth characteristics and

long-term stability of these fiber gratings.

The project is also developing Standard Ref- erence Material absorption cells for wavelength calibration in the 1.5 |J.m region. These cells can be used to calibrate the in- struments that characterize the spectrum of sources and wavelength dependence of components. This calibration capability will be- come increasingly important as wavelengthdivision multiplexing optical communication systems are implemented.

Contact: Sarah L. Gilbert

(303) 497-3120

email: sarah.gilbert@nist.gov

Division 815.03

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

DIELECTRIC MATERIALS

AND DEVICES

NIST is developing measurement methods

and acquiring critical data to improve the manufacturing of dielectric optical devices and materials. This work supports eventual and current commercial applications requiring passive optical components, electrooptic and non-linear devices, and compact

solid-state lasers. Research activities include developing rapid non-destructive evaluation methods for bulk and thin-film ferroelectric materials such as lithium niobate, lithium

tantalate, potassium titanyl phosphate, and

non-linear polymers. Domain-engineered

geometries of these materials also are under

investigation. Commercial application of

this work supports device and product devel- opment for optical data storage, biomedical

lasers, vehicle navigation, and optical communications. NIST also is improving methods for the manufacture of compact

rare-earth-doped solid-state waveguide lasers and amplifiers. This effort is currently

emphasizing Nd-, Er-, and Yb-doped silicate and phosphate glasses. Critical measure- ments include evaluation of the dopant concentration profiles that define waveguides

and spectroscopic properties such as life- times and cross sections. Rigorous numerical modeling is leading to optimized designs

of mode-locked lasers, Q-switched lasers, and optical amplifiers. Various pulsed,

continuous-wave, branched, and narrowline lasers have been developed, including

distributed Bragg-reflector lasers. Commercial applications include sensors and optical telecommunications.

Contact: Norman A. Sanford

(303) 497-5239

email: norman.sanford@nist.gov

Division 815.04

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

SEMICONDUCTOR

MATERIALS AND DEVICES

The commercial success of semiconductor

optoelectronic devices in an ever widening

array of applications (telecommunications,

computer interconnects, data storage, display, printing, and sensor systems) requires low-cost manufacturing. NIST scientists de- velop measurement tools suitable for critical

stages in the manufacture of compound

semiconductor light-emitting diodes, diode

lasers, detectors, and modulators. To improve wafer yield, NIST is studying optical methods for in-process monitoring and control of semiconductor layer deposition. The

operation of optoelectronic devices depends

critically on the thickness and compositional uniformity of epitaxial layers. NIST

researchers use computer simulations and

the correlation of data from several tech- niques—X-ray diffraction, transmission

electron microscopy, reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence

spectroscopy—to improve the measurement

accuracy. Test structures and novel measure- ment techniques have been developed to precisely measure optical constants, defect

diffusion, and quantum microcavity effects. Researchers fabricate semiconductor quantum-well devices for use in optical metrol- ogy and sensing. In support of next- generation optical interconnect, display, and data storage products, NIST scientists

are measuring the properties of arrayed

surface-emitting lasers.

Contact: David H. Christensen

(303) 497-3354

email: david.christensen@nist.gov

Division 815.04

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY 57

RESEARCH

FACILITIES

SEMICONDUCTOR

PROCESSING

LABORATORY

As integrated circuit (IC) sizes increase to more than 1 cm

2 and feature sizes within

the circuits decrease to less than 1 |im,

critical demands are placed on the measure- ment capability- required to control and

monitor IC fabrication successfully. To meet

the demand, NIST researchers are developing state-of-the-art measurement proce- dures for microelectronics manufacturing.

The Semiconductor Processing Laboratory

provides a quality physical environment for a variety of research projects in semiconductor microelectronics as well as in other

areas of physics, chemistry, and materials research. The laboratory facilities are used for

projects addressing many areas of semiconductor materials and processes, including

process control and metrology, materials

characterization, and the use of integrated

circuit materials and processes for novel

applications.

The laboratory complex occupies about 372 square meters, approximately half of which is composed of clean rooms. Within

the clean rooms, work areas are maintained

at class 10. The facility is designed so the work areas can be modified easily to accommodate the frequent equipment and other changes required by research.

CAPABILITIES The laboratory has a complete capability for

IC fabrication. Principal processing and

analytical equipment is listed below. The capabilities are expanded and improved continuously to meet technological challenges.

• Diffusion, Oxidation, and Annealing.

Six furnace tubes for up to 75 mm diameter

wafers and nine tubes for up to 100 mm

diameter wafers.

• Photolithography. Research mask aligner

(proximity and contact) for wafers up to 100 mm in diameter and irregularly shaped samples and 10 x direct-step-on wafer system

for 75 mm diameter wafers. Photoresist spin

coating and developing and related chemical processing, including oxygen plasma

stripping. E-beam writing and SEM examination of small features on 75 mm wafers.

• Film Deposition. Low-pressure chemical

vapor deposition systems for depositing

silicon nitride, polysilicon, and low- temperature silicon dioxide. Rf and dc vacuum sputtering of metals and dielectrics. Electron beam and hot filament vacuum

evaporation of metals.

• Etching. Wet and dry etching processes. Reactive ion beam etcher capable of ion milling and chemical etching with gases such as freon, sulfur hexafluoride, oxygen, and chlorine. Plasma barrel etching of

nitride films and wet chemical etching of

silicon for micromachining.

• Ion Implantation. Multipurpose 200 keV

ion implanter.

• Analytical Measurements. Thin-film re- flectometry and other thickness measurements, optical microscopy, and grooving

and staining.

• In-Situ Metrology. In-situ, real-time, multiple wavelength ellipsometry to measure optical constants of silicon and other CVD materials such as silicon dioxide,

polysilicon, silicon nitride, etc.

APPLICATIONS Small quantities of specialized semiconductor test specimens, experimental samples,

prototype devices, and processed materials can be produced. The processes and process- ing equipment can be monitored during operation to study the process chemistry and

physics. The effects of variations in operat- ing conditions and process gases and chemical purities can be investigated. Research is performed under well-controlled conditions.

A research-oriented facility, the laboratory is not designed to produce large-scale ICs or

similar complex structures. Rather, the laboratory emphasizes breadth and flexibility to support a wide variety of projects.

Currently, research projects address many

aspects of microelectronic processing steps and materials as well as silicon micro- machining. Examples include: metal- oxide-semiconductor measurements; metalsemiconductor-specific contact resistivity; uniformity of resistivity, ion-implanted

dopant density, surface potential, and interface state density; characterization of deposited insulating films on silicon carbide; ionization and activation of ion-implanted

species in semiconductors as a function of annealing temperature; electrical tech- niques for dopant profiling and leakage current measurements; and processing effects on silicon-on-insulator materials. A simple

CMOS process has been established.

AVAILABILITY Laboratory staff welcome collaborative re- search projects consistent with the research

goals of the NIST semiconductor program. Work is performed in cooperation with the

technical staff of the laboratory.

The most productive arrangements begin

with development of a research plan with

specific goals. The commitment of knowledgeable researchers to work closely with NIST staff and the provision of equipment

and other needed resources are required. Because hazardous materials are present, laboratory staff must supervise all research

activities.

Contact: Donald B. Novotny

(301) 975-2699

email: donald.novotny@nist.gov B310 Technology Building
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

MOLECULAR-BEAM

EPITAXY FACILITY

Molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) of III-V semiconductors is used to fabricate heterostructures with highly controlled electrical,

optical, and structural properties. The facility's primary role is to study and measure

material parameters of advanced compound

semiconductors, especially in ways that pro- mote new and improved measurement tech- niques. The MBE facility is equipped with a dual-chamber MBE system. One chamber is devoted to the fabrication of heterostructures for research and metrology. This effort includes high-mobility modulation-doped

field-effect transistors, quantum Hall devices, SEED devices, superlattices, lasers, and optical modulators. The adjoining

chamber is a state-of-the art MBE for devel- oping and performing in-situ metrology of advanced semiconductors. What distin- guishes this effort from others is the availability of numerous in-situ probes that can

simultaneously measure the same materials parameters over a wide range of temperatures. This will lead to a better understanding of the limitations of an individual probe and will provide industrial manufacturers with important correlations they can

use for improved growth control.

Contact: Joseph G. Pellegrino (301) 975-2123

email: joseph.pellegrino@nist.gov A305 Technology Building

WAFER PROBING

LABORATORY

The NIST Wafer Probing Laboratory provides

the capability for automated dc probing of

test devices on up to 200 mm wafers. The sys- tem consists of a state-of-the-art commercial parameter analysis test system upgraded

with a nanovolt digital multimeter controlled by a workstation. A computer-controlled 200 mm wafer prober allows for fast wafer

mapping of devices. A switching matrix al- lows for the use of up to 36 independent connections; these may go either directly to a probe card for wafer probing or, through use

of adapter boards, directly to packaged parts. Currently, the Wafer Probing Laboratory is primarily used in the development and

evaluation of VLSI test structures for metrol- ogy applications; the system also is capable

of measuring the dc characteristics of devices such as transistors. Additional equip- ment in the Wafer Probing Laboratory

includes a 125 mm manual wafer probe station and inspection microscopes. This facility is available in support of collaborative research with NIST.

Contact: Richard A. Allen (301) 975-5026

email: richard.allen@nist.gov B360 Technology Building

MODE-STIRRED

CHAMBERS

NIST researchers have designed and constructed mode-stirred (reverberating) chambers to measure radiated electromagnetic

emission, immunity of electronic equip- ment, and shielding effectiveness of materials and cable/connector assemblies. A

mode-stirred chamber is an electrically

large (in terms of wavelength), high-quality

cavity whose boundary conditions are varied by means of a rotating conductive tuner.

CAPABILITIES The mode-stirred chamber simulates nearfield conditions for tests at frequencies from

200 MHz to 40 GHz. Equipment as large as

1.5 m x 2.0 m x 3.0 m can be tested in highlevel test fields up to 1000 V/m.

APPLICATIONS

In addition to performing radiated-emission

or immunity measurements of electronic equipment, the mode-stirred chambers can measure the shielding effectiveness of gasketing, composites, and other materials used

for radio-frequency shielding applications.

The chambers also can be used to measure

the shielding effectiveness of wiring harnesses, printed circuit boards, and connector

assemblies. To perform faster immunity

measurements, NIST researchers are studying frequency stirring as an alternative to mechanical stirring. Preliminary data indi- cate that good field uniformity can be obtained by using bandwidths on the order of 10 MHz.

AVAILABILITY Two chambers are available. NIST staff are available for collaborative programs or to advise and interpret measurement results.

Contact: Motohisa Kanda

(303) 497-5320

email: motohisa.kanda@nist.gov

Division 813.07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

GROUND SCREEN

ANTENNA RANGE

The ground screen antenna is an open area

test site.

CAPABILITIES The ground screen consists of 6.35 mm

mesh galvanized hardware cloth stretched over a level concrete slab. The screen is 30.5 m wide by 6l m long and permits farfield measurements in the high-frequency

portion of the spectrum. The mesh dimension provides for an efficient ground plane

well into the ultrahigh frequency part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY 6g

APPLICATIONS The range can be used for the following

applications:

• antenna calibrations,

• antenna patterns at any polarization,

• electromagnetic immunity measurements,

• electromagnetic radiated emission measurements,

• calibration of field intensity meters, and

• wave propagation studies.

AVAILABILITY This facility is used heavily in performing

calibrations for industry and other govern- mental agencies. It is available for inde- pendent or collaborative work.

Contact: Motohisa Kanda

(303) 497-5320

email: motohisa.kanda@nist.gov

Division 813.07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

TRANSVERSE

ELECTROMAGNETIC

CELL

NIST researchers have designed and constructed several transverse electromagnetic

(TEM) cells that are available for use. A TEM cell is an enclosure for performing

radiated electromagnetic emission and

susceptibility measurements of electronic equipment. Its design is based on the concept of an expanded transmission line operated in a TEM mode.

CAPABILITIES The cell provides a shielded environment for

testing without introducing multiple reflections experienced with the conventional

shielded enclosure. It simulates very closely a planar far field in free space and has

constant amplitude and linear phase

characteristics.

APPLICATIONS

In addition to radiated electromagnetic interference testing, other applications of the TEM cells include the calibration of anten- nas and the study of biological effects of radio-frequency radiation.

AVAILABILITY

Several TEM cells with five different sizes and five upper frequency limits in the 100 MHz to 1 GHz frequency range are available. In collaborative programs, NIST staff are

available to advise and interpret measure- ment results. Independent testing also can

be arranged.

Contact: Motohisa Kanda

(303) 497-5320

email: motohisa.kanda@nist.gov

Division 813.07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

ELECTROMAGNETIC

ANECHOIC CHAMBER

The electromagnetic (EM) anechoic chamber at NIST is a facility for generating standard, well-characterized electromagnetic

fields. Such fields are fundamental to the

research, development, and evaluation of antennas, field probes, and EM material

properties.

CAPABILITIES EM fields up to 100 V/m can be established

in the chamber over the broad frequency range from 200 MHz to 40 GHz and up to 200V/m for certain bands above 1 GHz. A

majority of the individual components composing the measurement system are under computer control, thus enhancing statistical

control of the measurements. The chamber

measures 8.5 m x 6.7 m x 4.9 m.

APPLICATIONS The EM chamber is used in areas such as:

• research, development, and evaluation of new EM-field-generation and measurement

methods;

• calibration of field measurement

instruments;

• immunity testing of electronic equipment;

• shielding effectiveness and material parameter studies; and

• special tests for industry, government

agencies, and universities.

AVAILABILITY This facility is used heavily in performing

calibrations for industry and other govern- mental agencies. It is available for inde- pendent or collaborative work with NIST.

Contact: Motohisa Kanda

(303) 497-5320

email: motohisa.kanda@nist.gov

Division 813.07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

CONCENTRIC LOOP

ANTENNA

SYSTEMS (CLAS)

NIST researchers have developed an an- tenna system consisting of three concentric, orthogonal metal loops, each having two

diametrically opposed gaps. Analog signals from the gaps are relayed to processing electronics by fiber optic links in order to pre- vent distortion of the measured fields by

electrical conductors. The signals are combined to give both the electric and magnetic

components of an incident field.
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

CAPABILITIES The present system consists of 1 m diameter

loops, which are usable from 3 kHz to 100 MHz. The frequency range can be

shifted upward by using smaller diameter

loops. The minimum detectable power radi- ated from a device near the center of the loops ranges from 0.1 fW at 10 MHz to 1 pW

at 100 MHz, with a 1 Hz noise bandwidth. The system has a dynamic range of 100 dB.

APPLICATIONS Loop antenna systems can be used for:

• measurements of total E and H emissions from electronic devices such as video display terminals (VDT) that are placed near the center of the three loops;

• determination of the Poynting vector from incident plane waves;

• near-field measurements of power radiated from strong sources used in EMI/EMP

testing;

• measurement of field levels near large

conducting structures where plane wave

approximations are not valid.

AVAILABILITY The present 1 m diameter system is being

used as a research tool to develop standard measurement techniques for emissions from

VDTs. It is available for collaborative work

in this or other areas of potential usefulness. Loops with other diameters or special re- quirements could be fabricated by special

arrangement.

Contact: Motohisa Kanda

(303) 497-5320

email: motohisa.kanda@nist.gov

Division 813.07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

STANDARD TRANSIENT/

IMPULSIVE FIELD

FACILITY

This facility is designed to generate and

transmit standard transient fields. The sys- tem consists of a 30-square-meter ground

plane and a 3 m conical transmitter. The in- put signal is transmitted as a well-defined

spherically expanding wave that can be used

to evaluate the impulse response of electro- magnetic probes and sensors.

CAPABILITIES The transmit capabilities are primarily limited by the output spectrum and amplitude

of the input signal source. In-house sources allow measurements of frequency components between 50 MHz and 10 GHz, and field

levels of up to 100 V/m. The transmitted wave is known to an accuracy of ± 1 dB.

APPLICATIONS The primary use for this facility is the cali- bration of broadband probes and sensors. Other applications are measuring the shield- ing effectiveness of structures and walls and

measuring the immunity of electronic devices and equipment to transient electromagnetic fields.

AVAILABILITY This facility is available for calibration of broadband devices. Other applications are

possible on a limited basis. Tests requiring

higher frequencies or field levels are possible with special arrangements.

Contact: Motohisa Kanda

(303) 497-5320

email: motohisa.kanda@nist.gov

Division 813.07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

MOBILE TRANSIENT

RECEPTION/TRANSMISSION

SYSTEM

Several broadband antennas are available

for transmission and reception of transient

signals. By combining these antennas, broadband transient generators, high-speed

transient digitizers, and sophisticated signal

processing, a variety of measurements are

possible.

CAPABILITIES The capabilities are closely related to the desired application. With existing antennas it

is possible to transmit transient signals with

spectral components from 25 MHz up to 14 GHz and field amplitudes of greater than

200 V/m. Receiving antennas have similar frequency restrictions and sensitivities deter- mined by the receiving equipment. Sensitivities of better than 500 V/m are typical.

APPLICATIONS

This system has been applied in a wide variety of diverse applications, and many more

are possible. Some of the specific applications are measurement of the shielding effectiveness of materials, automobiles, and

aircraft; non-invasive evaluation of electrical properties of materials; reflectivity of dissipative macrostructures, specifically, RF

absorber, ferrite tiles, etc., and evaluation of reverberation and anechoic chamber per- formance; and measurement of fields radiated from electrostatic discharges.
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

AVAILABILITY This system is readily available for interest- ing applications. Higher frequencies, amplitudes, and greater sensitivities are possible but require fabrication of special antennas.

Contact: Motohisa Kanda

(303) 497-5320

email: motohisa.kanda@nist.gov

Division 813.07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

INTEGRATED-CIRCU1T

FABRICATION

LABORATORY

NIST maintains a complete fabrication laboratory for superconducting integrated circuits. Devices employing both low- and

high-temperature superconductors are supported. Demonstrated capabilities include

the fabrication of 20,000- j unction Josephson

10-volt array standards, using niobium

trilayer technology. The laboratory is housed in an M2.5/3.5 (Class 100/1000)

clean room. Individual facilities include a

digital pattern generator, submicrometer

resolution waferstepper, precision contact

aligner, laboratory-scale electron-beam li- thography system, pulsed laser deposition

system, metal and insulator thin-film deposition and etching systems, and requisite ac- companying processing tools. Silicon wafer

processing facilities for microelectro- mechanical system fabrication include oxi- dation, diffusion, silicon nitride growth,

polysilicon growth, and low-temperature

doped oxide growth. These facilities are available on a limited basis in support of collaborative research with NIST.

Contact: James A. Beall

(303) 497-5989

email: james.beall@nist.gov

Division 814.03

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

ULTRALOW-TEMPERATURE

ELECTRONICS FACILITY

A H

3/H dilution refrigerator provides an ap- proximately 20 millikelvin low-temperature

environment for ultrasensitive measurement

systems. Two projects using this system are integrated circuits incorporating ultrasmall metal tunnel junctions for counting single electrons and a record-setting X-ray detector having superior energy resolution and speed

compared with any other detector. The facility is remarkable for its shielding from exter- nal radiation, including that from thermal

sources at temperatures higher than its own.

Contact: John Martinis

(303) 497-3597

email: john.martinis@nist.gov

Division 814.03

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

MAGNETIC THIN-FILM

FABRICATION AND

IMAGING FACILITY

NIST maintains a magnetics fabrication and

characterization facility. The fabrication facility provides vacuum deposition of layered

magnetic thin films, including materials

that exhibit giant magnetoresistive behavior. Instrumentation includes several varieties of scanned probe microscopies such as

the magnetic force microscope, magnetic

resonance force microscope, and scanning

near-field magneto-optic microscope. Other

instrumentation includes an ac susceptometer, a Kerr optical analysis platform, a SQUID magnetometer, and a vibrating

sample magnetometer.

Contacts: Stephen Russek

(303) 497-5097

email: stephen.russek@nist.gov John Moreland

(303) 497-3641

email: john.moreland@nist.gov

Division 814.05

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328
MANUFACTURING

ENGINEERING LABORATORY

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

NIST engineers and scientists are developing many of the tools for automated

intelligent-processing systems that will soon be the core of all world-class manufacturing operations. These components

include intelligent machines; advanced

sensors for real-time in-process measurements; software for precision control of machine tools; and information technol- ogy for integrating all elements of a

product's life cycle, from planning and

design through marketing and customer

support.

The Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL) provides technical support for industry groups that develop standards

for measurements, measurement tech- niques, hardware, software, and data

interfaces. It operates the National Ad- vanced Manufacturing Testbed, a unique

national resource for studying advanced

infrastructure technologies required to support future manufacturing operations

at both the systems and equipment levels. Laboratory researchers also work at the forefront of the emerging field of nanofabrication, developing measure- ment tools for atomic-scale production

technologies of the future.

Laboratory staff members work closely with their industry counterparts, from

the planning of research projects to the dissemination of results.

Contact: Richard H.F.Jackson, Director

(301) 975-3400

email: jackson@nist.gov

fax: (301) 948-5668 B322 Metrology Building

http://www.nist.gov/mel

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

Precision Engineering

72 Coordinate Metrology Systems

73 Complex Form Metrology Laboratory

73 Surface Finish and Microform Measurement

73 Advanced Optical Systems

74 Atomic-Scale Measuring Machine

74 Measuring Patterned Layers on

Integrated Circuits

Automated Production Technology

74 Closed Loop Manufacturing Program

75 Machine-Tool Performance Evaluation and Accuracy Enhancement

75 Precision Piston Turning

Intelligent Systems

75 Enhanced Machine Controller

76 Next Generation Inspection System

76 Advanced Machine Tool Structures

76 Intelligent Systems Architecture for Manufacturing

77 Integration Testbed for Mobility

77 ROBOCRANE®

Manufacturing Systems Integration

78 Tolerancing and Metrology Research 78 Engineering Design Research

78 Computer-Aided Manufacturing

Engineering

79 National Industrial Information

Infrastructure Protocols

79 Product Data Exchange Standards for Manufacturing

80 STEP Conformance and Interoperability Testing 80 Rapid Response Manufacturing

Intramural Project

81 Systems Integration for Manufacturing

Applications Program

RESEARCH FACILITIES

81 National Advanced Manufacturing

Testbed

PRECISION

ENGINEERING

Division Contact: Dennis A. Swyt

(301) 975-3463

email: dennis.swyt@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-0822 A109 Metrology Building

COORDINATE METROLOGY

SYSTEMS

Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs)

are very accurate robots capable of measuring the physical dimensions of manufactured parts. They are rapidly replacing the more traditional method of using "hard

gages" because they are more flexible, accurate, and faster. Ball bars and step gages are among the physical calibration standards used to trace CMM measurements to the

international standard of length. Interim

test artifacts are a new form of physical standard used to test CMM performance and

to detect defective operation. In collaboration with the Department of Defense and industrial partners, such as Caterpillar and

Boeing, NIST is developing both more effective types of CMM calibration standards, such as a prototype "ball step gage" system, and the means to evaluate and critique prototype interim test artifacts. NIST's deploy- ment of interim test artifacts has been so

successful that a major CMM manufacturer now manufactures the system as part of its commercial line. In addition, procedures for conducting interim testing of CMMs have

been included in the new revision of the ANSI B89.4 CMM Performance Evaluation
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY

Standard. In the future, a NIST Standard

Reference Material interim test artifact and

prototype ball-step gage will be offered.

Contact:

Steve Phillips

(301) 975-3565

email: steven.phillips@nist.gov Bl 13 Metrology Building

COMPLEX FORM

METROLOGY

LABORATORY

The mission of the Complex Form Metrology

Laboratory is to develop and extend the world-class dimensional measurement

capabilities of the Precision Engineering Di- vision to include forms with complex shapes

(e.g., gears, threads, turbine blades), necessary to satisfy industry's advanced measure- ment needs. Building on NIST's expertise in the measurement of American Petroleum

Institute thread gages, MEL currently is re- establishing NIST as the pinnacle of dimensional traceability for complex form

three-dimensional artifacts for gear manufacturers. Traceabilit\T is essential if U.S. industry is to maintain quality and inter- changeability of its parts and assemblies,

especially as dimensional tolerances continue to decrease. In turn, reliable methods

for assuring dimensional precision and ac- curacy underlie the ability of U.S. manufacturers to compete in world markets. To this end, the division has installed, error mapped, and "super tweaked" a new high- accuracy coordinate measuring machine in a state-of-the-art temperature (± 0.1 °C) and humidity (± 2 percent) controlled envi- ronment. Working with an industrial advisory group—the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Committee on Gear

Metrology—the division already has begun

to satisfy the traceability needs of the gear

industry. A special measurement capability

for gear involute artifacts is now available; the capability for lead and index artifacts soon will follow. The laboratory, in its re- search and measurements, places particular

emphasis on the establishment of uncertainty for the measurement of complex

forms.

Contact: Howard Harary

(301) 975-3485

email: howard.harary@nist.gov

Bl 13 Metrology Building

SURFACE FINISH AND

MICROFORM

MEASUREMENT

Surface microstructure affects the operation

of components in the automobile, aerospace, semiconductor, metals, and optics

industries. NIST is developing measurement

techniques and standards to benefit all of these manufacturing industries.

NIST played a key role in coordinating the development of a new national standard for surface texture measurement as part of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Committee B46. For the metals industry, NIST has developed a new approach to measuring the geometry of Rockwell C hardness

indenters that has quickly become the most

accurate in the world. NIST plans to use the instrument to control indenter geometry,

thereby controlling the accuracy of the hardness measurement itself. This will unify Rockwell C hardness scales worldwide. For

the optics and semiconductor industries, NIST has developed a calibrated atomic

force microscope, which is calibrated against the wavelength of light in all three coordinate axes. A principal goal of this

project is to calibrate three-dimensional artifacts that will be used to calibrate scanned

probe microscopes. NIST also is using this instrument to measure prototype step height standards that collaborators at the University of Maryland fabricated from single sili- con atoms. The Precision Engineering

Division is responsible for certifying Standard Reference Materials for roughness as well as for calibrating the magnification of scanning electron microscopes.

Contact: Theodore Vorburger

(301) 975-3493

email: theodore.vorburger@nist.gov

Al 17 Metrology Building

ADVANCED OPTICAL

SYSTEMS

Advanced optical systems increasingly are de- signed around high- accuracy, aspheric optical elements. Measuring the figure error of generalized aspheres to the required accuracy is a complex and unsolved problem. NIST has embarked on a program to characterize the systematic errors of commercial,

phase-measuring interferometers used for surface figure metrology and to develop tech- niques for using these instruments for as- pheric metrology. The goal of the program

is to close the gap between the resolution and the accuracy of phase-measuring inter- ferometers. NIST researchers are working

with personnel at the WYKO and Zygo

corporations, manufacturers of inter- ferometry systems.

NIST researchers already have demonstrated

a significant sensitivity to fringe density of

the measured figure error for several commercial phase-measuring interferometer sys- tems. They are working to build a dedicated

test facility for future systematic investigations. The results of this work will make it

possible to manufacture lightweight, highperformance optical systems for space-based

applications and multilayer mirror systems

for projection X-ray lithography.

Contact:

Chris Evans

(301) 975-3484

email: christopher.evans@nist.gov A107 Metrology Building
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY

ATOMIC-SCALE

MEASURING MACHINE

To help meet the measurement needs of industries preparing to manufacture future generations of nanoelectronic devices and

circuits, NIST has designed and built a sys- tem—called the Molecular Measuring Machine (M-Cubed) —to measure to nanometer accuracy the positions of features located anywhere within a 50 mm by 50 mm

area. Achieving this capability for M-Cubed

required the development and integration of many forefront technologies: atomicresolution scanning probes, combined active and passive vibration-isolation systems, ultrahigh-accuracy interferometry for dis- placement measurements, and precision

nanomotion generation. Currently,

M-Cubed is performing one of its principal

design functions by measuring to nanometer-level accuracy over millimeterscale dimensions. In one successful application, it measured the spacings of an array of chromium lines over a distance of 1 mm,

yielding an average spacing of 212.83 nanometers. The estimated standard uncertainty for this measurement was of 0.02 nm,

which is about one-tenth the distance of typical interatomic spacings. M-Cubed also will

serve as an exploratory tool for building

mechanical and electrical structures in the nanometer-size range. Among the organizations collaborating on the construction of M-Cubed are several major universities and

national laboratories as well as Watson Research Center, AT&T Bell Laboratories, and

Zygo Corp.

Contact:

E. Clayton Teague

(301) 975-3490

email: teague@nist.gov

Al 17 Metrology Building

MEASURING PATTERNED

LAYERS ON INTEGRATED

CIRCUITS

NIST researchers are developing techniques

for measuring the critical dimensions of pat- terned layers on integrated circuits. Work involves theoretical projects on the formation

of images in optical and scanning electron microscopes as well as experimental and de- sign projects on the construction of new metrology instruments for the calibration of standards. The project was initiated about 20 years ago at the request of the semiconductor industry.

Ever smaller dimensions on integrated circuits have created a demand for new and improved measurement techniques and related standards. As feature sizes approach, and

then become smaller than, the wavelength

of light used in conventional optical metrol- ogy instruments, measurements and standards become especially important. The

dimensions of present interest range from

about 0.5 Jim to 30 |im and will extend to smaller dimensions in the future. A series of

three linewidth/pitch Standard Reference

Materials for photomasks is now in production. Ongoing research will develop new and

improved standards for use in instruments

utilizing optical or scanning electron microscopy.

Contact: Michael Postek

(301) 975-2299

email: michael.postek@nist.gov A347 Technology Building

AUTOMATED

PRODUCTION

TECHNOLOGY

Division Contact: Donald S. Blomquist

(301) 975-6600

email: donald.blomquist@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-3536 B102 Sound Building

CLOSED LOOP

MANUFACTURING

PROGRAM

This program aims to achieve higher quality

in existing manufacturing processes. A fourlayer, closed-loop, control architecture has been proposed. Three layers are being imple- mented: real-time, process-intermittent, and

post-process control loops. The real-time and process-intermittent control loops im- plement algorithms to predict and/or measure in-process variations and process-related

systematic errors and then to compensate

for them via process modification. Closed

loop manufacturing is being demonstrated on existing machine tools, achieving superior levels of part accuracy. In this case, the post-process control loop is used to verify the cutting process and to tune the other two

control loops by detecting residual systematic errors measured on the finished parts, correlating these errors to the uncompensated machine- and process-related errors, and modifying the control parameters of the other loops accordingly.

Feature-based, error-analysis techniques are being developed to identify the residual sys- tematic errors of the system. NIST re- searchers are working with industry and

academia to use the dimensional measure- ment interface specification, an ANSI standard, in analyses of part features. They are
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY

developing tools for feature segmentation of

part geometries to improve analyses of the manufacturing process. They also are devel- oping a quality database using feature types and the errors measured on these features as key fields.

Contact: M. Alkan Donmez

(301) 975-6618

email: m.donmez@nist.gov

B106 Sound Building,

MACHINE-TOOL

PERFORMANCE

EVALUATION AND

ACCURACY

ENHANCEMENT

The concept of deterministic manufacturing

is based on the premise that most errors in manufacturing are repeatable, thus predictable. Errors that are predictable can be measured and corrected, thereby improving

quality through better control of existing

manufacturing equipment. Machine tools

are computer controlled and operate with

several to many degrees of freedom. They

exhibit inherent quasistatic and thermally induced geometric errors. Complete characterization of these errors is being investi- gated to evaluate and enhance performance under changing thermal conditions. This

process is complicated and time consuming.

NIST researchers are working with industry and academia to optimize this process to make it feasible for even small manufacturers. NIST, industry, and academia worked to- gether to develop the industry standard for evaluating the performance of machining

centers (ASME B5.54). Compensation for machine-tool errors is an area of continuing

interest. Researchers are developing generic

electronic hardware to implement error- compensation capabilities without intruding

into existing machine-tool controllers. They

also are working to speed up on-machine

part inspection by introducing fast probing

and powerful data analysis capability at the machine-tool level.

Contact: M. Alkan Donmez

(301) 975-6618

email: m.donmez@nist.gov

B106 Sound Building,

PRECISION PISTON

TURNING

The Precision Piston Turning Project is a

cooperative research effort involving NIST, General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and

Giddings and Lewis, with funding through

the National Center for Manufacturing Sci- ences. The primary objective is the transfer

of NIST's expertise in machine tool enhance- ment and technology to U.S. industry.

This project comprises several activities. The

first task was performed in 1992, when a re- search team from NIST traveled to Giddings

and Lewis' Fraser, Mich., plant to analyze

the design of a prototype of the company's

model 3000. Using infrared technology and

contact temperature-sensing devices, an investigation of the thermal behavior of the machine tool was performed. Based on

analysis of the data collected during this

investigation, several design changes were recommended. These changes were implemented on the machine tool, which was

sent to NIST for a more rigorous thermal

analysis.

NIST then performed a full geometric- thermal characterization of the machine,

using laser interferometry and other ad- vanced sensors. Characterization was per- formed by monitoring error motions as the machine tool cycled through a variety of thermal states. The thermal states were

quantified by the use of remote temperaturesensing devices attached at various locations on the components and structure of the machine. The end result of this characterization is a geometric-thermal error map

of the piston-turning machine. This error map then can serve as the database for real- time error compensation. As a result of this

effort, the variability of the pistons was re- duced by 80 percent.

Current work is concentrated on determining the robustness and general applicability

of the machine tool models, enabling

broader use of the models. This would allow machine tool builders and users to avoid the

costly and time-consuming task of modeling

every machine tool.

Contact: M. Alkan Donmez

(301) 975-6618

email: m.donmez@nist.gov

B106 Sound Building

INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS

Division Contact: James S. Albus

(301) 975-3418

fax: (301) 990-9688

email: james.albus@nist.gov B124 Metrology Building

ENHANCED MACHINE

CONTROLLER

In 1980, nearly half of the machine tools in

the world were manufactured in the United

States. Today, U.S. market share is 10 percent. Because machine-tool technology is

critical for both civilian and military uses, it

is important to recapture some of this market. The Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC) project goals include reducing the

life-cycle cost of machine tool controllers by

developing modular interface specifications

that support interoperability of key controller components and validating these specifi- cations on a broad class of machines in production applications. Controllers underlie the capabilities of machine tools and,

consequently, the machining processes. Currently, competition is based on controller
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY

hardware. The Enhanced Machine Controller project concentrates on controller soft- ware, an area where the United States still has a commanding lead. An operational en- hanced machine controller has been devel- oped, based on a candidate set of interface

specifications. It is composed of basic controller components: trajectory generator,

servo control, part program interpreter, operator interface, and programmable logic

controller. The validity of the enhanced machine controller interfaces will be demonstrated by installing controllers, based on

off-the-shelf components, on machines in production environments. NIST is working

closely with a consortium of machine tool builders and users and controller- component manufacturers. The benefits of

this project will include reduced life cycle

costs, reduced integration costs, and improved performance for machine controllers.

Contact:

Frederick M. Proctor (301) 975-3425

email: frederick.proctor@nist.gov B124 Metrology Building

NEXT GENERATION

INSPECTION SYSTEM

In-process and post-process inspection with coordinate measuring machines often slows

the manufacturing process. The inspection

of parts with complex geometry, for which

closely spaced inspection points are needed,

is especially time consuming. The goal of

the Next Generation Inspection System

(NGIS) is a hundredfold increase in inspection speed, without sacrificing measurement

accuracy.

A NIST testbed consists of a CMM equipped

with advanced sensors and the NIST Real Time Control System enhanced machine

controller. Advanced sensors include analog

touch probes, a video camera, an analog

capacitance probe, and a laser triangulation

probe. The real-time, open architecture

controller will provide interfaces to the STandard for Exchange of Product (STEP)

model data and to the Dimensional Measuring Interface Standard (DMIS), enabling in- spection that is driven by model data. It also

will permit real-time processing of sensor data for feedback control of the inspection

probe. A precommercial Next Generation In- spection System will be tested and evaluated

in a production environment. All Next Generation Inspection System technology devel- oped at NIST will be transferred to the marketplace through vendors that manufacture and support software and hardware sys- tems using this technology.

NIST is collaborating with the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences consortium on this project. Industrial members of the consortium include the General Motors

Corp., Ford Motor Co., Hughes Information

Technology, United Technologies/Pratt &

Whitney, Brown & Sharpe, Sensor Adaptive

Machines, Inc., Automated Precision Inc., Extrude Hone, Wizdom Systems, and ICAMP. Hardware and software technologies are being exchanged among members of the consortium.

Contact: Martin Herman

(301) 975-3441

email: martin.herman@nist.gov B124 Metrology Building

ADVANCED MACHINE

TOOL STRUCTURES

Tighter tolerances and improved quality are required if U.S. manufacturers are to remain

competitive. More sophisticated part geometries dictate increased use of multiaxis machining capability. Parallel-actuated machine tools have the potential to meet

these needs. NIST is working with several machine tool builders and users who consider developments in this field to be an

important factor in achieving future productivity gains. Industry and government researchers are cooperating in exploring the

limits of new machine configurations in terms of positioning accuracy and resolution, calibration, and advanced control.

To meet these needs, NIST has procured an

experimental prototype octahedral-hexapod,

Stewart platform machine tool. NIST re- search will focus on evaluating the perform- ance of this new class of machine tools and

developing methods for providing higher

resolution and more accurate positionsensing and control capability. An open

architecture controller technology (based on

the NIST Enhanced Machine Controller

Architecture) will allow integration of third- party software and experimental control al- gorithms (e.g., for force-based machining).

The hexapod machine tool has been installed in the NIST National Advanced

Manufacturing Testbed, a facility focused on

distributed and virtual manufacturing. Re- mote access to the hexapod through this test- bed will allow machine tool builders, users, and researchers to gain first-hand experi- ence with this new technology.

Contact:

Albert J. Wavering,

(301) 975-3461

email: albert.wavering@nist.gov B127 Metrology Building

INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS

ARCHITECTURE FOR

MANUFACTURING

Intelligent Systems Architecture for Manufacturing (ISAM) is a reference model architecture for intelligent manufacturing

systems. It is intended to provide a theoretical framework for the development of standards and performance measures for

intelligent manufacturing systems. It also is intended to provide engineering guidelines

for a wide variety of manufacturing applications. The ISAM model addresses the manufacturing enterprise at a number of levels of

abstraction.
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY

• At the highest level of abstraction, ISAM

provides a conceptual framework for view- ing the entire manufacturing enterprise as an intelligent system consisting of machines, processes, tools, facilities, computers, software, and human beings operating

over time on materials to produce products.

• At a lower level of abstraction, ISAM provides a reference model architecture for supporting the development of standards and

performance measures, as well as for designing manufacturing systems and software.

• At a still lower level of abstraction, ISAM

is intended to provide engineering guidelines for implementing specific instances of manufacturing systems such as machining

and inspection systems.

ISAM consists of a hierarchically layered set

of intelligent processing nodes organized as a nested series of control loops. In each

node, tasks are decomposed, plans are generated, world models are maintained, feedback from sensors is processed, and control loops

are closed. In each layer, nodes have a characteristic span of control, with a characteristic planning horizon and corresponding

level of detail in space and time.

Contact: Harry A. Scott (301) 975-3437

email: harry.scott@nist.gov B127 Metrology Building

INTEGRATION TESTBED

FOR MOBILITY

Intelligent vehicle systems require open sys- tem architecture standards. Intelligent vehicles contain a multiplicity of subsystems

that recognize objects such as obstacles and

landmarks, map the environment for navigation, detect and react to unexpected objects,

locate objects for manipulation and handling tasks, compare object scenes for security and surveillance, plan paths, and

operate safely and robustly in unstructured environments. Open systems architecture standards are needed to promote efficient

integration of these subsystems and simplify

development.

The goal of this project is to provide a test- bed for evaluating and validating opensystems architecture standards for

intelligent vehicle systems. Two testbed environments are being developed. One, an

indoor environment, consists of a battery- powered mobile platform and advanced

sensors, including a rangefinder, cameras

under computer pan/tilt control, and inertial sensors (e.g., gyroscopes and acceler- ometers). Vision processing is accomplished

using real-time, image-processing computers. The indoor environment addresses physical security and surveillance in industrial

facilities such as warehouses and office

buildings.

The second testbed, an outdoor environ- ment, consists of a high mobility multi- purpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV) a

four-wheel-drive Army vehicle equipped with

control actuators (on the steering, brake, and throttle, for example); advanced sensors; and an open-architecture, real-time

control system. This vehicle is capable of both highway driving and off-road driving over rough terrain. Advanced sensors on the

vehicle include cameras, a laser range- imaging camera, an inertial navigation sys- tem, and a Global Positioning System

satellite-based navigation system. The vehicle can be operated remotely by a human operator via teleoperation or autonomously via machine vision systems. The control system

for both indoor and outdoor mobility envi- ronments is the NIST Real-time Control Sys- tem, an open system reference architecture. Emerging markets for intelligent vehicle systems include autonomous material handling, operations in hazardous environ- ments, security surveillance, advanced motor vehicle control, and aids for the handicapped.

Contact: Maris Juberts (301) 975-3424

email: maris.juberts@nist.gov B124 Metrology Building

ROBOCRANE^

The NIST RoboCrane, a versatile robot crane

that can precisely position and orient its work platform in all six degrees of freedom,

so that large loads and equipment can be

held rigidly in place—even at an angle—is

the core of the Intelligent Systems Integration Testbed for Large-Scale Manufacturing

and Construction. The prime motivation for

the testbed is to foster a coordinated and efficient technical response to industry's recog- nized need for open-architecture standards. These standards will facilitate development

and use of sensor-interactive, intelligent- machine systems in large-scale tasks, such

as construction, road building, bridge repair, and aircraft assembly. Because interface standards now are lacking, subsystems

are difficult to integrate and new capabilities are not added easily. As a result, system

functionality is limited, development is pro- longed, and maintenance costs are high. By

enabling plug-and-play compatability, standard interfaces would foster develop- ment of more efficient systems, and they

would create new market opportunities for software and hardware manufacturers.

Greater compatibility also would simplify

and reduce the cost of customization and

system upgrading. With the aim of testing and validating open systems architectures and their underlying components, re- searchers at the testbed are exploring preci- sion applications, such as machining and

finishing operations, and they are evaluat- ing combinations of sensors and control

strategies that result in safe and reliable operation in unstructured, perturbation-prone environments. Through collaborations with manufacturers, universities, and other or- ganizations, prototype standards and tech- nologies will be transferred into practical

applications such as manufacture of aircraft, ships, construction equipment, and

railroad rolling stock; construction and

maintenance of buildings, highways, and

bridges; environmental clean-up of radioactive or toxic waste sites; and undersea
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY

mining, construction, repair, and salvage

operations.

Contact: Roger Bostelman

(301) 975-3426

email: roger.bostelman@nist.gov B124 Metrology Building

MANUFACTURING

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

Division Contact: Howard M. Bloom

(301) 975-3508

email: howard.bloom@nist.gov

fax: (301) 258-9749 A127 Metrology Building

TOLERANCING AND

METROLOGY RESEARCH

Concentrating on coordinate measuring sys- tem (CMSs), NIST researchers are developing the technical underpinnings of a unified framework for tolerance standards, essential

to a range of design and manufacturing activities. Ongoing projects are applying funda- mental metrology principles, numerical

analysis theory, and statistical methods to develop concepts and approaches for evaluat- ing the performance of CMS data-analysis

software. Other work is developing formal mathematical definitions of dimensions and

tolerances (including appropriate semantics

for statistical tolerances, datums, and size)

for application in product specifications. Dimensional measurement methods for CMSs are another focus, which ultimately should lead to more effective sampling

strategies and data-analysis algorithms. Research is coordinated with ongoing standardization efforts in the United States and internationally. Participation in standards

committees guides selection of specific re- search topics and ensures that the results are disseminated to industry.

Contact:

Neil Christopher

(301) 975-3888

email: neilc@nist.gov A127 Metrology Building

ENGINEERING DESIGN

RESEARCH

Design plays a significant role in the iterative and collaborative engineering process. Decisions made during the engineering design stage have a considerable impact on

the product's life-cycle costs. Hence, the global competitiveness of U.S. companies and industries depends significantly on the

capabilities and intellectual resources embodied and leveraged in design technologies.

Through research and technology develop- ment, the engineering design group supports and advances the evolution of future design-related standards that respond to in- dustry to identified needs. Technical staff

participate in various standards efforts. Technology transfer is facilitated through an engineering design testbed.

The primary goal is to help U.S. industry realize the full potential of current and future engineering-design tools and techniques. NIST researchers are investigating the issues involved in integrating a variety of commercial and university "design" tools. Topics addressed by current projects include virtual

reality interfaces, product and process modeling, constraint representation, optimization, and engineering ontologies.

A key issue in achieving an integrated product development environment involves the development of appropriate communication

and representation mechanisms. Standards

are critical to these communication and rep- resentation mechanisms. Actively participating in the International Organization for Standardization's STEP (Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data) initiative,

NIST staff are addressing how to incorporate

features, constraints, rationale, and other design information within the STEP

framework.

To promote technology transfer, a testbed

for engineering design has been established. This testbed provides a platform for testing and validating design methodologies,

developing standards for product and process models, storing and accessing design

case studies, aiding in supplier-chain integration, and helping in various aspects of technology transfer. NIST researchers are working with several universities and industries, particularly through the Defense Ad- vanced Research Projects Agency.

Contact: Ram D. Sriram

(301) 975-3507

email: rsriram@nist.gov A127 Metrology Building

COMPUTER-AIDED

MANUFACTURING

ENGINEERING

Just as computer-aided design and engineering tools have revolutionized product design

during the past decade, computer-based

tools for production system engineering can

revolutionize manufacturing. A new type of computer-aided engineering environment is envisioned, one that will improve the productivity of manufacturing and other industrial engineers. This environment would be used by engineers to plan the manufacture

of new products and to design and imple- ment future manufacturing systems and

subsystems.

The overall goal of computer-aided manufacturing engineering is to lower manufacturing costs, reduce delivery times, and

improve product quality through the coordi- nated development and use of advanced
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY

tools. This project is aimed at advancing the development of software environments and

tools for the design and engineering of manufacturing systems. With industrial partners, universities, and Defense Department

manufacturing facilities, NIST researchers

are creating an integrated framework, operating environment, common databases, and

interface standards for diverse manufacturing engineering software applications. This environment will support and integrate a

variety of emerging tools and techniques for designing, modeling, simulating, and evaluating the performance of manufacturing

processes, equipment, and enterprises.

One current project is building an inte- grated Manufacturing Engineering Tool Kit

for developing and validating manufacturing data for machined parts production. Another is creating a Production System

Engineering Tool Kit for designing and

modeling production lines. Interface

specifications are being developed to allow commercial off-the-shelf software to intemperate. Examples of the types of software products contained within the tool kits include computer-aided design, process planning.

NC program verification, product data management, manufacturing simulation, and

plant layout.

Contact:

Charles McLean

(301) 975-3511

email: charles.mclean@nist.gov A127 Metrology Building

NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL

INFORMATION

INFRASTRUCTURE

PROTOCOLS

This activity is developing technology to enable industrial virtual enterprises and to accelerate adoption of STEP (Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data) in the operation of these enterprises. Work is being ac- complished under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Industrial Information Infrastructure Protocols (NIIIP) Consortium, comprising

various manufacturers, technology providers, universities, and federal agencies. The

overall NIIIP program is funded through a Technology Reinvestment Project award. A

virtual enterprise is a temporary confederation of firms that come together to share

costs and skills to exploit fast-changing opportunities. The NIIIP Consortium will deliver iterations of a reference architecture, software toolkits that are the building blocks

of an instantiated reference architecture, re- search prototypes, and pilot demonstrations.

In accomplishing these deliverables, NIIIP

will adopt and converge existing standards and technology from STEP, the Object Management Group (OMG), the Internet Society, and the Workflow Management Coalition.

NIST efforts enable improved engineering

practices. Advanced communication capabilities for distributed computing resources

are being applied to allow for transparent

access to distributed resources, including shared data representations. Additionally, workflow management technology will be

exploited to expedite the engineering process. NIST research has focused on the inte- gration of STEP technology and standards with object-oriented technology and standards emerging from OMG. The project is premised on the adoption of STEP Data Access Interface (SDAI) as an international standard. This project will validate the proposal for an SDAI/IDL (Interface Definition Language) binding. Another NIST role is to help the NIIIP ensure that the protocols de- veloped by the consortium become usable in- dustry standards. To this end, NIST has been

a major contributor in the development of a

standards roadmap for NIIIP. NIIIP plans to

develop, demonstrate, and transfer this tech- nology into widespread industrial use.

Contact: Katherine Morris

(301) 975-3081

email: katherine.morris@nist.gov A127 Metrology Building

PRODUCT DATA

EXCHANGE STANDARDS

FOR MANUFACTURING

The goal of this activity is to accelerate the development and deployment of product

data standards to enable the sharing and

reuse of design, engineering, and manufacturing information. The strategy is to work

with industry to translate its requirements

into standards, principally ISO 10303

(Product Data Representation and Ex- change), to validate these standards, and

then to pilot these standards in an industrial

setting. World-wide interest in ISO 10303,

also known as STEP, is motivated by industry's desire to achieve critical operational and strategic capabilities. STEP:

• enables a number of improved product

development strategies such as concurrent

engineering, enterprise integration, and elec- tronic commerce;

• facilitates companies working together as a virtual enterprise on product development;

and

• makes possible the use of better ap- proaches to increase efficiency and reduce time to market in developing new or improved products.

Initial implementations of this international standard are by vendors of computeraided design (CAD) systems. Each CAD

system's unique proprietary format inhibits

the direct exchange of information among

various manufacturing processes.

NIST is assisting industry by facilitating standards development and addressing feed- back from validation and implementation

activities. The initial STEP standard is capable of conveying existing CAD model representations. Additional capabilities are being

developed to address other manufacturing

applications. NIST is accelerating this work

by providing an environment that supports and advances efforts to improve the effi- ciency and quality of these specifications. An

integrated suite of software tools is being
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY

established that will interact with the STEP

registry at NIST, which contains STEP specifications, related documents, and representative data. This suite will provide

"intelligent" access to any part of these refer- ences and to generated aspects of the docu- ments that do not require application

domain knowledge.

To achieve widespread adoption of these standards, industry must understand the

benefits and understand how to manage the

risks associated with adopting this new tech- nology. NIST currently is working with the automotive industry on the AutoSTEP pilot

project, in which STEP is being used to ex- change design and part data between suppliers and original equipment

manufacturers. NIST is providing its expertise on requirements analysis, testing methods and STEP technology, and a neutral site

for Internet communications between pilot members. The goal is to document the benefits of using STEP within the context of supply chain business scenarios.

Contact: Mary Mitchell

(301) 975-3538

email: mary.mitchell@nist.gov A127 Metrology Building

STEP CONFORMANCE AND

INTEROPERABILITY

TESTING

The STEP Conformance Testing project is sponsored jointly by the NIST Systems for In- tegrated Manufacturing Applications (SIMA)

Program and Navy Mantech. The technical goal is to provide an objective means of evaluating a software system for its ability to meet the requirements of STEP, an international standard (officially ISO 10303) devel- oped to let companies effectively exchange

design and engineering information with

their customers and suppliers as well as internally. The initial customers of the project

results are vendors of computer-aided design systems and product data management sys- tems. Experience with complex standards has shown that claims of compliance with a standard are not reliable. Further, if early implementations of a standard meet the re- quirements, adoption is much quicker. The

primary focus of this effort is the develop- ment of software tools and methods for as- sessing whether new software applications

comply with the standard. The tools need to be extensible to accommodate the expanding set of applications supported by STEP.

This project leverages earlier work done on

EXPRESS, the formal description language

used to specify STEP, and STEP Class Li- brary toolkits.

Various approaches are being used to over- come concerns of U.S. vendors. One ap- proach is to leverage early implementation

experience to validate the test system and

test suites. NIST and the Industrial Technology Institute have formed alliances with

U.S. pilot projects initiated by PDES Inc. and

the Automotive Industry Action Group, industrial organizations driving the develop- ment and application of STEP. A beta testing program has been initiated to further ensure

the utility of this testing capability. A complementary approach provides an infrastructure for an efficient conformance testing program. This opens a world market to

U.S.- developed STEP products. In concert with these activities, NIST is aggressively

participating in the international standards

effort related to testing and client require- ments. At least one European testing laboratory is in the process of licensing the NIST

testing system.

Another approach, and perhaps the most

important, is to give vendors access to these

tools during their product development. This

allows them to become familiar with the

tools, gain confidence that their product can

successfully pass testing, and use the tools to improve the quality of their products. They

gain from the expanded market that user confidence in a tested product brings. The same tools also can be employed by endusers to assess the ability of these products

to interoperate in an industrial context, fur- ther expanding the market for standards- based products. In addition, NIST is participating in a U.S.-based vendor round

table and STEPNet interoperability trials.

Contact: Mary Mitchell

(301) 975-3538

email: mary.mitchell@nist.gov A127 Metrology Building

RAPID RESPONSE

MANUFACTURING

INTRAMURAL PROJECT

The NIST Rapid Response Manufacturing

(RRM) Project is sponsored as an intra- mural project through the NIST Advanced

Technology Program. Intramural project

personnel collaborate with member companies of the RRM consortium, leveraging NIST skills and technologies to ensure the advancement of RRM capabilities. The industrial consortium is composed of both manufacturing facilities and software vendors and is organized through the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences. It aims

to enhance and adopt key technologies, in- cluding variant design, rapid prototyping,

design visualization, and generative NC, to enable use of advanced, highly integrated systems for manufacturing. Activities of the NIST RRM Intramural Project are selected based upon specific technology and research needs of the consortium member companies.
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY

The primary focus areas of the RRM Intra- mural Project include research and develop- ment, standardization, and technology

transfer. For example, NIST personnel have

conducted in-depth assessments of the current state of the practice and state of the art

in key technologies. NIST also has initiated a major development effort to establish in- formation models that specify a common

and standardized electronic representation

for manufacturing resource data. This representation proposes a structure for the classification and characteristics of machine

tools, cutting tools, tool holders, cutting inserts, and other resources. Project results provide a catalyst for a standardized manufacturing resource data structure. Standards

activities have been initiated through both ISO and ANSI. Technology transfer activities

are an important part of NIST's mission and

also play a significant role in this project.

Several project activities contribute to tech- nology transfer, including cooperative re- search and development, industry

workshops, participation on RRM consor- tium committees, liaison between RRM

member companies and other NIST research, project publications and presentations, and participation on standards committees.

Contact:

Kevin K. Jurrens

(301) 975-5486

email: kevin.jurrens@nist.gov A127 Metrology Building

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

FOR MANUFACTURING

APPLICATIONS PROGRAM

Under the federal government's High Per- formance Computing and Communications

effort, NIST has embarked on a major initiative to enhance integration of advanced manufacturing applications through utilization of information infrastructure technologies. This multiyear initiative, called Systems Integration for Manufacturing Applications (SIMA), involves all seven NIST

laboratories with strong participation by

U.S. industry, universities, and federal agencies. Launched in 1994, SIMA has three major elements: manufacturing systems, standards development, and testbeds/ technology transfer.

The manufacturing systems element focuses on development of interface specifications

for advanced manufacturing systems. Manufacturing applications being targeted by SIMA projects include design, planning,

scheduling, process modeling, shop control, simulation, inspection, assembly, and machining. The integration and interface tech- nologies being applied include networking, database technologies, frameworks, and

protocols for data exchange. SIMA projects span the industrial manufacturing domains

of mechanical products, electronics, and

construction.

The standards development element focuses on applying NIST expertise to assist industry

in implementing voluntary consensus standards relevant to computer-integrated manufacturing. Successful implementation of manufacturing standards requires validation, pilots, and formal testing to ensure the standards meet the intended requirements. To this end, SIMA projects work on deploy- ment of standards testing methods utilizing

HPCC technologies and participate in pilot implementations of HPCC technologies by

industry.

The testbeds and technology-transfer ele- ment focuses on establishment of testbeds, which both serve the infrastructure needs of SIMA projects and can be used as demonstration sites for collaborative tests between SIMA projects and industrial partners. One

such facility, the Advanced Manufacturing

Systems and Networking Testbed (AMSANT),

has been established, and another is under

construction. Technology-transfer efforts

also include development of infrastructure technologies specialized to disseminate manufacturing information using HPCC

techniques.

Numerous successful collaborative relationships with industry are under way. Among

these is the effort to design and develop a comprehensive electronic handbook for characterization of engineering problems and relevant software applications with SEMATECH (Austin, Texas). Making these NIST statistical solutions available remotely

facilitates accurate analysis and solution of engineering problems in the most expeditious manner, i.e., at the user's workstation. Another SIMA project has facilitated the es- tablishment of the PlantSTEP consortium

(Kansas City, Kan.), which is working to speed the development of data exchange

protocols needed for the design of process

plants. Working with NIST, the consortium

ensures that the developing standard satisfies the intended data exchange require- ments for process-plant design. In another SIMA project, the development of testing methodologies for pilot implementations of a new product design data exchange protocol in the automotive industry is helping to

verify the usability of that standard for ex- changes between U.S. car companies and

their suppliers.

Contact: Jim Fowler

(301) 975-3180

email: jefowler@nist.gov A127 Metrology Building
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY

RESEARCH

FACILITIES

NATIONAL ADVANCED

MANUFACTURING

TESTBED

The National Advanced Manufacturing Test- bed (NAMT) is a new research program ad- dressing needs for technologies and

standards for distributed and virtual manufacturing. The program was developed with guidance from over 30 industrial leaders and launched in late 1995. The program's

goals are to provide the infrastructure to enable companies to rapidly design and manufacture products and to speed U.S. industry's evolution toward distributed and virtual manufacturing.

NAMT researchers are developing the scientific basis and technical underpinnings

necessary to achieve manufacturing environ- ments that are shared, accessible, integrated, and information based. Research

focuses on measurements, communication

protocols, interfaces, and other standards and infrastructural technologies.

The first-year portfolio of NAMT research

projects includes:

• framework for manufacturing

integration,

• remote access and simulation of hexapod

machines,

• machine-tool performance models, and

• distributed nanomanufacturing.

The common objectives for these NAMT

projects are:

• to support distributed and virtual manufacturing,

• to promote interoperability of manufacturing systems through standards and

measurements,

• to conduct manufacturing research in a

distributed environment that leverages industrial and other partner expertise, and

• to provide a virtual manufacturing envi- ronment through simulations and other information technology tools.

These initial projects draw on the wide

range of technical expertise available across MEL's five divisions. This expertise, along

with key testbed facilities, are leveraged

by the participation of collaborating organizations from industry, government, and

academia.

A key element of the NAMT is the research

facility developed in 1995 as part of the

laboratory's Systems Integration for Manufacturing Application program. This facility,

the Advanced Manufacturing Systems and

Networking Testbed (AMSANT), supports the computing, communications, and information technology needs of the NAMT and SIMA programs. The objective of both pro- grams is to provide a distributed, multinode

facility at NIST that will enable collaborative development of technologies and standards to support distributed and virtual manufacturing enterprises through an ad- vanced computing and communications

infrastructure.

The AMSANT houses many highperformance computer workstations and

servers, ATM networking capabilities, and

large-screen computer display systems. Since its completion, the facility has been

host to daily research activities, several large demonstrations, and several software train- ing classes. In early FY 1996, plans were made to open a second facility to support

the growing needs of both the SIMA program and the NAMT program.

Offering high-speed data-transfer, voice, and video capabilities, this second facility

also will serve as a working laboratory for NIST researchers and their industrial collaborators, and it will be used to demonstrate proof-of-concept implementations of research and development results.

Remotely located, the NAMT researchers, working in their home environments, cooperate on an array of advanced manufacturing research projects. Their efforts benefit from a shared foundation of supporting tech- nologies for textual, audio, and visual communications as well as common sets of computing tools, such as databases, electronic software repositories, and modeling

and simulation programs.

Current and future work will concentrate on

overcoming complexities that prevent "plug and play" interoperability across dispersed

and disparate manufacturing systems.

Contact:

Merrill Hessel

(301) 975-2159

email: merrill.hessel@nist.gov B102 Radiation Physics Building
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

The Chemical Science and Technology

Laboratory (CSTL) performs cutting-edge

research in measurement science; devel- ops and maintains measurement methods, standards, and reference data; and

develop models for chemical, biochemical, and physical properties and processes. CSTL provides these capabilities to en- hance U.S. industry's productivity and

competitiveness; assure equity in trade; and improve public health, safety, and

environmental quality.

The technologies and services provided by CSTL help the U.S. chemical manufacturing, energy, health care, biotechnology, food processing, and materials processing

industries to meet the broad range of in- ternational measurement requirements

and compete in global markets.

One of CSTL's goals is to anticipate the measurement needs of new technologies,

so that a measurement infrastructure is available by the time a new technology is implemented. Needs are expanding for accurate, quantitative measurements at ever- decreasing detection limits, in harsher environments, and for a wider range of chemical species.

In addition, the development of novel and

improved processing techniques and new

approaches to pollution prevention and

control are critical to the economic success of U.S. industry. Through a strong commitment to basic research, and by

leading the advancement of measurement

science in critical areas, CSTL is poised to meet emerging national needs.

Contact: Hratch G. Semerjian, Director (301) 975-3145

email: hratch.semerjian@nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-3845

A3 17 Chemistry Building

http://www.cstl.nist.gov

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

Biotechnology

84 DNA Chemistry

84 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

84 Bioprocess Engineering Measurements

85 Biomolecular Materials

85 Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology

Process Measurements

86 Flow Measurement Research and

Standards

86 Chemical Reactions and Emissions in Spray Flames

87 Engineering Measurements for Hydrothermal Processes

87 Vapor-Phase Synthesis of Nanoparticles

87 Chemistry of Materials Processing

87 Diagnostics in Thermal and Plasma

Reactors

88 Applied Computational Chemistry

88 Reacting Flow Simulation

89 Sol id-State Chemical Sensor Arrays

89 Self-Assembled Monolayers for Biosensing

89 High-Temperature Thermocouple

Research

90 Pressure, Vacuum, and Low-Flow

Standards

90 Quantitative Optical Measurements of

Partial Pressures and Moisture

Surface and Microanalysis Science

91 Microbeam Analysis

91 Atmospheric and Chemometric Research

91 Surface Dynamical Processes

Physical and Chemical Properties

92 Fundamental Properties of Trace Components of Natural Gas

92 Fundamental and Applied Properties of Adsorbents

93 Thermophysical Properties of Supercritical Fluid Mixtures

93 Fundamental Properties for Membrane

Separations

93 Thermophysical Properties of Gases and

Standards from Acoustic Techniques

94 Thermophysical Properties of Gases Used

in Semiconductor Processing

94 Chemical Thermodynamics

94 Chemical Kinetics

95 NIST/EPA/NIH Mass Spectral Database

95 Properties of Alternative Refrigerants

95 Properties of Fluids and Fluid Mixtures

96 Properties of Gels, Micelles, and Clays

96 Dilute-Solution Thermodynamics

96 Finite-Element Modeling of Complex

Physical and Chemical Processes

97 Advanced Low-Temperature RefrigerationAnalytical Chemistry

97 Analytical Mass Spectrometry for Inor- ganics and Elemental Isotopic Metrology

97 Fundamental Studies of Atomic

Spectroscopy

98 Application of Automation and Chemometrics to Improve the Accuracy of Spectro- chemical Analysis

98 Analytical Mass Spectrometry for Organics and Biomolecules

98 Chromatography and Electromigration

Techniques

99 Novel Analytical Separation Science Methodology

99 Separation Science Techniques for Trace Organic Analysis

99 High-Accuracy Coulometry 100 Inorganic Electroanalytical Chemistry 100 Trace-Gas Analysis

100 Optical Techniques for Trace-Gas

Analysis 100 Standards and Process Analytical Applications for Spectroscopy

101 Laboratory Automation Technology and

Standards

101 Automated Sample Preparation and Sensing

101 Analytical Infometrics

101 Chemical Analysis with Neutron Beams

102 Neutron Activation Analysis

102 Focusing of Cold Neutrons for Analytical Measurements

RESEARCH FACILITIES

103 Fluid-Flow Measurement and Research

Facilities

103 Liquid-Nitrogen Flow Measurements
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

BIOTECHNOLOGY

Division Contact: Walter J. Stevens (301) 975-2629

email: walter.stevens@nist.gov

fax: (301) 330-3447 A345 Chemistry Building

DNA CHEMISTRY

Working in several areas of DNA chemistry, NIST scientists are actively manipulating

DNA to produce proteins, developing methods for measuring DNA damage at the molecular level, and developing methods for characterizing DNA, including human

identity profiling.

NIST scientists are developing experimental

methods to measure DNA damage in mammalian cells exposed to free radicals, generated by ionizing radiation, elevated oxygen

pressure, redox-cycling drugs, or carcino- genic compounds. Free radicals produced

in-vivo are thought to be mutagenic and car- cinogenic. Measurement of DNA damage at the molecular level in mammalian cells is a

prerequisite to understanding the chemical mechanisms of damage by free radicals. Techniques used for measuring DNA damage include gas chromatography, mass

spectrometry, high-performance liquid chro- matography, and nuclear magnetic reso- nance spectroscopy.

NIST scientists are working on new methods

for DNA profiling, ranging from developing

well-characterized DNA standards for restriction fragment length polymorphisms to per- forming research for rapid determination of DNA profiles by polymerase chain reaction amplification and automated detection of

fragments. In addition, NIST researchers are

interested in cooperative development of short-tandem repeat technology, mitochondrial DNA sequencing, and attendant standards. Techniques for DNA detection include

sensitive staining of electrophoretic gels, use

of chemiluminescence, and enhanced appli- cations of capillary electrophoresis.

Contact: Dennis J. Reeder

(301) 975-3128

email: dennis.reeder@nist.gov M. Miral Dizdaroglu

(301) 975-2581

email: m.dizdaroglu@nist.gov

A353 Chemistry Building

NUCLEAR MAGNETIC

RESONANCE

Programs are under way in which NIST

scientists are using nuclear magnetic reso- nance (NMR) spectroscopy to study simple

peptides and proteins, aminoglycoside and

macrocyclic antibiotics, carbohydrates,

glycoproteins, and DNA. The studies are facilitated by research materials isotopically labeled with carbon-13 or nitrogen-15,

which are prepared by synthetic or biosynthetic methods.

NIST researchers are making extensive use

of two-dimensional NMR methods, includ- ing homonuclear and heteronuclear chemical shift correlation and J-resolved techniques, nuclear Overhauser measure- ments in the rotating frame, and indirect detection. Measurements of chemical shifts and coupling constants provide information on the structures, stereochemistry, and conformations of biomolecules. Determination

of nuclear Overhauser effects and relaxation times allows the imposition of distance constraints for three-dimensional structure

analysis and characterization of molecular

dynamics, respectively.

In the near future, researchers plan to use

three- and four-dimensional NMR tech- niques to investigate higher molecular

weight biomolecules. Detailed knowledge of the three-dimensional structures and confor- mations of the biomolecules is important to an increased understanding of biochemical

reaction mechanisms, enzyme specificity, drug-protein/DNA binding, and molecularrecognition processes.

Contact: Bruce Coxon

(301) 975-3135

email: bruce.coxon@nist.gov A353 Chemistry Building

BIOPROCESS

ENGINEERING

MEASUREMENTS

NIST scientists are developing theories, measurement methods, models, and data- bases needed for the development and opti- mization of commercial bioprocesses.

They are developing technologies related to

the use of biological enzymes in the production of fine chemicals. One research pro- gram is aimed at the unique potential of the hydroxylase class of enzymes. This research

is focused on solving technical roadblocks through the use of state-of-the-art measure- ments and advanced modeling methods to characterize biocatalysts and molecular

processes. Proof-of-principle experiments,

involving electrode-driven redox chemistry

incorporating the cytochrome P450 enzyme

system, are being studied as the basis of controlling biosynthetic reactions. Success in

this area involves finding generic routes for meeting the energy requirements of these en- zymes and on developing synthetic methods

of carrying out cell functions such as electron transfer between proteins.
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

Another emphasis is on the characterization

of new chromatographic processes for separating biomolecules from fermentation

broths. A NIST-developed electrochroma- tography method has been evaluated for the separation of DNA and viral particles from

proteins.

In the area of biothermodynamics. NIST re- searchers have developed accurate and precise microcalorimeters to measure the heat

released in enzyme-catalyzed biochemical

reactions of interest to biotechnology. When

coupled with equilibrium measurements,

these measurements enable the reliable modeling of the thermodynamics of these

processes. These data are used to predict reli- ably the efficiency of biochemical processes

outside the normal measurement ranges for temperature, pH, and ionic strength.

Light-scattering studies are being made on

biomacromolecular solutions to characterize their transport and thermodynamic

properties. Models and experimental methods, needed to obtain the necessary data, are being developed to characterize aqueous

two-phase separation techniques. NIST scientists are using small-angle neutron scattering to characterize chromatographic

media in concentrated polymer solutions.

Contact: Vincent Vilker

(301) 975-5066

email: vincent.vilker@nist.gov A353 Chemistry Building

BIOMOLECULAR

MATERIALS

A current trend in materials development is

to employ biological molecules and/or principles that are inspired by biology. Such

materials are sometimes referred to as "biomimetic," indicating they have characteristics such as self-assembly, molecular

recognition, specific chemical responses, and complex molecular architecture which

lead to unique structural and/or functional

characteristics. Chemically controlled

biomimetic surfaces are essential components of biosensors, bioelectronics, biocatalytic systems, and many diagnostic devices. Biomolecular materials thus influence

diverse applications such as health care, environmental pollution monitoring, agriculture, and chemical manufacturing. An

underlying need for these applications of biotechnology is the characterization and

control of biomolecules at interfaces.

Fundamental studies are being conducted to

better understand the structure and function

of natural and biomimetic materials that

self assemble. Lipid membranes are one

such class of self-assembling materials. They organize and control the structure of proteins that naturally reside within them,

many of which have commercially important functions. Project staff members also study models of cell membranes as tools for achieving better quantification of therapeutic agents, which are likely to act at the level

of the cell membrane via cell surface receptors or which have to pass through the cell membrane to be effective.

Interactions between biological molecules and between biological molecules and surfaces occur during sensor operation, diagnostic tests, cellular recognition events and

mobility, and in the formation of modified

surfaces as organized biomolecular materials. In some of these applications, it is desirable to enhance strong molecular specific

interactions while minimizing weaker nonspecific interactions. In other cases, many

simultaneous weak interactions are needed

to effect the appropriate dynamic response. NIST develops both the experimental tools such as chemically controlled surfaces and

techniques for monitoring reactions at surfaces, and the theoretical tools to improve

understanding of dynamic biomolecular

processes and permit predictions and optimization of reactions of biomolecules. Methods

for kinetic analysis, current noise analysis, and stochastic models of processes at surfaces are under development in the bio- molecular materials group.

Macromolecules including bacteriorhodopsin, DNA, and enzymes are examined in vari- ous configurations as potential components

of electrochemical, electronic, and optical

devices. This effort is closely coupled with

the more fundamental studies within the group, with the intention of bringing the knowledge gained from basic science studies

closer to potential applications such as envi- ronmental sensing or optical storage. Engineering prototype devices allows consideration of real world issues such as

fabrication, and adaptation of instrumentation and methodology to field conditions.

Contact: Anne Plant

(301) 975-3124

email: anne.plant@nist.gov A3 17 Chemistry Building

CENTER FOR ADVANCED

RESEARCH IN

BIOTECHNOLOGY

At the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology (CARB) in Rockville, Md.,

jointly established by NIST, the University of Maryland, and Montgomery County, Md., re- searchers study protein structure and function relationships. They are focusing on the measurement of protein structure by X-ray

crystallography and nuclear magnetic reso- nance spectroscopy (NMR) as well as the manipulation of structure by molecular biological techniques, including site-directed mutagenesis. Scientists use protein modeling, molecular dynamics, and computational chemistry to understand protein

structure and to predict the effects of specific

structural modifications on the properties of proteins and enzymes. A variety of physical

chemistry methods are used to measure and

analyze structural changes, activities, and

thermodynamic behavior of proteins under

investigation. CARB maintains state-of-theart facilities for protein crystallography,

NMR spectroscopy, molecular biology, and

physical biochemistry. Its computer facilities include a variety of computational and
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

high-resolution graphics workstations as well as access to the NIST Cyber 205

supercomputer.

Contact: Roberto J. Poljak

(301) 738-6232

email: roberto.poljak@nist.gov

Gary L. Gilliland (301) 738-6262

email: gary.gilliland@nist.gov

9600 Gudelsky Drive

Rockville, Md. 20850

PROCESS

MEASUREMENTS

Contact: Gregory J. Rosasco

(301) 975-2609

email: gregory.rosasco@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-5924 B312 Physics Building

FLOW MEASUREMENT

RESEARCH AND

STANDARDS

The accelerating costs of scarce fluid re- sources and valuable fluid products—particularly petrochemical fluids—are causing

increased concerns about the performance

of flow meters. Additionally, the role of flow meters in controlling and optimizing critical industrial processes is pushing perform- ance limits and extending the required fluid and flow conditions. To attain these goals, improved flow traceability to NIST standards

is essential.

Improved flow measurement traceability needs to be established and maintained so

that realistic, quantified data are generated on a continuing basis to assure practical

fluid measurements at satisfactory performance. To achieve the desired flow measure- ment traceability, NIST is conducting

several flow measurement proficiency test- ing programs for a range of fluid and flow

conditions. NIST also is designing new transfer standards to link the performance of cali- bration facilities having special conditions and capabilities to appropriate national ref- erence standards.

Because ofthe importance of critical flow measurements, transfer standards need to be

designed and used so that high levels of confidence can be placed in the measurements

from critical flow meters. New transfer standards are evaluated rigorously against NIST

fluid flow calibration standards. As part of these evaluations, the appropriate range of calibrations will be done on the developed

standards so performance can be assured at

specified levels. Current fluid metering re- search programs use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with validation using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) techniques to focus on flows that are critical to U.S. industry. Currently, the two areas of metering re- search are the assessment of acoustic technology for making improved flow measurements and the description of flow meter

installation effects. CFD and LDV are applied

in both of these areas.

Contact: George E. Mattingly

(301) 975-5939

email: george.mattingly@nist.gov

105 Fluid Mechanics Building

CHEMICAL REACTIONS

AND EMISSIONS IN SPRAY

FLAMES

Control of combustion efficiency and ex- haust emissions from combustion systems used for power generation and treatment of process liquid wastes is generally based on a

priori knowledge of the input stream global

physical and chemical properties, desired

stoichiometric conditions, and monitoring

of a few major chemical species in the exhaust. In general, there is a dearth of data on conditions within the reactor and, in particular, on the quality of the atomized liquid

spray. It is precisely this region that requires a better knowledge base to enable optimization of the chemical and thermal processes and minimization of particulate and gase- ous emissions. NIST researchers are developing the technology to measure and explore

the feasibility of correlating the interrela- tionship between operating conditions, spray flame characteristics, and formation of pol- lutant emissions in combustion systems, with particular emphasis on the atomization

process. The benefits to be gained from this research are improved combustor perform- ance and reduced emission levels.

Experiments are being carried out in a spray combustion facility, with a movable vane

swirl burner enclosed in a refractory chamber. The facility has evolved to handle differ- ent process liquid fuels and wastes, atomizer

designs, and combustor configurations. A variety of intrusive probes, non-intrusive diagnostics, and flow visualization techniques

are being employed to obtain comprehensive

data on spray combustion characteristics. Current research involves measurement of

the input fuel stream (fuel composition),

spray flame (droplet size, velocity, number

density, and temperature), and combustor

exhaust (particulate size and volume fraction, and toxic gas concentrations). The

measurements made are used to provide data for process optimization and control, real-time in-situ sensor development, and input and validation of numerical

simulations.

Contact: Cary Presser

(301) 975-2612

email: cpresser@nist.gov B312 Physics Building
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

ENGINEERING

MEASUREMENTS FOR

HYDROTHERMAL

PROCESSES

Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) is a promising new technology for safe and efficient destruction of hazardous materials. It

is a totally contained process that takes place in supercritical water, that is, at pressures greater than 22 MPa and temperatures above 374 °C. Under these conditions, many

reactions proceed unusually rapidly, producing benign end-products carried in the out- put water stream. Implementation of SCWO

systems is beginning, but development of robust designs is hampered by an inade- quate understanding of critical processes such as reaction chemistry, corrosion, heat

transfer, and salt deposition and phase separation as well as a lack of fundamental thermodynamic and transport data. Further- more, because of the harsh environment, investigations have been limited by a lack of

robust, in-situ measurements. Thus, the ap- proach is to understand and model these processes through development and application of in-situ measurement techniques and

acquisition of vital process data.

The experimental work centers around reactors for studies of waste destruction and corrosion, as well as unique optical cells that provide access for in-situ measurements of

1 temperature, pressure, density, chemical species and concentrations, and phase discrimination. Current investigations target ammonia and acetic acid destruction as functions of temperature, residence time, and oxidant; corrosion detection and control

I with in-situ Raman spectroscopy; Na2S04

precipitation and deposition; and nearcritical, high-gradient heat-transfer for process design. The modeling work is integrated with the experiments and centers around thermodynamic predictions of phase

boundaries and other properties for supercritical systems where data are extremely

lacking. The experimental measurements

and thermodynamic models will support

process simulation and design efforts that

are currently under way.

Contact:

Albert Lee

(301) 975-5190

email: albert.lee@nist.gov B3 12 Physics Building

VAPOR-PHASE SYNTHESIS

OF NANOPARTICLES

Nanostructured materials have demonstrated novel magnetic, optical, and mechanical properties. However, practical

application of these materials requires the development of economical synthesis and

processing methods. NIST researchers have

focused their efforts in two areas. The first is development of gas phase synthesis methods

for bulk production of nanoparticles (e.g., superconductors, magnetic nanocomposites,

metals). This work includes the use of gas- phase combustion and thermal flow reactors, with heavy emphasis on the use of

in-situ optical diagnostics, such as planar

laser-induced fluorescence and light scattering, for characterization. Current activities

are focusing on the growth of composite particles with enhanced magnetic and structural properties and the use of novel

chemistries to prevent agglomeration. Secondly, researchers are studying the application of molecular dynamics and quantum

chemistry methods to describe particle nucleation and growth. Available facilities in- clude excimer, Nd:YAG and tunable dye laser

systems, cw-ion lasers, and graphics workstations. Expected results from this work are a

better understanding of the mechanisms of

particle nucleation and growth and strategies to obtain desired end-products.

Contact: Michael R. Zachariah

(301) 975-2063

email: michael.zachariah@nist.gov B3 12 Physics Building

CHEMISTRY OF

MATERIALS PROCESSING

This work focuses on both quantitative and

qualitative measurements of the principal re- acting species and the kinetics of the chemistry relevant to thermal chemical vapor

deposition (CVD) and plasma processing. NIST researchers conduct experiments using

either a high-temperature flow reactor or a

low-pressure plasma coupled to a modulated

molecular-beam mass-spectrometer sampling system. The current focus has been on

the thermal and oxidation chemistry of pre- cursors used in the deposition Si02 films and the chemistry of fluorocarbons relevant

to low-pressure plasma etching processes. Experiments are supported with a strong modeling effort involving extensive use of modern computational chemistry methods

as well as detailed reactor models.

Contact: Michael R. Zachariah

(301) 975-2063

email: michael.zachariah@nist.gov Donald R. Burgess Jr. (301) 975-2614

email: donald.burgess@nist.gov

B312 Physics Building

DIAGNOSTICS IN

THERMAL AND PLASMA

REACTORS

This project is aimed at providing measure- ments suitable for development and testing

of models that may be used as design tools

for development of next-generation process equipment used in the manufacture of microelectronic components. Research focuses on characterization of both thermal and plasma reactors. Measurements are being

made in the Gaseous Electronics Conference plasma reference cell using planar laser- induced fluorescence to obtain two- dimensional gas phase species concentration maps and in-situ spectroscopic

ellipsometry for surface characterization.
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

Electric probe and rf voltage and current waveform measurements provide electrical characterization of plasma parameters and

reactor conditions. These electrical measure- ments are used with other ion energy measurements to characterize and model plasma

sheath dynamics that strongly affect ion be- havior in these reactors.

Thermal CVD chemistry is under investigation using a new optically accessible rotat- ing disk reactor. A major focus of this work

is the detection of the early stages of particle formation, which is supported by a substantial modeling effort. Available facilities in- clude excimer, Nd:YAG, and tunable dye

laser systems, cw-ion lasers, mass

spectrometers, and graphics workstations. The results of this work are expected to aid

in the development of molecular-based models of industrial process reactors and on-line

diagnostics for process control, as well as broaden fundamental understanding of

these processes.

Contact: Michael R. Zachariah

(301) 975-2063

email: michael.zachariah@nist.gov B3 12 Physics Building

Mark A. Sobolewski

(301) 975-2980

email: mark.sobolewski@nist.gov A303 Physics Building

APPLIED COMPUTATIONAL

CHEMISTRY

Improvements in process design and control, which can be realized from increas- ingly sophisticated process models, are not occurring because of the lack of highquality data. New computational chemistry

methods offer the potential to revolutionize

the manner in which fundamental thermochemical, physical, and kinetic data are obtained. Research focuses on the development

and application of robust methods for data

estimation. NIST scientists are investigating the application of empirical correction schemes to ab-initio molecular orbital

calculations as a means to obtain high- accuracy data at low computational cost. Such methods have been used to predict the thermochemistry of more than 110 hy- drofluorocarbons and oxidized hydrofluorocarbons. These results when compared to available literature data showed excellent agreement.

Thermochemistry data on the Si-O-H and

Si-P-H system also have been generated for application to the chemistry of microelectronics processing. A user-friendly reaction

rate theory program has been developed that

will enable the estimation of rate constants. This program, which currently is being

tested, is applicable to any arbitrary reaction manifold and should find wide application

by those interested in large-scale chemistry

simulations. Molecular dynamic simulations are being used to simulate the structure, properties, and kinetics of clustercluster growth kinetics relevant to nanoparticle formation. These results are finding application in the development of aerosol models and in improving understanding of nanoparticle growth. Calculations are conducted using the NIST supercomputer facility and are processed using highperformance graphic workstations.

Contact: Michael R. Zachariah

(301) 975-2063

email: michael.zachariah@nist.gov Donald R. Burgess, Jr. (301) 975-2614

email: donald.burgess@nist.gov

B312 Physics Building

REACTING FLOW

SIMULATION

Research focuses on the chemical process in- dustry's need to understand reacting sys- tems. The primary focus is toward systems

that involve complex chemistry in such envi- ronments as plasma and thermal processing

of microelectronics, combustion, and two- phase flows. Researchers are simulating

high-temperature reacting flows to understand the complex coupling between the

fluid flow, heat release, multiple phases, and

chemical reactions. Most recently, the pri- mary focus has been on simulation of con- taminant particle nucleation and growth in materials processing reactors in support of ongoing experimental efforts.

Scientists are developing large, detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms relevant to combustion and plasma etching as well as materials processing chemistries. In addition, researchers are pursuing automated methods for mechanism generation, analysis, and reduction, which rely heavily on

interactive graphics. These approaches in- creasingly rely on the use of advanced methods for thermochemical and kinetic data

estimation. Calculations are conducted us- ing the NIST supercomputer facility and are processed using high-performance graphic

workstations.

Contact: Ronald W. Davis

(301) 975-2739

email: ronald.davis@nist.gov Michael R. Zachariah

(301) 975- 2063

email: michael.zachariah@nist.gov

B312 Physics Building
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

SOLID-STATE CHEMICAL

SENSOR ARRAYS

NIST scientists are conducting research on

solid-state sensor array technology for real- time sensing of multiple species in multi- component gas mixtures. These sensors are based on NIST-designed and -patented micro hotplate arrays. These multilayer structures consist of a heater, a thermometer/

heat distribution plate, and sensing film

electrical contacts. Typical single element

sizes range from 100 to 250 p.m. The sens- ing film is typically a semiconducting oxide, such as SnO? or T\Oi, whose electrical con- ductance is changed by species adsorbed on

the film surface. Surface dispersed, catalytic metal additives alter response sensitivity and

selectivity of the metal oxide sensing films

of individual array elements. Additionally,

micro hotplates have low power require- ments (tens of milliwatts), large operating

temperature range (>800 °C), and heating

time constants of 1 to 2 milliseconds. This

capability supports a novel sensing ap- proach, temperature programmed sensing,

which has excellent potential to discrimi- nate and quantify individual species in multicomponent gas mixtures. These sensor

structures provide sensitivity, selectivity, capability for real-time monitoring, low cost, and mechanical robustness. Device fabrication takes advantage of commercially available CMOS processing, providing a path to a

readily manufactured sensing technology.

Scientists are now working to detect and

quantify oxygenated species found in auto- motive exhaust—CO, CO2, and a range of organic species. Research investigations in- clude study of the mechanisms governing

surface adsorption and desorption processes, development of surface micromachining

techniques and methods for sensing film

deposition, and use of temperatureprogrammed sensing techniques that take advantage of NIST's unique, micro hotplate

sensor structures. Development of signal

processing algorithms capable of species detection and quantification also is of great

interest.

Contact: James R. Whetstone

(301) 975-2738

email: james.whetstone@nist.gov A303 Physics Building

SELF-ASSEMBLED

MONOLAYERS FOR

BIOSENSING

Future generations of biosensors for applications such as DNA diagnostics and drug

discovery will be required to perform multianalyte measurements rapidly, accurately, and at lower cost. These technologies are ex- pected to take the form of surface-confined

arrays of highly selective sensing elements. Although considerable effort is currently fo- cused on synthesizing peptide and DNA arrays on surfaces, these design efforts are based on highly empirical methods. Relatively little effort is directed toward understanding the molecular-scale structure and

mechanisms that control surface interactions in these systems. To investigate these

issues, NIST is using alkanethiol self- assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed spontaneously on gold substrates. These SAMs

are robust, ordered structures with highly tunable surface characteristics useful to form fully functional protein and nucleic

acid monolayers on gold surfaces. This model system supports development and application of characterization methods sensitive to physical and chemical surface

properties of both single and multiple layer

structures.

Researchers are determining both structural

characteristics and demonstrating the occurrence of molecular recognition events such

as hybridization reactions of single stranded DNA pairs. Scientists are currently using proteins and DNA with the thiol self-assembly

process for studies of reproducible preparation and custom tuning of surface properties

using a "mixed monolayer" approach. They

also are evaluating monolayers as model

platforms to study solid-phase biological processes and for the production of planar

structures for use in a broad array of surface

analytical techniques. In addition, re- searchers are investigating facile patterning

of biological species with micrometer-scale

control of dimensions using a photolithographic process developed at NIST.

Contact: James R. Whetstone

(301) 975-2738

email: james.whetstone@nist.gov Michael J. Tarlov

(301) 975-2058

email: michael.tarlov@nist.gov

A303 Physics Building

HIGH-TEMPERATURE

THERMOCOUPLE

RESEARCH

Industrial high-temperature processes and

scientific research at high temperatures re- quire stable thermometers that cover wider temperature ranges with better accuracy than previously required. Problems with thermocouples at high temperatures result primarily from unstable compositions

(impurities, defects, and chemical reactions), causing their electromotive force, and thus their temperature indication, to

drift with use and rapidly become highly

uncertain. A second problem in process measurements is the unreliable measure- ment of surface temperatures resulting from the use of traditional contact and noncontact (radiation) thermometers. Accurate, high-speed measurements of temperatures

of surfaces are especially critical in semiconductor wafer preparation by rapid thermal

processing because accurate control of temperature during short high-temperature ex- posures is critical to product quality and

device performance.
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

NIST is developing new wire and thin-film thermocouples as reference thermometers

for secondary calibration laboratories and

as high-accuracy, high-stability, hightemperature thermometers for industrial

use, including use in surface-temperature measurements. Scientists are investigating noble metal thermocouples of exceptionally

high purity and generally resistant to oxidation in high-temperature environments. They also are investigating thin-film thermocouples for accurate surface temperature measurements. These devices become a

part of the surface and thereby obviate the uncertainties associated with conventional

contact thermometers (uncertainty of the correlation between measured temperature and surface temperature) and with radiation thermometers (uncertainty with respect

to the time-dependent, effective emissivity of the surface).

Contact:

Billy W. Mangum

(301) 975-4808

email: billy.mangum@nist.gov

B128 Physics Building

PRESSURE, VACUUM,

AND LOW-FLOW

STANDARDS

Many industries depend on accurate pressure, vacuum, and low-flow measurements

for research and development and for process and quality control. NIST develops and

maintains pressure and vacuum standards from 200 MPa to 10" 7 Pa; flow standards are operated from 10" 3 mol/s to 10" 14 mol/s.

Facilities include five ultrahigh vacuum sys- tems, two low-range flowmeters, a midrange flowmeter, high-accuracy mercury

manometers, oil and gas piston gauges, ap- paratuses for measuring gas densities using

optical techniques, and the necessary pres- sure and vacuum control systems. These

facilities are used to provide calibration support for industrial, academic, and govern- ment entities and for research in the areas where these capabilities can be used to improve the fundamental understanding of physical phenomena.

These measurement capabilities enable re- searchers to develop improved measurement

techniques and equipment and to investi- gate the performance of vacuum and pres- sure equipment, specifically piston gauges, mechanical pressure gauges, momentum

transfer gauges, ionization gauges, thermal mass flowmeters, standard leaks, and resid- ual gas analyzers. In addition, NIST uses

this measurement capability to investigate

properties of materials and physical phe- nomena of fundamental interest. Among

current projects are the development of an

optical adsorption based standard for measuring low gas densities, development of a

high-precision laminar flowmeter, modeling of primary pressure standards to reduce

their uncertainties, characterization of ther- mal mass flowmeters, and characterization and modeling of residual gas analyzers. NIST researchers also are developing molecular drag gauges that operate in high vacuum conditions and precise isotopic ref- erence standards for pure gases.

Contact:

Stuart A. Tison

(301) 975-2857

email: stuart.tison@nist.gov A55 Metrology Building

QUANTITATIVE OPTICAL

MEASUREMENTS OF

PARTIAL PRESSURES AND

MOISTURE

Low-level gaseous contaminants cause deleterious effects in chemical and materials processing such as semiconductor manufacturing systems. Many commercially avail- able instruments are either not species

specific, are not sufficiently sensitive, or

utilize detection techniques that perturb the

chemical composition and, therefore, compromise the measurement of contaminant

composition. This research seeks to develop

quantitative optical measurement tech- niques that have high species selectivity and

sensitivity. This effort strives to produce a new generation of species-specific, partial pressure measurement standards with a particular emphasis on low density measure- ment of H2O, CO2, CO, O2, H2, and CH4.

Optical measurement techniques of primary

interest include photon-induced ionization

spectroscopies for partial pressures less than

10" Pa and absorption spectroscopy in the range of 1 kPa to 10"6 Pa. Initial efforts are emphasizing the use of cavity-ring-downspectroscopy, an absorption technique for the measurement of H2O, which should enable quantitative determinations in the range ~ 1 kPa to ~ 10

6 Pa and resonant en- hanced multiphoton ionization techniques

with CO in the range of 10"4 Pa to 10"8 Pa.

In addition to providing non-intrusive meas- urement techniques for measuring partial pressure of contaminant gases, this research may lead to a new generation of humidity measurement techniques and primary standards for concentrations as low as 1 part per

billion.

Contact:

J. Patrick Looney

(301) 975-4806

email: john.looney@nist.gov A55 Metrology Building

Joseph Hodges

(301) 975-2605

email: joseph.hodges@nist.gov A303 Physics Building
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

SURFACE AND

MICROANALYSIS

SCIENCE

Division Contact: Ranee A. Velapoldi

(301) 975-3917

email: rance.velapoldi@nist.gov

fax: (301)216-1134

B364 Chemistry Building

MICROBEAM ANALYSIS

The macroscopic properties and behavior of a wide variety of physical, biological, and

technological phenomena are controlled by chemical events that occur on the microscale. Microbeam analysis techniques based on beams of electrons, ions, and photons can achieve lateral and depth resolution ranging from the micrometer to the nanometer scale, which is equivalent to a sample mass of picograms down to zepto- grams. NIST performs research in many aspects of the measurement science of microbeam analysis. This project develops

standards, data, and standard methods to meet the critical need for chemical measure- ments that can provide quantitative information on small variations in composition.

The role of trace constituents distributed in microstructures (often at levels of parts per million to parts per billion) in controlling,

for example, device properties is studied through techniques that can achieve trace nanoanalysis, which combines trace fractional sensitivity with nanometer-scale

resolution. Measurement of the atoms

(elements) present in a microstructure is complemented by techniques that determine

the molecular (chemical) forms present, as well as the arrangement of atoms and molecules into crystallographic forms.

The need to visualize lateral compositional

distributions quantitatively has been the subject of an extensive effort to develop compositional mapping, in which the result is in

the form of an image where the gray or

color level is directly related to numerical

concentration. Initially developed for picture elements (pixels) in two lateral dimensions, current efforts seek to extend

compositional mapping to three- dimensional volume elements (voxels) , a

capability needed to meet the challenges

posed by advanced technologies such as giga-scale electronics and microelec- tromechanical systems (MEMS).

Instrument resources available in the NIST

microanalysis research and analytical microscopy groups include scanning electron microscopes (conventional, electron probe

X-ray microanalysis, environmental, and

field emission), high voltage transmission

analytical electron microscopes (conventional and field emission, with X-ray and

electron energy loss analytical spectrometries), an electron-optical/X-ray optical

bench, and secondary ion mass spectrometers (ion microprobe, ion microscope, and

laser microprobe with magnetic sector or

time-of-flight mass spectrometers). Also available are conventional and Fourier- transform Raman optical microprobes;

Fourier-transform infrared microscopy;

X-ray diffraction, including capillary optic

X-ray microfocusing facilities from conventional X-ray tube and high brightness rotat- ing anode X-ray sources; and extensive

facilities for computer-aided microscopy

and analysis, sample synthesis, and sample

preparation.

Contact: David S. Simons

(301) 975-3903

email: david.simons@nist.gov A113 Chemistry Building

Eric B. Steel

(301) 975-3902

email: eric.steel@nist.gov A113 Chemistry Building

ATMOSPHERIC AND

CHEMOMETRIC RESEARCH

Concern is mounting worldwide over envi- ronmental contamination and wastes, at- mospheric pollution, and potential effects on health and climate. It is imperative to determine with a high degree of accuracy

the individual sources of pollutant species.

State-of-the art research, pioneered at NIST, makes possible unique source identification by application of the most advanced micro- chemical and isotopic analytical techniques,

including accelerator mass spectrometry and high-precision gas isotope ratio mass

spectrometry. The data obtained provide

city, state, and national governments with a unique opportunity to develop and test control strategies to reduce emissions of the

identified pollutant sources.

Complementing advanced isotopic-chemical

characterization of atmospheric gases and

particles is basic research in chemometrics,

which represents the synthesis of chemical knowledge and measurement with modern

statistical and computational methods. Work in this area is directed toward improving the quality of chemical measurements

generally through advanced design, meas- urement and data analysis quality assurance, and graphical multivariate data

exploration.

Contact: Lloyd A. Currie

(301) 975-3919

email: lloyd.currie@nist.gov

B364 Chemistry Building

SURFACE DYNAMICAL

PROCESSES

Understanding the processes that occur at surfaces and interfaces, such as the interactions of adsorbates with substrates, is critical

for describing and controlling reactions at these locations. This understanding can

lead to new procedures that are fundamental in tailoring surfaces to produce nano-
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

scale structures, decrease wear and corrosion, or to develop new electronic devices,

catalysts, or layered materials with improved

properties. To address these important tech- nological areas, NIST scientists are studying

the fundamental atomic and molecular

processes of the interactions of laser and syn- chrotron radiations and electrons with a broad spectrum of surfaces and the interactions of adsorbed molecules with these surfaces to obtain information on electronic

structure, rotational and vibrational energy manifold populations, reactivity, and the mechanisms of energy transfer. These tech- niques also are applied in experiments with

substrates of metals, semiconductors, oxides, and high-temperature superconductors as

well as with selected deposited films and

adsorbates.

The investigations of these processes have

progressed from large spatial scales using femtosecond laser spectroscopy and other

surface interrogative techniques to spatial

scales on the order of tens of nanometers

with the current development of infrared,

near-field optical spectroscopic techniques. These experimental techniques are complemented by the development of theories that

pull together diverse ideas to provide comprehensive, focused explanations of the

processes, which, in turn, lead to new

experimental designs and research.

Contact: Richard R. Cavanagh

(301) 975-2368

email: richard.cavanagh@nist.gov

B248 Chemistry Building

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL

PROPERTIES

Divison Contacts: Richard F. Kayser

(301) 975-2483

email: richard.kayser@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-4020

Alll Physics Building William M. Haynes

(303) 497-3247

email: william.haynes@nist.gov

fax: (303) 497-5044

Division 838.00

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

FUNDAMENTAL

PROPERTIES OF TRACE

COMPONENTS OF

NATURAL GAS

Natural gas is a complex mixture that can

consist of between 300 and 400 organic and

inorganic components, many of which are present at relatively low (trace) concentrations. Most of these materials are naturally

occurring, while some are intentionally added during processing. The properties of many of these trace constituents are important since they can strongly affect the overall behavior of the natural gas. NIST

researchers recently have completed measurements on the vapor pressure and the enthalpy of adsorption (on pipeline surfaces)

of a family of chlorinated trace constituents. The vapor pressure studies were done on

three pieces of equipment that were specifically constructed for measurements on involatile compounds. The enthalpic measurements were carried out on a modified gas chromatographic apparatus.

Current work is concerned with stand- ardizing the extended analysis of natural

gas through the use of measured chromatographic retention indices. The researchers have constructed dedicated chromatographic instrumentation specifically to

provide the accuracy required for these measurements. This will facilitate component identification for custody transfer and

calorific value calculations. They also are measuring the diffusion of odorants

(strongly smelling sulfur compounds added

to aid in detection) in natural gas. These measurements are performed on a TaylorAris apparatus that was constructed for highpressure fluids. This work will provide a fundamental understanding of odorant

fading, a problem that often occurs during

winter months.

Contact: Thomas J. Bruno

(303) 497-5158

email: thomas.bruno@nist.gov

Division 838.01

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

FUNDAMENTAL AND

APPLIED PROPERTIES OF

ADSORBENTS

The industrial consumption of adsorbents

for separation processes is in the range of a megaton per year. These adsorbents include

silicas, aluminas, carbons, and zeolites, and

their uses range from commodity chemical

separations to small-scale environmental applications. An understanding of the properties of these materials is vital to efficient separation process design and operation. A

NIST research program is focused on the measurement and modeling of fundamental

parameters such as the enthalpy of adsorption and adsorption isotherms (which are measures of the attraction of a chemical on

an adsorbent) and the skeletal density (a measure of the ultimate capacity) of adsorbents. NIST has designed and constructed apparatus for these measurements and has

applied them to clay and carbon adsorbents. The techniques also allow the study of the effects of surface modifications of adsorbents

that are produced by compounds such as surfactants. These measurements are combined

with surface observations obtained from
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY 93

neutron scattering and dynamic light scattering to elucidate the surface structure. This will permit design of novel special- purpose adsorbents, since the researchers

will have a clear idea of what components

or areas of an adsorbent structure are important for the separation process.

Contact: Thomas J. Bruno

(303) 497-5158

email: thomas.bruno@nist.gov

Division 838.01

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

THERMOPHYSICAL

PROPERTIES OF

SUPERCRITICAL FLUID

MIXTURES

All facets of chemical process technology

require an accurate knowledge (or reliable

predictive capability) of various thermophysical and chemical properties of pure chemicals and their mixtures. This is especially true of separations because of the

great diversity of chemicals involved, with

widely varying molecular sizes, shapes, and

polarity. In addition to this inherent complexity, industry is now exploring the appli- cation of alternative solvents for separation

processes because many traditional solvents have environmental and health risks associated with their use. This project explores the

, modeling of processes using alternative sol- vents through multivariate statistical analysis incorporating a number of empirical and

semi-empirical chemical and thermophysical variables as input.

Work is in progress to extend significantly

the Kamlet-Taft solvatochromic chemical

parameters to the alternative solvents in the

subcritical and supercritical phases. Both chemical and thermophysical variables are incorporated into a multivariate statistical model to better predict solution processes of

industrially relevant compounds in the alter- native solvents. This requires the experimental determination of acidity, basicity,

polarity, polarizability, and density of potential solvents. These measurements are per- formed spectroscopically. In addition to providing a predictive approach to solvent behavior, this work provides insight into understanding the solution process itself. In addition to the spectroscopic-based techniques

mentioned earlier, a magnetic levitation

solubility instrument is being developed to measure phase equilibria of mixtures not amenable to spectroscopic measurement.

Contact: Thomas J. Bruno

(303) 497-5158

email: thomas.bruno@nist.gov

Division 838.01

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

FUNDAMENTAL

PROPERTIES FOR

MEMBRANE SEPARATIONS

Membranes are used increasingly in separation processes, novel synthesis processes, and as components of process sensors. To

add to the science and engineering base of membrane technology, NIST is working on methods of measuring and correlating chemical and morphological structure with

gas and vapor transport-property relationships in both phase-separated polymers and

homopolymers. Ionomers, interpenetrating

polymer networks, and polymer blends are examples of the former. The linchpin of this

effort is obtaining consistent and accurate measurements of solubility and permeability

for a variety of gases and gas mixtures in novel polymers that can be chemically or morphologically altered in a systematic way. These data then can be used as starting

points for developing molecular-level prediction of transport properties.

Contact: John Pellegrino

(303) 497-3416

email: john.pellegrino@nist.gov

Division 838.01

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

THERMOPHYSICAL

PROPERTIES OF GASES

AND STANDARDS FROM

ACOUSTIC TECHNIQUES

Thermophysical properties of gases are re- quired to design heat transfer machinery and chemical processes. NIST obtains very accurate values for these properties (equation of state, heat capacity, thermal conductivity, viscosity, and speed of sound) by

exploiting high-Q acoustic resonators devel- oped and modeled at NIST.

NIST routinely measures the speed of sound

in gases with uncertainties of less than ±0.01 percent. NIST data were used to deter- mine the thermodynamic properties of more

than 20 environmentally benign, candidate replacement refrigerants and of helium- xenon mixtures used in thermoacoustic refrigerators. To extend these measurements

to corrosive gases, and to gases at very high

temperatures, NIST developed acoustic wave

guides to conduct sound from remote

transducers into and out of resonators through corrosion-resistant metal dia- phragms. NIST also developed novel acoustic resonators for measuring the viscosity and thermal conductivity of gases with an

imprecision of 0.1 percent.

NIST is using acoustic measurements of the highest possible accuracy to measure the imperfections in the internationally accepted

temperature scale (ITS-90) in the range 200 K to 700 K. For this work, the speed of sound

in argon is measured with an imprecision of 0.0001 percent in a spherical resonator. The

thermal expansion of the resonator is measured using microwaves. To maintain the purity of the argon at 700 K, clean argon continuously flows through the resonator with a pressure that is controlled to 1 part in 10 .

Contact: Michael R. Moldover

(301) 975-2459

email: michael.moldover@nist.gov A105 Physics Building
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

THERMOPHYSICAL

PROPERTIES OF GASES

USED IN

SEMICONDUCTOR

PROCESSING

Mass flow controllers (MFCs) deliver process

gases for plasma etching, chemical vapor

deposition, and other processes used throughout the semiconductor industry. The

operation of the most widely used kind of MFC depends upon heat transfer through

the process gas; thus, the sensitivity of these MFCs depends upon the thermophysical

properties of the process gas, and each gas

requires a different MFC calibration. However, many process gases are toxic, corrosive, and/or pyrophoric, making it impractical to calibrate directly all MFCs for

all 50 or so process gases.

An alternative to direct calibration is based upon flowing benign "surrogate" gases (such as N2, CF4, SF6, C2F6) through the MFCs and scaling the MFCs' response to ac- count for the differences between the ther- mophysical properties of the surrogate gas and those of the process gas. The relevant gas properties are density, heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and viscosity. These

should be known throughout the temperature and pressure ranges in which MFCs

operate. NIST is exploiting its expertise in acoustic technologies to measure the ther- mophysical properties of the four process

gases (CI2, HBr, BCI3, WF6) and the three surrogate gases (CF4, SF6, C2F6) that were

identified by the semiconductor industry as having the highest priority.

Contact: Michael R. Moldover

(301) 975-2459

email: michael.moldover@nist.gov A105 Physics Building

CHEMICAL

THERMODYNAMICS

The Chemical Thermodynamics Data Center

carries out expert evaluations of thermo- dynamic data on organic and inorganic

compounds. In addition to the JANAF Tables, current interests include comprehensive

evaluations of thermodynamic data related

to atmospheric chemistry, such as the destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer, and of data for organic compounds important to the chemical and related industries. The latter work has the long-range goal of producing reliable estimation schemes for predicting the properties of species for which

measurements are not available or would be

difficult or impossible to perform. In planning and executing its programs, NIST

maintains close contact with industrial or- ganizations such as the Design Institute for Physical Properties Data.

NIST researchers use precision oxygen- bomb and fluorine-bomb calorimeters to determine data on enthalpies of combustion, from which enthalpies of formation can be derived. The addition of a new low- temperature heat capacity calorimetry facility now gives the NIST thermodynamics

laboratories the capacity to carry out the full range of measurements necessary to deter- mine chemical equilibrium constants for systems of interest. The focus is on the deter- mination of thermodynamic properties of materials important to modern technologies such as chemical process modeling and

simulation and semiconductor processing,

as well as on the certification of calorimetric Standard Reference Materials.

Contact: Robert E. Huie

(301) 975-2559

email: robert.huie@nist.gov A26l Chemistry Building W. Gary Mallard

(301) 975-2564

email: william.mallard@nist.gov Alll Physics Building

CHEMICAL KINETICS

The chemical kinetics program at NIST provides reliable measurement methods, chemical kinetics data, and theoretical models.

Applications of this research include combustion, plasma processing, new chemical and energy-related technologies, environ- mental chemistry, effects of ionizing radiation on materials, and analytical

applications of kinetics. Among the experi- mental projects under way are high-pressure mass spectrometric studies of the kinetics and thermochemistry of ion/molecule reactions and clustering processes and pulse radiolysis of aqueous solutions. Researchers

also are studying free-radical kinetics using

heated single-pulse shock tubes and flash- photolysis kinetic-absorption and resonancefluorescence techniques.

At present, there is significant emphasis on

developing and using cavity-ring-down laser absorption spectroscopy to study chemical

kinetics in the gas phase and at surfaces.

In addition, this group uses resonance- enhanced multiphoton ionization spectros- copy to provide very sensitive and selective schemes for the optical detection of free

radicals and to acquire new, previously unobtainable data about their electronic structures. An important focus of the kinetics program is the production of databases of evaluated chemical data, including kinetic data and spectral data for analytical chemistry, as well as the design of databases and

relevant software.

Contact: Robert E. Huie

(301) 975-2559

email: robert.huie@nist.gov A26l Chemistry Building W. Gary Mallard

(301) 975-2564

email: william.mallard@nist.gov Alll Physics Building
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

NIST/EPA/NIH MASS

SPECTRAL DATABASE

One of the most widely used techniques

for identifying organic compounds is gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. In this technique, complex mixtures of chemicals

are separated using gas chromatography, and then each compound is "finger printed"

using the mass spectrometer. The resulting spectra are then analyzed and compared to a library of known spectra. To be successful, the library of known spectra must have only

high-quality, complete spectra, and the algorithms used to compare the library and unknown spectra must be robust and well

tested.

NIST programs develop and test algorithms

for matching and predicting, evaluate spectra from other contributors, and fill in miss- ing data with an ongoing experimental

effort. The goal is to develop a mass spectral database containing every compound in commerce. The result of these efforts is an

increasing acceptance of the NIST database and algorithms as the standard. In addition

to the experimental, evaluation, and algo- rithmic development work, NIST promotes

the use of high-quality tools within the mass

spectrometry instrument community.

Contact: Stephen E. Stein

< (301) 975-2505

email: stephen.stein@nist.gov Alll Physics Building W. Gary Mallard

(301) 975-2564

email: william.mallard@nist.gov Alll Physics Building

PROPERTIES OF

ALTERNATIVE

REFRIGERANTS

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) have been

used widely for the past 50 years as refrigerants, as foam-blowing agents, and in many

other applications. Recent evidence has shown, however, that CFCs and, to a lesser extent, HCFCs, are breaking down the strato- spheric ozone layer that protects the Earth from harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation. These fluids also contribute to greenhouse

warming. Alternative chemicals must be found to replace the existing fluids as quickly as possible. To replace the CFCs and HCFCs, accurate knowledge of the thermophysical properties of the substitutes

is required.

NIST provides these data to industry. Research includes extensive experimental measurements on pure fluids and mixtures,

including saturation and single-phase densities, vapor pressure, heat capacity, thermal

conductivity, viscosity, sound speed, and sur- face tension. The program includes a substantial effort in modeling fluid properties and in developing equations of state. NIST

also leads efforts to arrive at international standards for refrigerant properties.

Contact: William M. Haynes

(303) 497-3247

email: william.haynes@nist.gov

Division 838.00 Mark 0. McLinden

(303) 497-3580

email: mark.mclinden@nist.gov

Division 838.07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS

AND FLUID MIXTURES

The thermophysical properties of fluids and

fluid mixtures are essential for process de- sign and control in the chemical, natural

gas, aerospace, environmental, and energyrelated industries. The research program in

fluid properties involves experimental and

theoretical research and computer simulation studies on the thermodynamic and

transport properties of pure fluids and fluid mixtures. A primary goal of this program is

to develop highly accurate predictive models

for the thermophysical properties of fluids and fluid mixtures. This is accomplished

through an integrated program of measurement, theory, and correlation. Apparatus are available for state-of-the-art measurements

of the thermodynamic and transport properties of pure fluids and mixtures, including

pressure-volume-temperature relations, speed of sound, heat capacity, dielectric constant, viscosity, phase equilibria, and ther- mal conductivity over wide ranges of temperature and pressure. Included in this work are measurements in the critical and

extended critical region. In concert with the experimental work, NIST researchers conduct theoretical studies to develop wide- range predictive models and computer

codes.

A wide variety of research, both experimental and theoretical, is directed toward the understanding of complex fluid behavior, the microscopic structure of fluids, and the

liquid-solid phase boundary. Included are

studies of non-Newtonian fluids, colloidal suspensions, shear-induced chemical reactions, supercooled fluids and melting phe- nomena, and macromolecules. A unique

shearing cell is available for neutron scatter- ing studies at the NIST reactor.

Molecular-level computer simulation has

proved an essential technique for utilizing

statistical mechanics-based models of con- densed matter. Molecular dynamics studies, involving both equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems, have been conducted. Computer simulation studies are important

in interpreting and understanding the results of experimental studies in fluids and in developing predictive models of fluid properties. Other theoretical studies include dy- namic and static critical region models

(emphasizing mixtures), extended corre- sponding states, equations of state, kinetic theory of gases and dense fluids, theory of the glassy state, properties of mixtures of
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

dissimilar compounds, phase transitions, and structure-based modeling.

Contact: Daniel G. Friend

(303) 497-5424

email: daniel.friend@nist.gov

Division 838.08 Mark 0. McLinden

(303) 497-3580

email: mark.mclinden@nist.gov

Division 838.07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

PROPERTIES OF GELS,

MICELLES, AND CLAYS

NIST researchers are using small-angle neutron diffraction, static visible laser-light

scattering, dynamic time-correlation spectroscopy, and computer simulation to study

the structure and properties of systems containing particles with sizes in the range of 10 to 1000 nm. In addition to the fundamental information being obtained about complex fluids, these suspensions are interesting

in their own right. For example, sol/gel tech- nology is being used increasingly in the pro- duction of ultrahigh-purity optical glasses. Using neutron diffraction and computer

simulation, NIST scientists are improving

understanding of the formation dynamics and structure of the precursor gel (a state of matter intermediate to liquid and solid). Dynamic light scattering studies, coupled with experiments using neutron scattering, also

are being used to better understand the inter- action between surfactant micelles and clay

platelets. This will improve understanding

of how organic pollutants interact with clay. Current activities include the study of colloi- dal silica solutions, gelation of silica at high

volume fraction, cationic surfactant

micelles, and adsorption of large organic molecules on suspended and dispersed clay

platelets.

Much of this research is directed toward understanding complex fluids. The characteristic time scales governing the dynamics

of colloidal solutions are many orders of magnitude slower than in molecular fluids. Colloidal solutions thus provide NIST scientists with experimentally accessible models

for the study of complex fluid behavior. NonNewtonian fluid behavior is being studied us- ing the NIST Couette-flow shearing cell at the small-angle neutron scattering beam

lines of the NIST Cold Neutron Research

Facility.

Contact: Howard J.M. Hanley

(303) 497-3320

email: howard.hanley@nist.gov

Division 838.00

Brent D. Butler

(303) 497-3952

email: brent.butler@nist.gov

Division 838.07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

DILUTE-SOLUTION

THERMODYNAMICS

Much chemical technology, particularly in the environmental area, involves solutions where the concentration of the substance of

interest is near zero. The thermodynamics of

these dilute solutions presents special chal- lenges and opportunities. One area of interest is the solubility of substances in liquid

solvents. Water is the most important solvent, but dilute-solution thermodynamics

(usually in the form of Henry's law) is used

in many different applications.

Recently, new theoretical understanding of the high-temperature behavior of Henry's

constant has been exploited to produce an

improved model for correlating Henry's constants over a wide temperature range and for extrapolation of existing data to higher temperatures. This project works toward using

structural and other data to predict Henry's

constants of organic compounds in water at conditions characteristic of air stripping and

steam stripping operations. Dilute-solution thermodynamics also can be used to analyze

the solubility of solids in vapors and supercritical fluids, which is important for a variety of processes, including extraction using

CO2 and deposition of minerals in steam

power plants. Modeling efforts focus on us- ing the density of the solvent as the key variable. Molecular computer simulation is used

to test the validity of modeling approaches.

Contact:

Allan H. Harvey

(303) 497-3555

email: allan.harvey@nist.gov

Division 838.08

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

FINITE-ELEMENT

MODELING OF COMPLEX

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL

PROCESSES

This group's objective is to elucidate the physicochemical details of industrial methodologies to provide a basis for improved

processes, to provide quantitative information for selection among processing alternatives, and to uncover limiting factors in current approaches such as uncertainties in

available property data, or geometrically caused flow instabilities. The group is using

the finite-element technique to simulate and analyze fluid flow with associated heat

transfer, mass transfer, and chemistry. Two

areas of current modeling research are or- ganometallic vapor-phase epitaxy and

fluid/solid-particle systems.

Contact:

Adele P. Peskin

(303) 497-3466

email: adele.peskin@nist.gov

Gary R. Hardin

(303) 497-5168

email: gary.hardin@nist.gov

Division 838.08

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

ADVANCED

LOW-TEMPERATURE

REFRIGERATION

Many new and developing technologies rely on the use of cryogenic temperatures. Some

of these technologies include the cooling of

infrared sensors for night vision, atmospheric studies, and process monitoring;

semiconducting and superconducting electronics for increased speed and reduced

noise; cryopumps for the production of clean vacuums in semiconductor processing; magnetic-resonance imaging superconducting magnets; some medical catheters; and the liquefaction of natural gas for a

clean-burning transportation fuel. Specialized refrigerators known as cryocoolers are required to reach cryogenic temperatures.

Significant research and development of cryocoolers has occurred in the last

15 years to meet the reliability, cost, and

efficiency requirements of many different

applications.

NIST has been a world leader in this ad- vanced refrigeration field and has led the de- velopment of a new type of cryocooler,

known as the orifice pulse tube refrigerator (OPTR), that is being considered for all of

the applications discussed above. In its nor-

' mal configuration, it has only one moving

part at room temperature and can reach temperatures below 40 K in a single stage.

i Using thermoacoustic drivers in place of me1 chanical compressors, NIST and Los Alamos

National Laboratory scientists developed an OPTR that became the first cryogenic refrigerator with no moving parts. A patent, a

Strategic Defense Initiative Office innovative technology award, and an R&D 100 award

j have been received for this device, called a TADOPTR. NIST has been collaborating

with dozens of companies and other govern- ment laboratories to transfer this and other new cryocooler technologies into specific application areas. NIST computer models on

regenerator performance are used extensively in the field to aid in the optimization

of regenerative cryocoolers.

NIST researchers have done substantial re- search on many types of cryocoolers to improve their technologies so they may be

useful for various applications. In the area

of Joule-Thomson refrigerators, NIST scientists have performed adsorption isotherm measurements for many different gases on

various carbons. This extensive database is used by government and private laboratories

in the design of adsorption compressors for cryocoolers.

Contact: Ray Radebaugh

(303) 497-3710

email: ray.radebaugh@nist.gov

Division 838.09

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

Division Contact:

Willie E. May

(301) 975-3108

email: willie.may@nist.gov

fax: (301) 926-8671 B158 Chemistry Building

ANALYTICAL MASS

SPECTROMETRY FOR

INORGANICS AND

ELEMENTAL IS0T0PIC

METROLOGY

NIST researchers are improving and applying high-accuracy and precision isotope ratio measurements for isotope dilution mass

spectrometry (IDMS), as well as identifying

and tracking species with unique isotopic

signatures. Available instruments

inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS), thermal ionization, and laser resonance

ionization mass spectrometers—have diverse capabilities. Research programs are

possible in elemental, isotopic, and speciation measurement. Stable and radioisotopes can be applied to study environmental and

health problems, materials, and processes. Research can be directed to innovative devel- opment of instrumentation and methods,

the characterization and interpretation of unique samples, or the determination of

natural, absolute isotopic abundances. Researchers are studying chemical separation schemes to eliminate ionization and isobaric interferences and to increase the speed and reliability of sample introduction. They

are also investigating various schemes for

quantitative analysis using ICP-MS for non- IDMS applications.

Contact: John D. Fassett (301) 975-4109

email: john.fassett@nist.gov

Gregory C. Turk

(301) 975-4118

email: gregory.turk@nist.gov

B154 Chemistry Building

FUNDAMENTAL STUDIES

OF ATOMIC

SPECTROSCOPY

The continued development and improve- ment of analytical atomic spectrometry requires understanding of fundamental

processes that occur in flames and plasmas.

Researchers are investigating sampling, excitation, emission, and absorption phenomena in all types of flames, glow discharges, and other plasma sources useful in chemical analysis. Advanced approaches used in

these studies include laser probes and mass

spectrometry for enhanced ionization and

resonance ionization studies, as well as ultrahigh resolution spectroscopic investigations using one of the few ultraviolet Fourier transform spectrometer systems in the
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

world. Research opportunities include spectral characterization such as hyperfine structure and isotopic shifts, application of advanced computational methodologies, and energy transfer mechanism studies.

Contact: Gregory C. Turk

(301) 975-4118

email: gregory.turk@nist.gov

B154 Chemistry Building

by both rapid scanning and array detector spectrometers are analyzed using personal

computers and NIST central computing

facilities.

Contact: Marc L. Salit

(301) 975-3646

email: marc.salit@nist.gov

Gregory C. Turk

(301) 975-4118

email: gregory.turk@nist.gov

B154 Chemistry Building

ANALYTICAL MASS

SPECTROMETRY FOR

ORGANICS AND

BIOMOLECULES

Researchers are developing advanced tech- niques in mass spectrometry and applying

them to the detection, identification, and ac- curate quantitation of trace levels of organic

compounds. Available instrumentation in- cludes a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer with electrospray, thermospray, cesium

ion bombardment, positive- and negative- ion chemical ionization, and electron ionization; an ion trap mass spectrometer capable of MSn experiments and a variety of

inlets; and a magnetic mass spectrometer with capabilities for high resolution, fast atom bombardment, and linked scanning.

The group encourages research that is related to electrospray and other techniques

suitable for coupling liquid chromatography

or capillary electrophoresis to mass spectrometry, particularly if the work may lead

to developing techniques for the quantitation of polar and non-volatile analytes, in complex matrices. Of particular interest are biomolecules that are markers for health

status.

Research in understanding and applying ion

trap technology to quantitative GC/MS/MS is also encouraged as is research into understanding and applying collision-induced and surface- induced dissociation to analytical problems.

Contact: Michael J. Welch

(301) 975-3100

email: michael.welch@nist.gov

Edward White V

(301) 975-3101

email: edward.white@nist.gov

B208 Chemistry Building

CHROMATOGRAPHY AND

ELECTROMIGRATION

TECHNIQUES

Solute retention in chromatography and

electromigration systems is the result of a complex assortment of molecular interactions between the solute, the stationary

phase, and the mobile phase. The diversity

of these interactions can be utilized to opti- mize separations by varying separation parameters such as stationary phase and/or mobile phase composition and column

temperature. An understanding of these fundamental retention and selectivity mechanisms facilitates the optimization of separations in gas chromatography (GC),

liquid chromatography (LC), supercritical

fluid chromatography and extraction (SFC and SFE), and capillary electrophoresis (CE).

Recent research interests have focused on

the synthesis and characterization of bonded

stationary phases in LC and GC (e.g., monomeric/polymeric Cis phases and

charge transfer phases in LC and liquid

crystalline phases in GC), which offer unique capabilities for the separation of iso- meric compounds or compound classes. Researchers are investigating solute-stationary

phase interactions using chromatographic

APPLICATION OF

AUTOMATION AND

CHEMOMETRICS TO

IMPROVE THE ACCURACY

OF SPECTROCHEMICAL

ANALYSIS

Instrumental methods of analysis require the control of a complex list of parameters

to ensure accuracy. Furthermore, such methods of chemical analysis produce large

quantities of multidimensional data that challenge the analyst's ability to interpret the results. Using both advanced approaches

in automation to control experimental pa- rameters and mathematical tools to opti- mize, sort, and summarize complex data

sets, NIST researchers are designing studies

to improve the accuracy of all forms of atomic spectrometry. Research is directed to- ward developing optimized and automated

sample treatments and separation chemistries using microwave-digestion and flowinjection technologies. Automated

approaches for instrument control, drift, and interference corrections also are employed. Multidimensional data generated
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

and spectroscopic techniques and chiral interactions in LC, GC, SFC, and CE. In addition, N1ST scientists are studying molecular modeling of solutes and stationary phases to

investigate retention mechanisms and to correlate molecular descriptors with retention and are investigating solute-matrix interactions in SFE.

Contact: Lane C. Sander

(301) 975-3117

email: lane.sander@nist.gov

Stephen A. Wise

(301) 975-3112

email: stephen.wise@nist.gov

B208 Chemistry Building

NOVEL ANALYTICAL

SEPARATION SCIENCE

METHODOLOGY

Researchers are developing new, innovative approaches to separate and detect trace-level organic species in complex natural

matrices. One priority is the design, synthesis, and characterization of bonded stationary phases for liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, and supercritical fluid chromatography. They also are developing

novel separation media/modes for electromigration separation techniques, e.g., capillary

electrophoresis (CE), capillary gel electrophoresis, micellar electrokinetic capillary

chromatography, and capillary electrochro- matography. In another effort, they are developing on-line multidimensional separation techniques based on orthogonal

methodologies ( LC-GC, LC-CE, LC-LC, GCGC, etc.) and fast separation technology in GC, LC, SFC, and CE. They also seek application of existing separation modes in novel combinations (e.g., chiral separations in SFC and CE), design of new separation sys- tems based on micellar and liposomal

phases, antibody/antigen associations, and

size-selective networks. Research is under way on sensitive and/or selective detection systems for microcolumn separations, e.g.,

mass spectrometry, laser-excited fluores- cence, thermal-lens absorbance, chemical

reaction, and chemiluminescence ap- proaches. They also are developing supercritical fluid extraction systems for probing

the interactions of analytes and matrices and for on-line coupled extraction and chro- matography systems and chromatographic

and electrophoretic approaches for the meas- urement of physico-chemical properties such as octanol/water partition coefficients, aqueous solubilities, and vapor pressures. Another effort involves designing microfluidic systems for capillary flow injection

analysis, electrophoresis, and electrochromatography. Research will emphasize applications to environmental, clinical, nutritional, and forensic disciplines.

Contact: Stephen A. Wise

(301) 975-3112

email: stephen.wise@nist.gov Lane C. Sander

(301) 975-3117

email: lane.sander@nist.gov

B208 Chemistry Building

SEPARATION SCIENCE

TECHNIQUES FOR TRACE

ORGANIC ANALYSIS

Researchers are developing and applying

separation techniques such as gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, supercritical fluid chromatography, and capillary

electrophoresis for trace-level determination

of organic and organometallic compounds.

Researchers are developing extraction sys- tems for selective removal of analytes from

natural matrices, e.g., supercritical fluid

extraction (SFE) and microwave-assisted

extraction. They also are developing chro- matographic and electrophoretic ap- proaches for sample preparation/clean-up

and analyte preconcentration prior to analysis byLC, GC, SFC, or CE.

Another project seeks to develop off-line and

on-line multidimensional separation proce- dures (e.g., LC-GC, LC-LC, SFE-GC, and

LC-CE) to measure individual species in complex mixtures. NIST researchers are de- veloping and using simultaneous multiple

and/or selective chromatographic and electrophoretic detection systems (e.g., mass

spectrometric, electron capture, atomic emission, flame photometric, infrared, UV-visible diode array, fluorescence, electrochemical, and chemical reaction detectors) to enhance measurement selectivity and/or sensitivity. Recent activities have emphasized applications in environmental, clinical, and forensic areas, including the determination of environmental contaminants such as poly- chlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic

hydrocarbons, pesticides, and organometallic species in natural matrices such as sedi- ment tissue, and air particulate material;

nutrients such as vitamins and carotenoids

in food and serum; drugs of abuse in urine and hair; and biomolecules such as proteins, peptides, and DNA fragments. Research opportunities exist within the

division for the application of these separation techniques to trace inorganic analysis

problems.

Contact: Stephen A. Wise

(301) 975-3112

email: stephen.wise@nist.gov Michele M. Schantz

(301) 975-3106

email: michele.schantz@nist.gov

B208 Chemistry Building

HIGH-ACCURACY

COULOMETRY

The coulometry program entails a broad

spectrum of research interests and activities, including improving the precision and accuracy of coulometric methods, determining chemical stoichiometry, redetermining

physical constants (atomic weights, Faraday

constant), and developing new methods and
00 CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

instrumentation including microcoulometry. The application of absolute coulometric methods to the standardization

of primary chemical standards and to the

calibration of other analytical techniques is

also a prime concern. Instrumentation is available for constant-current and controlled potential coulometric measurements.

Contact: Kenneth W. Pratt (301) 975-4131

email: kpratt@nist.gov

B324 Chemistry Building

INORGANIC

ELECTROANALYTICAL

CHEMISTRY

Research interests encompass all areas of inorganic electroanalytical chemistry, with

specific interests in aqueous and non- aqueous electrolytic conductimetry

(theory and metrology) including measure- ments of acid dissociation constants, funda- mental studies of pH including modeling of the junction potential, ion selective electrodes, high-precision coulometric research, and the development of electrochemical detection systems. The development of novel electrochemical instrumentation and the application of electroanalytical techniques to matters of national importance are given

special attention. Instrumentation is avail- able for precise conductivity, pH, emf, coulometric, potentiometric, and voltammetric measurements.

Contact: Kenneth W. Pratt (301) 975-4131

email: kpratt@nist.gov Paula A. Berezansky

(301) 975-4133

email: pberezansky@nist.gov

TRACE-GAS ANALYSIS

Researchers are using Fourier transform in- frared spectroscopy (FTIR), tunable diode

laser adsorption spectroscopy, gas chromatography, electrochemical analysis, and

other specialized analysis techniques to de- velop primary standard gas mixtures and to measure trace gases in air, the environment,

stack emissions, and process streams. One

goal is to analyze complex mixtures of gases emitted from process streams in real-time using spectroscopic techniques. Another is to develop an quantitative database of FTIR

spectra of volatile organic compounds for use in remote monitoring. Researchers also

are seeking to measure extremely low-level contaminant gases in ultrapure materials,

to develop standards, and to analyze trace gases that are important in ambient atmospheric measurements. Additionally, re- searchers are pursuing analysis of environmentally important trace gases in

air and from point sources and the develop- ment of very low concentration volatile or- ganic standards.

Contact:

Franklin R. Guenther

(301) 975-3939

email: fguenther@nist.gov

B156 Chemistry Building

OPTICAL TECHNIQUES

FOR TRACE-GAS

ANALYSIS

This project involves development of optical

techniques for trace gas analysis with appli- cations in areas such as environmental and

industrial process monitoring. Recent im- provements in laser devices and data acquisition systems offer opportunities to extend

highly sensitive spectroscopic techniques to

detect and quantify the components of vari- ous gas mixtures. In particular, sensitive

analytical detection techniques for molecules consisting of five or more atoms are desirable. Current approaches include Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, tunable di- ode laser absorption spectroscopy, and polarization spectroscopy using a solid-state

laser system.

Contact: Pamela Chu

(301) 975-2988

email: pchu@nist.gov

Franklin R. Guenther

(301) 975-3939

email: fguenther@nist.gov

B324 Chemistry Building

STANDARDS AND

PROCESS ANALYTICAL

APPLICATIONS FOR

SPECTROSCOPY

Spectrophotometers are important tools for

quality assurance, process control, and regulatory compliance measurements. To ensure

that these devices are performing properly, NIST manufactures and certifies Standard

Reference Material optical filters. Currently, NIST provides materials and filters to measure wavelength accuracy, assess photometric

accuracy, and determine the amount of

stray light in ultraviolet and visible spectro- photometers. NIST is conducting research to extend our offerings to the near-infrared re- gion where Fourier transform near-infrared

B324 Chemistry Building
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

spectroscopy (FT-NIR) and Fourier trans- form Raman (FT-Raman) spectroscopy have become viable, routine techniques,

especially for process monitoring. NIST is investigating the use of FT-NIR in combination with FT-Raman to identify and quantify mixtures in sealed containers. An example is the quantitation of mixed oxygenates in sealed ampoules of reformulated gasoline. A

future goal is the design and evaluation of a combined NIR/Raman instrument for real- time identification and quantitation of mixtures in a process stream.

Contact: John C. Travis

(301) 975-4117

email: john.travis@nist.gov

Steven Choquette

(301) 975-3096

email: steven.choquette@nist.gov

A2 13 Chemistry Building

LABORATORY

AUTOMATION

TECHNOLOGY AND

STANDARDS

The thrust of this program is to develop,

evaluate, and demonstrate new concepts

that eventually can lead to the successful, routine application of laboratory auto- mation. The full potential of automated

chemical analysis systems has not been

achieved because the process of intercon- necting analytical and clinical chemistry

laboratory devices remains resourceintensive and difficult. A general lack of in- terfacing standards, a dearth of instruments

designed from a systems-use perspective, and an over-reliance on the anthropomorphic model further exacerbate the situation. To facilitate the automation of the analytical laboratory, standard methods for instru- ment-to-controller communication, device

control, data and material transfer, and

error and exception handling are needed to provide instruments with realistic "plug-'nplay" interfaces. New instrument designs

need to allow remote control, provide auto- mated access to sample and material ports, and exhibit system -centric behavior.

Contact: Gary W. Kramer

(301) 975-4132

email: gary.kramer@nist.gov A213 Chemistry Building

AUTOMATED SAMPLE

PREPARATION AND

SENSING

Scientists often must prepare samples before

analysis by extraction, digestion, or other

isolation and purification techniques. NIST

researchers are developing new chemistries, miniaturization approaches like microfluidics, and automation for techniques such as supercritical fluid extraction, solid- phase extraction, and flow injection. These automated sample preparation methods are being coupled with new and existing

microseparation/detection schemes such as

capillary electrophoresis, immunoassaybased techniques, and biosensors for real- time monitoring of chemical and

biochemical reactions in flow- and batchprocesses. NIST's sensors focus is on the de- velopment of inexpensive, yet sensitive

devices. Research involves the use of planar

and fiber optic sensors with immobilized

antibodies for attenuation, fluorescent, chemiluminescent, opto-electrochemical,

and interferometric assays. In addition, NIST is investigating the combination of micro-flow injection analysis and capillary

electrophoresis with optical waveguide detection for laboratory-on-a-chip applications.

Contact: William A. MacCrehan

(301) 975-3122

email: william.maccrehan@nist.gov

Gary Kramer

(301) 975-4132

email: gary.kramer@nist.gov

A2 13 Chemistry Building

ANALYTICAL

INFOMETRICS

To ensure that chemical information necessary for decision making can be provided in an efficient and timely manner, NIST is in- vestigating all aspects of the measurement

process, including experimental design; data validation, storage, and retrieval; chemometrics, multivariate statistics, and

applied mathematics; data rectification and

meta-analysis; quality control, assurance, and improvement; and instrument control and communications. Examples include

multivariate infrared and Raman spectros- copy for characterization of organic mixtures using multivariate statistical models. These models incorporate both Raman and

near-infrared data to enhance the stability and transferability of these calibration sets, graphical methods for analysis and presentation of interlaboratory comparison studies, development of standards for laboratory

automation, and improved methods for evaluating and utilizing analytical measure- ment uncertainties.

Contact: David L. Duewer

(301) 975-3935

email: david.duewer@nist.gov A213 Chemistry Building

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

WITH NEUTRON BEAMS

The use of prompt radiations from nuclear

reactions is well established as a tool for ele- mental analysis and compositional mapping. Two techniques are used at NIST:

neutron-capture prompt-gamma-ray activation analysis (PGAA) and neutron depth profiling (NDP). Each employs both thermal- and cold-neutron beams from the NIST

Research Reactor. PGAA is used to determine

a suite of elements that are inaccessible by
102 CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

conventional neutron activation analysis, such as hydrogen, boron, carbon, and nitro- gen, as well as those with large capture cross

sections, such as cadmium, gadolinium, and mercury. NDP measures the depth distri- bution of nuclides that emit charged particles on slow-neutron capture. Researchers

are developing methods with improved specificity, accuracy, sensitivity, and spatial reso- lution through detailed studies of the

interaction of neutrons and their products with samples and detectors.

Contact: Richard M. Lindstrom

(301) 975-6281

email: richard.lindstrom@nist.gov

B108 Reactor Building Robert R. Greenberg

(301) 975-6285

email: robert.greenberg@nist.gov B125 Reactor Building

NEUTRON ACTIVATION

ANALYSIS

Neutron activation analysis (NAA) provides

the sensitivity, selectivity, and capability for multielemental determinations that are often required in studies involving the role of trace elements in biological, environ- mental, and materials analysis studies. Due

to their unique capabilities, the various NAA

techniques frequently play an important

role in the certification of elemental concentrations in NIST Standard Reference Materials. The accuracy and precision of the

various forms of NAA are ultimately limited by the precision of counting statistics that in favorable cases may be a few tenths of a percent. However, to achieve this level of accuracy, all other sources of error must be reduced to comparable levels. Experimental and computational studies address such matters as new and improved chemical separation procedures, neutron and gamma-ray

interactions with analytical samples and detectors, high-accuracy neutron flux monitoring, high and varying count-rate gammaray spectrometry, peak integration routines, and gamma-ray and fast-neutron interferences. A variety of nuclear spectrometry equipment, laboratory facilities, personal

and minicomputer facilities, and the irradiation facilities of the NIST Research Reactor

are available for this work.

Contact: Robert R. Greenberg

(301) 975-6285

email: robert.greenberg@nist.gov B125 Reactor Building

FOCUSING OF COLO

NEUTRONS FOR

ANALYTICAL

MEASUREMENTS

The availability of long wavelength neutrons and recent advances in neutron optics provide an opportunity to design analytical

probes for use in materials research. The

purpose is to measure the concentration of the elements in a fine (sub-millimeter) two- dimensional array across the surface of a

material. The detection limit of neutron

absorption experiments will be improved by

using optical elements to focus long wavelength neutrons onto small sample areas.

Different methods can be used to focus cold neutrons; the emphasis is on those based on

the principle of total external reflection of neutrons at small grazing angles. These in- clude polycapillary glass fibers, metal capillaries, nickel-coated conic sections of revolution, nickel-coated curved microguides, and curved channel plates. However,

in all cases focusing is achieved at the ex- pense of increased angular divergence.

Therefore, it is more useful for measure- ment techniques that are dependent only on

the neutron capture reaction rate and not on collimation. Such a system would have an impact on the detection limits for absorption techniques such as prompt gamma acti- vation analysis and neutron depth profiling.

Contact: David F.R. Mildner

(301) 975-6366

email: david.mildner@nist.gov

Heather Chen-Mayer

(301) 975-3782

email: h.chen-mayer@nist.gov

B125 Reactor Building
CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

RESEARCH

FACILITIES

FLUID FLOW

MEASUREMENT AND

RESEARCH FACILITIES

The NIST flow measurement facilities are used to establish, maintain, and disseminate

flowrate measurements, standards, and data

for the wide range of conditions needed by

U.S. industry and government agencies. In- dustry requests include flowmeter calibrations, special tests, round-robin testing programs to establish realistic traceability chains in the form of flow measurement as- surance programs, data-generation pro- grams for industrial groups and trade

associations, and use of testbeds for carrying out industrial research programs focused on

flow measurement topics.

The metering research facilities combine pri- mary calibration techniques with the capability to conduct detailed surveys of fluid flows that affect flowmeter performance. These capabilities include computational

fluid dynamics as well as laser Doppler velo- cimetry techniques used mainly in water

flow facilities. CFD techniques include commercially available codes as well as special- ized codes tailored to specific conditions.

CAPABILITIES

Fluid flow facilities enable a range of fluid and flow conditions in a wide range of pipe

sizes:

• Water: maximum flowrate of 40,000

liters/min up to 0.5 m diameter with temperature near ambient and pressure up to 10 atmospheres.

• Hydrocarbon liquids having densities of

0.6 - 0.8 gms/cc and kinematic viscosities of 1-30 centistokes: maximum flowrate of 1600

liters/min in tubes and pipes up to 50 mm

in diameter with temperature near ambient

and pressure up to 10 atmospheres.

• Air: maximum flowrate of 85 cubic meters per minute in pipes up to 100 mm in diameter with temperature near ambient and pressure up to 35 atmospheres.

• Gas flows having variable composition and temperature: the component gases of auto exhaust with flows totaling 2.8 cubic meters per minute in 50 mm pipes and temperatures to 400 °C.

APPLICATION These facilities are used to establish and

maintain the national standards for fluid flowrate measurement systems to achieve

orderliness in the marketplace, to produce

satisfactory measurements for optimizing

productivity in continuous industrial processes, and to monitor environmental quality. These facilities also are used to generate

critical databases needed to initiate or update the national standards on generic fluid- metering topics. These standards are used

for accurate custody transfer of fluid re- sources or products in the domestic and in- ternational marketplace or for studying

critical industrial processes. Potential users

are industries involved in the custody transfer of fluid resources and products, the chemical and petrochemical industries, the power and energy-generation industries, the auto industries, and government agencies such as NASA, DoD, and EPA.

AVAILABILITY The facilities are available upon request to

U.S. industry, other government agencies,

and academia for collaborative research

projects, including proprietary research, and

calibrations of flowmeters or other pipeline elements.

Contact: George E. Mattingly

(301) 975-5939

email: george.mattingly@nist.gov

105 Fluid Mechanics Building

LIQUID-NITROGEN FLOW

MEASUREMENTS

The liquid-nitrogen flow measurement facility serves as the national calibration facility

for cryogenic flow measurement devices. The facility incorporates a dynamic gravi- metric method to measure liquid nitrogen. Well instrumented for monitoring temperature, pressure, and time, the facility also is capable of determining volumetric flow

rates. The facility is located completely in- doors and is not subject to environmental

changes.

CAPABILITIES The facility has a flowrate range of approximately 1 to 10 kg/s. The pressure can vary from 0.4 to 0.76 MPa at temperatures be- tween 80 and 90 K. In this closed-loop flow

facility, NIST researchers can establish and

maintain stable flow conditions for extended

test periods. For volumetric flow measurements, the density is determined by making

pressure and temperature measurements and calculating density from an equation of

state.

APPLICATIONS The nitrogen flow facility is used primarily

as a calibration facility for cryogenic flow- meters; however, it also can be used for de- velopmental testing and evaluation. NIST

staff are able to vary the system parameters

and evaluate flowmeter sensitivity to vari- ables other than flowrate. Because they can

accurately measure fluid properties as well as flowrate, the facility also can be used to evaluate pressure and temperature sensors

associated with the flowmeters.

AVAILABILITY

Collaborative or independent programs for

this test facility can be arranged. The facility must be operated by NIST staff.

Contact:

Jennifer L. Scott

(303) 497-3684

email: jennifer.scott@nist.gov

Division 838.07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328
ICS LABORATORY

The NIST Physics Laboratory supports

U.S. industry by providing measurement

services and research for electronic, optical, and radiation technology. It pursues

directed research in the physical sciences; develops new physical standards, measure- ment methods, and data; conducts an

aggressive dissemination program; and

collaborates with industry to commercialize inventions and discoveries. The laboratory's programs range from tests of fundamental postulates of physics to the more immediate needs of industry and

commerce.

Much of the laboratory's research is de- voted to overcoming the barriers to the next technological revolution, in which

individual atoms and molecules will serve

as the fundamental building blocks of

electronic and optical devices. To develop

the necessary measurement capabilities

for these new products, laboratory scientists use highly specialized equipment to study and manipulate individual atoms and molecules.

The laboratory's work in support of industry covers a broad scope of activities. For example, the laboratory is working to improve optical measurement techniques used in remote sensing, advanced color graphics systems, and optically pumped

atomic clocks. Research also is focused to- ward advancements in the measurement

and dosimetry of ionizing radiation used

in medicine and industry and supports the development of emerging technologies such as X-ray lithography, digital X-ray imaging, and electron beam processing.

Contact: Katharine B. Gebbie, Director

(301) 975-4201

email: katharine.gebbie@nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-3038 Bl60 Physics Building

http://physics.nist.gov

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

Office of Electronic Commerce in Scientific and Engineering Data

105 Electronic Commerce in Scientific and

Engineering Data 105 Dissemination of Databases over Computer Networks

Fundamental Constants Data Center

105 Evaluation of Fundamental Constants, Measurement Uncertainties, and SI

Electron and Optical Physics

106 Photodiode Detectors for Radiometry

106 EUV Optics Characterization 106 Tunneling Microscopy 107 Magnetic Microstructure 107 Nanofabrication with Atom Optics 107 Condensed Matter Theory

107 Data for Electronic Structure Calculations

Atomic Physics

108 Vacuum Ultraviolet Radiometry 108 Characterization of Low-Temperature Plasmas

108 Ion Trap Facility for Research on Highly

Ionized Atoms

108 Laser Cooling and Trapping 109 High-Precision Laser Spectroscopy 109 Quantum Processes 109 X-Ray Study of Atomic Structure of Matter 109 High-Energy X-Ray Spectroscopy 109 Production and Characterization of Synthetic Multilayers

110 Pre- and Post-Flight X-Ray Calibrations

Optical Technology

110 Luminescence Spectral Radiometry 110 Photometry

1 1 1 High-Accuracy Cryogenic Radiometry

111 Thermal Radiometry

111 Near Ultraviolet Radiometry

111 Spectral Radiometry

111 Infrared Spectral Radiometry

1 1 2 Spectroscopic Appl ications 112 Non-Linear Optical Measurements at Interfaces

112 Optical Scattering Measurements

113 Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy 113 Time-Resolved Infrared Spectroscopy 113 Elementary Chemical Reaction Dynamics

Ionizing Radiation

114 Radiation Processing 114 Measurement Quality Assurance 114 Neutron Physics 115 Neutron Dosimetry

Time and Frequency

115 Ion Storage Research 115 Atomic Beam Frequency Standards 116 Noise in Electronic and Optical Systems 116 Statistical Analysis of Time-Series Data 116 Time and Frequency Signal Distribution 116 Time Transfer and Network

Synchronization 116 Far-Infrared Spectroscopy 117 High-Performance Diode Lasers

Quantum Physics

117 Bose-Einstein Condensation 117 Thin Films 117 Laser Deposition of Thin Films 118 Mobility of Cluster Ions 118 Stabilized Lasers

RESEARCH FACILITIES

118 Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation

Facility II 119 EUV Optics Fabrication and Characterization Facility 119 Magnetic Microstructure Measurement

Facility 119 High-Resolution UV and Optical Spectroscopy Facility 120 Low-Background Infrared Radiation

Facility 120 Controlled Background Radiometric

Facility

120 Medical-Industrial Radiation Facility

121 Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Facility

122 Radiopharmaceutical Standardization Laboratory 122 Neutron Interferometer and Optics

Facility

SERVICES

123 Time and Frequency Services
PHYSICS LABORATORY

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

OFFICE OF ELECTRONIC

COMMERCE IN SCIENTIFIC

AND ENGINEERING DATA

Office Contact: Edward B. Saloman

(301) 975-5554

email: edward.saloman@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-7682 B119 Radiation Physics Building

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

IN SCIENTIFIC AND

ENGINEERING DATA

The Office of Electronic Commerce in Scientific and Engineering Data works to promote

compatibility and integration in the dissemi- nation of non-product-specific information

required by U.S. industry. It seeks to make

scientific, engineering, technical, codes/

standards, and related regulatory information available to U.S. industry in a usable,

accessible, unified manner. The office's goal

is to help make it possible for industry to create an electronic marketplace that will allow

participants to efficiently locate, access, protect, contribute, and pay for scientific, engineering, and regulatory information. This information will be provided in open for- mats and computer-sensible form along

with specification of the quality and security

of the provided information. Work on this effort began with an industry/government team organized in conjunction with the National Initiative for Product Data Exchange.

The team identified and defined 19 specific functions needed to make such an information capability a reality. A World Wide Web

(WWW) page is being created to identify the required functions and to provide information about progress in each of them. In addition, plans are to make WWW databases

available to developers as testbeds to demonstrate their methods of achieving these functions. This WWW page will serve both to inform the data producing and using communities about progress toward an effective dissemination system as well as to encourage the computer technology community to build the capabilities necessary for technical data into its systems. In addition, the data- bases disseminated by the Physics Laboratory on its WWW page will serve as models of

effective dissemination of scientific and engineering data.

Contact: Edward B. Saloman

(301) 975-5554

email: edward.saloman@nist.gov

Bl 19 Radiation Physics Building

DISSEMINATION OF

DATABASES OVER

COMPUTER NETWORKS

The Office of Electronic Commerce in Scientific and Engineering Data is responsible for the Physics Laboratory's World Wide Web

(WWW) page. It produces Physics Laboratory material for publication over the WWW,

encourages and supports the production of material by others, and assures the high

quality of information disseminated by the Physics Laboratory over the electronic net- works. In addition, the office develops methods to display information generated within

the laboratory in an effective manner over

the WWW. This office also works with the Physics Laboratory divisions and Standard

Reference Data staff in developing physical

reference databases for dissemination over

the WWW. It designs effective interfaces be- tween the information and the user to facilitate use of the data. Several databases are

available already and may be accessed from

the Physics Lab WWW page under Physical Reference Data (http://physics.nist.gov/ PhysRefData/contents.html), and a number

of other databases are being developed for use over the WWW.

Contact: Edward B. Saloman

(301) 975-5554

email: edward.saloman@nist.gov

Bl 19 Radiation Physics Building

FUNDAMENTAL

CONSTANTS DATA

CENTER

Center Contact:

Barry N. Taylor

(301) 975-4220

email: barry.taylor@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-7682 C229 Radiation Physics Building

EVALUATION OF

FUNDAMENTAL

CONSTANTS,

MEASUREMENT

UNCERTAINTIES, AND SI

The fundamental physical constants, such

as the Rydberg, Planck, fine-structure, and

Avogadro constants, are the links in the chain that bind all of science and technol- ogy together. Further, they can serve as the

basis for improved practical representations

of the International System of Units (SI) and thus for more accurate measurements

of importance to both science and

technology.

The primary goal of the Fundamental Constants Data Center (FCDC) is to issue peri- odically a set of recommended values of the fundamental physical constants and basic conversion factors of physics and chemistry. This is accomplished by critically reviewing

all data relevant to the constants that is available at a given epoch and analyzing it by a variety of methods, including least- squares. The resulting set of recommended

values is distributed widely via archival
106 PHYSICS LABORATORY

journals, handbooks and reference books,

textbooks, professional society magazines, and electronically on the Physics Laboratory's WWW home page.

Because of the FCDC's expertise in analyzing fundamental constants data, it is deeply

involved in the worldwide effort to standardize the method of expressing uncertainty

in measurement. To this end, it revises and

publishes from time to time N1ST Technical Note 1297, Guidelines for Evaluating and

Expressing the Uncertainty ofNISTMeas- urement Results.

Another principal task of the FCDC is to

serve as the NIST-authorized organization

for the interpretation of SI in the United

States. As part of this task, the FCDC revises and publishes periodically NIST Special Publication 81 1

, Guidefor the Use of the Inter- national System of Units (SI).

Contact:

Barry N. Taylor

(301) 975-4220

email: barry.taylor@nist.gov

C229 Radiation Physics Building

ELECTRON AND OPTICAL

PHYSICS

Division Contact:

Charles W. Clark

(301) 975-3709

email: charles.clark@nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-3038 A253 Physics Building

PH0T0DI0DE DETECTORS

FOR RADIOMETRY

Highly stable photodiode detectors with uni- form spatial sensitivity are developed, calibrated, and distributed as transfer standard

detectors for radiometry in the wavelength

region of 5 nm to 254 nm. Detectors presently available at NIST include AI2O3 photo- cathode windowless photodiodes for the region 5 nm to 122 nm; CsTe photocathode

windowed (evacuated) photodiodes for the region 116 nm to 254 nm; and silicon photodiodes, developed in collaboration with industry, for the region 5 nm to 254 nm. Some

other types of detectors can be calibrated by

special arrangement. Broadband photometers also have been developed in collaboration with outside users and calibrated in

this spectral region, e.g., combinations of

silicon photodiodes with thin-film filters for plasma diagnostics and vacuum ultraviolet

solar radiometry.

Contact:

L. Randall Canfield

(301) 975-3728

email: l.canfield@nist.gov

B119 Radiation Physics Building

EUV OPTICS

CHARACTERIZATION

The emerging field of high-reflectance, normal-incidence soft X-ray or extreme

ultraviolet (EUV) optics has a wide range of

applications. The ability to produce highquality images at wavelengths below 40 nm

has allowed construction of EUV solar tele- scopes with unprecedented resolution, EUV

microscopes able to study living biological

samples with sub-micron resolution, and EUV photolithographic systems that are pro- posed as tools for the next generation of inte- grated circuits.

NIST has initiated an EUV multilayer characterization facility at the Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF) II storage

ring, which is available to all researchers on

a cooperative basis. The current facility is ca- pable of measuring the reflectance or trans- mittance of EUV optics such as mirrors,

filters, and gratings as a function of wavelength, angle of incidence, and position on

the optic. NIST is constructing a new facility

that will extend measurement capabilities to

larger and more curved optics. A thin-film deposition chamber has been added to the

reflectometry facility that allows measure- ments of films as they are being deposited. From these measurements the optical constants of important multilayer materials can

be determined free from influence of surface contaminants.

Contact:

Charles Tarrio (301) 975-3737

email: charles.tarrio@nist.gov A253 Physics Building

TUNNELING

MICROSCOPY

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is a

highly sensitive probe of surfaces, which utilizes the quantum mechanical principle of tunneling to probe surface topography on a nanometer scale. The STM also is inherently

sensitive to surface electronic properties that can be exploited to detect the surface elec- tron density of states and, in certain cases,

for selective imaging of different elemental

species. An ultrahigh vacuum STM with extensive facilities for tip and sample preparation and characterization has been used by NIST scientists to investigate four main

areas relating to nanometer-scale science:

epitaxial growth, correlation of microstructure and magnetism, electron spin dependent contrast measurements in STM, and

electronic properties of nanostructures. Experimental efforts employ custom-designed

instrumentation with which NIST scientists

strive to push the frontiers of visualization

of the nanometer-scale world. Currently, a

tunneling microscope is being designed to operate in UHV at liquid helium temperatures with the possibility of applying a magnetic field up to 10 Tesla to the sample.

Contact: Joseph Stroscio

(301) 975-3716

email: joseph.stroscio@nist.gov B206 Metrology Building
PHYSICS LABORATORY -jq 7

MAGNETIC

MICROSTRUCTURE

Low dimensional magnetic systems (such as thin films, multilayers, and surfaces) as well

as reduced dimensional systems (such as granular materials and microscopic litho- graphic devices) exhibit many scientifically

interesting and technologically useful properties. NIST scientists use three complementary magnetic imaging techniques

scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA), magneto-optic Kerr microscopy, and magnetic force microscopy

(MD1)—to determine the role physical and

magnetic microstructure plays in determining macroscopic magnetic properties. SEMPA. which images the magnetization by

measuring the spin polarization of secon- dary electrons emitted in a scanning elec- tron microscope, features high (20 nm)

resolution, long working distance, large

depth of field, and a direct measurement of

the vector components of magnetization in- dependent of topography. SEMPA is a relatively surface sensitive technique, making it especially well suited for in situ studies of thin film and surface magnetism as recently demonstrated by investigations of the oscillator/ exchange coupling of magnetic layers.

Contact: John Unguris

(301) 975-3712

email: john.unguris@nist.gov B206 Metrology Building

NANOFABRICATION WITH

ATOM OPTICS

NIST scientists are studying the physics of

laser focusing of atom beams to find ways to develop a fabrication tool that could lead to more compact microcircuits, higher density

magnetic recording media, better sensors, and novel materials. Laser beams form

lenses that focus neutral atoms into tiny re- gions as they deposit, building nanostructures on a surface. The chromium atoms

used in this process emerge from an effusive, high-temperature oven, are collimated by laser cooling, and pass through a laser standing wave, which acts as an array of

"lenses," focusing the atoms into an array

of lines. The nanofabrication of a two- dimensional array of chromium dots also can be achieved by using two orthogonal

standing waves. The very regular arrays of chromium lines and dots with spacing tied

to optical wavelength promise to provide useful standards. Atom optical methods potentially can be extended to a much broader range of materials. Metastable rare gas atoms can be manipulated with lasers and

contain internal energy that has been used

to expose a resist. A pattern of light can be

used to de-excite the metastases; in this way light can be used as a mask for matter,

instead of matter being used as a mask for

light as in optical lithography.

Contact: Jabez McClelland

(301) 975-3721

email: jabez.mcclelland@nist.gov

B206 Metrology Building

CONDENSED MATTER

THEORY

A variety of theoretical techniques are used

to study a wide range of problems related

to the interactions of electrons in solids, in- cluding electronic structure calculations, transport in magnetic multilayers (giant

magneto resistance), exchange coupling in magnetic multilayers, surface growth, spindependent reflection from interfaces, magnetic hysteresis in ultrathin films, light emission produced by scanning tunneling

microscopy of a magnetic surface, electron energy loss in magnetic and non-magnetic

solids, high-temperature superconductivity, and various microscopic tunneling phenomena. The theory effort helps interpret and

guide experiments and provides the

theoretical understanding crucial to the

development and application of new meas- urement techniques.

Contact: David Penn

(301) 975-3720

email: david.penn@nist.gov

Mark Stiles (301) 975-3745

email: mark.stiles@nist.gov

B206 Metrology Building

DATA FOR ELECTRONIC

STRUCTURE

CALCULATIONS

Great advances in the calculation of materials properties from first principles have

been made by the use of density functional

theory. It now is possible to compute groundstate electronic structure, geometries, cohesive energies, and various response

functions for solids containing ~ 100

atoms/unit cell, with an accuracy needed for practical materials design. NIST researchers generate benchmark reference data for such

calculations, which can be used by developers of new approximations or computational

algorithms to test their results against data

of known high numerical accuracy. The re- searchers have disseminated results for atomic total energies and orbital eigen- values for all elements, as computed in several common variants of the local density

approximation, and are preparing a set of standard calculations for condensed matter

systems. Cooperation is invited from developers of materials modeling software who wish

to benchmark their codes against these data

or who are willing to participate in roundrobin comparisons to generate new bench- marks for complex systems.

Contact:

Charles W. Clark

(301) 975-3709

email: charles.clark@nist.gov A253 Physics Building
PHYSICS LABORATORY

ATOMIC PHYSICS

Division Contact: Wolfgang L. Wiese

(301) 975-3201

email: wolfgang.wiese@nist.gov

fax: (301)975-3038 A267 Physics Building

VACUUM ULTRAVIOLET

RADIOMETRY

As part of its research to understand and

measure various forms of radiation, NIST is conducting vacuum ultraviolet studies in- volving radiation damage, polymerization of organic molecules, and solar simulation. NIST scientists have worked with researchers from industry to develop and test vacuum ultraviolet instrumentation, new spectrometer

designs, and detector systems, especially for space flight. They also have collaborated on

special sources, narrow-band filters, and lasers. NIST scientists are interested in doing

cooperative research in several other areas, including studying hollow cathode lamps,

laser plasmas, and spark-discharge light sources as secondary standards. State-of-theart radiometric facilities and advanced optical equipment are available at NIST for these studies.

Contact:

J. Mervin Bridges (301) 975-3228

email: bridges@nist.gov Al67 Physics Building

CHARACTERIZATION OF

LOW-TEMPERATURE

PLASMAS

The properties of low-temperature plasmas

play a key role in the processing of materials such as semiconductors. Proper characterization of these plasmas is essential to develop accurate plasma diagnostics and

useful plasma models for specific applications. At NIST, plasma discharges are characterized utilizing optical emission spectroscopy, laser-induced fluorescence, laser

scattering, and optogalvanic methods. Modeling of the plasma also is an integral part

of this characterization. Discharge sources include low-pressure rf plasmas, stabilized

arcs, glow discharges, heat pipes with laser resonance ionization, and inductively coupled plasmas.

An extensive array of laboratory equipment

is available to accomplish this characterization, including several Nd:YAG pumped, high-resolution (<0.1 cm-1)

dye lasers; Ar ion-pumped dye and ring

dye lasers; a Fizeau wavemeter; a highthroughput (f/4), high-resolution (<.001

nm) spectrometer with an automated intensified diode array detector; an 80-MHz quadrature He-Ne laser interferometer; uv

spectrometers; grazing incidence spectrometers; laboratory computers; and miscellane- ous optics. The principal quantities

measured are particle density distributions—both spatially and temporally

for electrons, atoms, ions, and molecules.

Also included are electric-field distributions, electron and ion temperatures, and nonequilibrium phenomena.

Contact: James R. Roberts

(301) 975-3225

email: james.roberts@nist.gov Al67 Physics Building

ION TRAP FACILITY FOR

RESEARCH ON HIGHLY

IONIZED ATOMS

NIST's new electron beam ion trap (EBIT)

source provides many opportunities for definitive measurements aimed at a basic understanding of plasma processes and atomic

structure. In addition, possibilities for using

the new source for nanofabrication and ion lithography are currently being investigated.

Ions can be generated over a wide range of

species and charge states (ultimately up to

fully stripped uranium). Ions are trapped

radially and probed with a mono-energetic

electron beam. Electrostatic end caps confine the ions axially. A large magnetic field

is applied by a superconducting magnet to pinch the electron beam to high density and

provide additional radial trapping. The carefully controlled conditions in EBIT allow

scientists to unravel complex collision processes and measure spectra with very high

accuracy. Highly charged ions can be pro- duced and observed in fluorescence with adequate brightness. The ion temperature can be lowered by evaporative cooling tech- niques. A variety of instruments are avail- able to characterize and probe the trapped

ions, including X-ray and visible/uv spec- trometers and a laser system. An extraction system for directing beams of highly

charged ions onto surfaces is fully operational.

Contact: John D. Gillaspy

(301) 975-3236

email: john.gillaspy@nist.gov Al67 Physics Building

LASER COOLING AND

TRAPPING

Thermal motion of atoms often adversely

affects measurements. Using the radiation pressure from near-resonant laser beams, NIST scientists can cool a gas of atoms to within a few microdegrees of absolute zero. These cold atoms can be trapped by laser beams or other electromagnetic fields.

Facilities for cooling and trapping atoms in- clude cw dye, solid-state, and semiconductor

lasers. Atoms are trapped in laser traps, magneto-optical traps, and microwave traps. Sodium, rubidium, cesium, and xenon

atoms are cooled, trapped, and used in such diverse applications as atomicfountain frequency standards and studies of laser-modified chemical reactions. Control
PHYSICS LABORATORY

of atomic motion by lasers also is being

applied to problems such as atom inter- ferometry and laser-directed deposition of atoms on surfaces.

Contact: William D. Phillips (301) 975-6554

email: william.phillips@nist.gov A167 Physics Building

HIGH-PRECISION LASER

SPECTROSCOPY

Highly stabilized tunable lasers permit the

investigation of atoms and molecules with a

level of detail and precision that cannot be obtained with conventional spectroscopic

techniques. NIST work in this area ranges from observations of laser ionization of diatomic molecules in dense vapors to highly precise wavelength measurements

that test the most advanced atomic theories

for simple atoms. The high resolution provided by laser scanning permits studies of

spectral line profiles, including pressure broadening, isotope shifts, and hyperfine

structure. Sensitive detection techniques, in- cluding FM and optogalvanic spectroscopy and use of thermionic diode detectors, per- mit observation of low concentration species

in discharges and vapor cells. Typical applications of these data include wavelength

standards, detection of trace elements in samples, and laser isotope separation. Facilities include stabilized lasers that are tunable from the near ultraviolet to near infrared and a unique Fabry-Perot wavemeter that is capable of real-time laser wavelength measurements with an accuracy of a few parts in a billion.

1 Contact:

Craig J. Sansonetti

(301) 975-3223

email: craig.sansonetti@nist.gov A167 Physics Building

QUANTUM PROCESSES

The NIST quantum processes group is devel- oping new algorithms and theoretical methods for describing the quantum properties of complex systems. These methods are being

applied to describe collisional phenomena

currently being observed in ultracold neutral atom traps, which ultimately will lead

to the next generation of atomic clocks. These interactions also play a crucial role in the formation and stability of Bose-Einstein condensates in nanokelvin atomic gases. The ability to manipulate such condensates

is a key to developing atom optics and the proposed atom laser. Developing the theory

to quantitatively explain precision NIST

spectroscopic measurements in atom traps requires the development of new theoretical algorithms for solving large-scale matrix

eigenvalue problems. Such algorithms have

widespread applicability to many areas of chemistry and physics and are being used by

the group to calculate the optical properties

of nanoscale quantum wire laser devices. Implementing these new methods now is feasible due to the development of state-of-theart massively parallel processing computers.

Contact: Paul Julienne

(301) 975-2596

email: paul.julienne@nist.gov A267 Physics Building

X-RAY STUDY OF ATOMIC

STRUCTURE OF MATTER

X-ray spectroscopy provides information on

electronic structure and on the local atomic

structure of atoms in matter. At present, laboratory capabilities at the Gaithersburg

site are complemented by a synchrotron radiation beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. It has both high

flux and good energy resolution in the X-ray energy range from 500 eV to 5000 eV. Using

this line, researchers from NIST and other

institutions have applied X-ray emission

spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectros- copy, and Auger electron spectroscopy to probe the electronic structure of gas phase

and solid targets. The beamline's capabilities are particularly well suited to backreflection standing wave techniques for finding the precise location of impurities or imperfections within a crystal or at its interfaces. The technique can be used with semi- conductors or optical crystals, growth of overlayers on crystals, and the structure of

catalysts supported on crystal substrates.

Contact: Richard D. Deslattes

(301) 975-4841

email: richard.deslattes@nist.gov A141 Physics Building

HIGH-ENERGY X-RAY

SPECTROSCOPY

Researchers have developed highly accurate

spectroscopic instrumentation for measure- ments from the keV region to several MeV.

This measurement system is connected to the basic SI units of frequency and length by means of X-ray interferometry and a precise

lattice comparator. Main applications in- clude accurate secondary standards in the X-ray and gamma-ray region and spectro- scopic measurement of high voltage. Several such installations are available at NIST and

elsewhere. Collaborative applications of these capabilities are welcomed.

Contact:

Ernest G. Kessler

(301) 975-4844

email: ernest.kessler@nist.gov A141 Physics Building

PRODUCTION AND

CHARACTERIZATION OF

SYNTHETIC MULTILAYERS

For short-wavelength characterization of multilayer structures intended for larger
110 PHYSICS LABORATORY

wavelength X-ray optics, NIST researchers have established a high-performance

multiaxis diffractometer. This system provides highly collimated and monochromatic

X-ray beams, which, after reflection from

the structure under study, can be examined

for both specular and non-specular reflection characterization. The normal operating

wavelength is 0.154 nm, and the on-scale reflectivity covers a range of six decades.

The researchers also have a thin-film pro- duction facility capable of handling a wide

variety of materials in the range of thicknesses from near one monolayer to a micrometer. The production process uses ion beam sputtering with simultaneous quasi- neutral beam milling to produce thin layers

of exceptional uniformity.

These capabilities currently are being

applied to the development and standardization of thin film standards for the semiconductor industry.

Contact: Richard D. Deslattes (301) 975-4841

email: richard.deslattes@nist.gov A141 Physics Building

PRE- AND POST-FLIGHT

X-RAY CALIBRATIONS

NIST researchers have applied their longstanding experience with the crystal diffraction technique to the production of crystals and/or tunable monochromatic X-ray

sources in support of several NASA missions. They provided crystals for the spectrometers flown on the Solar Maximum Mission and

P78-1. Post-flight energy calibration was

performed for the BBXRT detector as well as

pre-flight calibration of the telescope borne

by the Japanese satellite Yohkoh (ASTRO-D),

which is currently in orbit. More recently, they delivered three double-crystal monochromators for the energy calibration of the

AXAF telescope, the proportional counter ar- ray for the XTE mission, and the bolometric imager for ASTRO-E. Current capabilities in- clude the design and construction of custom

instrumentation and attendant data acquisition and control systems for the production

and/or detection of X-rays, X-ray crystal preparation and characterization, and

various implementations and techniques of X-ray spectroscopy.

Contact:

Larry Hudson

(301) 975-2537

email: larry.hudson@nist.gov A141 Physics Building

OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY

Division Contact:

Albert C. Parr

(301) 975-3739

email: albert.parr@nist.gov

fax: (301) 840-8551 A207 Physics Building

LUMINESCENCE

SPECTRAL RADIOMETRY

Luminescence techniques have broad appli- cation in virtually every scientific field, in- cluding radiation measurement; remote

sensing; analytical chemistry; and characterization of laser, semiconductor, and

superconductor materials. The accurate

spectral radiometric quantitation of light emission is an exacting task requiring

painstaking radiometric measurements and

knowledge of the fundamental chemical and physical processes represented by these

radiative transitions. Standard lamps, both

radiance and irradiance, and silicon detector radiometry provide the accuracy base for the spectral and quantum efficiency measurements. NIST is investigating luminescent phenomena such as photo-, chemi-,

thermo-, electro-, and bioluminescences. Researchers are conducting luminescence ra- diometric research in the near-ultraviolet,

visible, and near-infrared spectral regions and are developing accurate standards and measurement procedures for these regions.

Facilities available for this research include

various laser and lamp sources, a reference

spectrofluorimeter, and a low-light-level

spectroradiometer.

Contact: Ambler E. Thompson

(301) 975-2333

email: ambler@nist.gov A320 Metrology Building

PHOTOMETRY

Photometry is the science of radiometric measurement of the response function of human vision. The candela, one of the seven base units of the SI, is the basic unit

of photometry. The Optical Technology Divi- sion has established a new detector-based candela that has improved the accuracy of

these measurements by a factor of two. This improvement has become the basis for improved accuracy of all other photometric measurements offered by the division.

Improved levels of accuracies are needed in industry to ensure the production of higher

quality products so U.S. companies can compete in the growing international market. Ac- curate light measurements are essential to the production of various lighting products such as light bulbs, discharge lamps, light- ing fixtures, automobile head lights, and aircraft lamps. Accurate light measurements

are also essential in the production of infor- mation displays such as cathode ray tubes,

flat-panel displays, light-emitting diodes and various other optical components.

Another unit in photometry is the lumen,

which is the measure of the total light output of lamps. The lumen is especially

important to the lighting industry where millions of lamps are produced every week. The

Optical Technology Division recently has

established a new lumen unit based on

the detector-based candela that provides
PHYSICS LABORATORY

the highest accuracy levels of lumen

measurements.

Contact:

Yoshi Ohno

(301) 975-2321

email: yoshihiro.ohno@nist.gov A320 Metrology Building

HIGH-ACCURACY

CRYOGENIC

RADIOMETRY

The Optical Technology Division bases many of its radiometric measurement

scales, such as detector spectral responsivity, photometry, radiance, and irradiance, on a high-accuracy cryogenic radiometer (HACR). Cryogenic radiometers work on the

principle of electrical substitution where the temperature rise in a receiving cavity caused

by optical heating is reproduced by electrical heating. Electrical substitution measurements tie the optical watt to electrical

standards.

The HACR measures the optical power of single laser lines with an uncertainty of 0.02 percent or better and calibrates transfer detectors to disseminate a spectral responsivity

scale. NIST researchers continue to improve

the HACR base measurements and the optical transfer devices in different wavelength

regions. Optical detector calibrations from

the ultraviolet through the infrared are based on HACR measurements and are used

in environmental, industrial, defense, and

space applications. Cryogenic radiometry re- duces the base uncertainty in the optical

calibrations transferred to these customers.

Contact: Jeanne Houston

(301) 975-2327

email: jeanne.houston@nist.gov A320 Metrology Building

THERMAL RADIOMETRY

NIST researchers are investigating the use of thermal imaging cameras as a temperature- measuring tool. These devices may prove to be very useful in determining the quality of products and in investigating changes in different processes. Research projects involve

the development of large-area blackbodies, use of Pt-Si as detector standards, and the characterization of thermal imaging cameras. Equipment available includes several heat-pipe blackbodies, a Pt-Si camera, and

an infrared radiometer.

Contact: Robert Saunders

(301) 975-2355

email: robert.saunders@nist.gov

B208 Physics Building

NEAR ULTRAVIOLET

RADIOMETRY

The measurement of terrestrial solar irradi- ance at ultraviolet-B (UV-B) wavelengths

(200 to 400 nm) is being investigated by NIST researchers to provide improved tech- niques and standards in this spectral region. This work is important to networks that monitor solar UV-B irradiance, to scientists studying the biological effects of ultraviolet

radiation, and to researchers investigating

the aging of materials. Specific projects in- clude the development of experimental tech- niques for characterizing instruments that measure UV-B irradiance, spectral irradi- ance standards for use at field sites, and a

transportable reference spectroradiometer. A

permanent UV-B monitoring site, equipped

with a broad suite of instruments, is maintained at NIST, and researchers coordinate intercomparisons among spectroradiometers from different monitoring networks.

Contact: Ambler Thompson

(301) 975-2333

email: ambler@nist.gov A320 Metrology Building

SPECTRAL RADIOMETRY

Research and development programs at NIST span many activities associated with

the measurement of optical radiation, cover- ing the spectrum from 200 nm in the ultraviolet to the far infrared. Included are

spectral radiance and irradiance measure- ments for many varied applications, such as manufacturing process control, remote sens- ing of the Earth's environment, and defense

needs. Researchers at NIST take demanding

problems, such as the spectrophotometric measurement of dense optical media, and

develop the detector metrology to perform

the measurements and relate them to the

stable, U.S. radiometric measurement base. Emphasis is placed on solid-state photodiode metrology and its application to all areas of radiometry, especially calibration

services.

Several well-equipped laboratories for optical measurements in the ultraviolet, visible, and infared spectral regions are available

for use, and new facilities are being devel- oped to enable scientists and engineers to conduct research on detector improvements,

detector applications, and optical properties

of materials.

Contact:

Chris Cromer

(301) 975-3216

email: christopher.cromer@nist.gov A320 Metrology Building

INFRARED SPECTRAL

RADIOMETRY

Researchers at NIST are developing devices and techniques for high-precision measure- ments of radiant power in the 2 )im to 30 |J.m spectral region to enable characterization of spectral sources, optical components, and detectors. Novel experiments are being planned to investigate physical and

chemical processes in materials and molecular structures. State-of-the-art radiometers,
PHYSICS LABORATORY

a cryogenic blackbody with multiple apertures, lead salt lasers, spectral instrumentation, and solid-state infrared detectors are being acquired. A unique facility called the Low Background Infrared Radiation Facility

is dedicated to this research and develop- ment effort. An Infrared Detector Comparator Facility, equipped with a prism-grating

monochromator and a Fourier transform

infrared spectrometer for characterizing detectors at ambient background, is nearing

completion.

Related research projects are investigating

methods for measuring the optical density of

filters using laser heterodyne technology

and determining the spatial uniformity and

linearity in the response of infrared detectors. Collaborative research opportunities

exist in measuring the optical properties of materials and fundamental molecular structures and in developing novel detectors.

Contact: Raju Datla

(301) 975-2131

email: raju.datla@nist.gov

B208 Physics Building

SPECTROSCOPIC

APPLICATIONS

The NIST spectroscopic applications group employs advanced spectroscopic methods

using state-of-the-art lasers and microwave

frequency sources in conjunction with molecular beam techniques to elucidate the

details of chemical reactions that are important in a wide variety of industrial processes, including catalysis, combustion, chemical

vapor deposition, and drug design. These benchmark studies provide the means for real-time optimization of chemical processes and on-line monitoring for pollution

control.

The group also carries out spectral studies of

species important in atmospheric processes with particular emphasis on the reaction chemistry of ozone. The work provides spectral data for these species, which are used by

scientists modeling the chemistry of the upper atmosphere. A recent thrust of the group

centers around the determination of physical and electrical properties of numerous new chemical compounds that are being in- vestigated by industry for use as alternative

refrigerants.

Contact: Richard Suenram

(301) 975-2165

email: richard.suenram@nist.gov

B208 Physics Building

NON-LINEAR OPTICAL

MEASUREMENTS AT

INTERFACES

Non-linear optical methods are used to measure properties of interfaces that may be found at the surfaces of materials, in thin- film systems, or buried in layered materials. An example is the technique of sum fre- quency generation (SFG), in which two laser pulses at different frequencies combine

to produce light at their sum frequency with an efficiency that depends on the broken symmetry at the interface. With femtosecond

laser pulses, SFG provides a time-resolved

optical diagnostic uniquely sensitive to interface structure. Measurements include spectroscopic characterization of electronic structure at buried epitaxial interfaces, ultrafast monitoring of carrier dynamics at semi- conductor interfaces, assessment of the

structure and quality of thin films, and

vibrational^ resonant SFG of organic films such as self-assembled monolayers. This re- search is a collaboration with the Chemical

Science and Technology Laboratory.

Resources include femtosecond laser sources

for generating ultrafast pulses in the infrared through ultraviolet and instrumentation

for spectral, directional, and polarization

analyses of surface-generated optical signals.

Contact: John Stephenson

(301) 975-2372

email: john.stephenson@nist.gov B208 Physics Building

OPTICAL SCATTERING

MEASUREMENTS

Studies are being made of how materials'

properties and surface topography affect the

distribution of light scattered from surfaces, with an aim to developing standard meas- urement methods and standard artifacts for use in industry. The description of light scattered from surfaces is a useful metrological

tool for appraising performance of optical elements and for evaluating material processing. Applications include evaluation of highly polished optical surfaces, bulk optical materials, surface residues, and diffuse scattering materials. Experiments are under way to correlate the optical scatter from sili- con wafers with properties such as haze,

surface microroughness and particulate contamination, with a goal to facilitate optical

scattering measurements in assembly line

applications. The utility of polarization

analysis of scattered light also is being investigated. Parallel research in near-field optics

is elucidating the connection between microscopic features of the surfaces and the farfield optical scattering pattern. Facilities are available for laser-based measurements of

the bidirectional reflectance distribution function of light-scattering materials and

surfaces. Work is under way on theoretical modeling of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function. Clean rooms are avail- able for handling optical samples.

The bidirectional characterization of optical

scatter from surfaces is a useful diagnostic

in evaluating elements contained within

large optical systems that require the mini- mization of scattered light. This information is needed for the development of

ring-laser gyroscopes and telescopes. It also
PHYSICS LABORATORY

is used for the characterization of materials

for use in stray light reduction in thermal

control and inspection processes in optical manufacturing settings. NIST research

projects involve the development of a multi- angle scattering reference instrument and

the development of measurement methodologies and Standard Reference Materials

for the spectral range from the ultraviolet to the infrared region.

Contact: Clara Asmail

(301) 975-2339

email: clara.asmail@nist.gov Thorn Germer

(301) 975-2876

email: thomas.germer@nist.gov

A320 Metrology Building

NEAR-FIELD SCANNING

OPTICAL MICROSCOPY

NIST researchers are developing near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) as a

quantitative technique for non-invasive optical measurements on previously inaccessible length scales. So far, lateral resolution of

the order 20 nm has been achieved with this technique, and vertical resolution of less than 1 nm may be possible. The researchers

are building well-characterized microscopes and small light sources and are working on

methods to determine the resolution of commercially available near-field microscopes.

At a fundamental level, this means understanding the mechanisms that generate contrast in different materials and modeling the

fields around small light sources as they interact with various materials and surface features. The group collaborates with other

NIST researchers interested in applying nearfield microscopy to problems in chemical,

optical, and semiconductor technology.

Applications include mapping of optical properties of nanostructured materials, in- vestigations of structure in biological membranes, and near-field measurements of photonic structures.

Resources include NSOM measurements in the visible, NSOM tip characterization, theoretical modeling of probe-surface inter- actions and optical contrast mechanisms, and access to complementary scanning microscopies such as SEM and AFM.

Contact:

Lori Goldner

(301) 975-3792

email: lori.goldner@nist.gov A320 Metrology Building

TIME-RESOLVED

INFRARED

SPECTROSCOPY

Ultrashort laser pulses are used to observe

fast processes that occur in the condensed

phase. NIST researchers have developed

unique femtosecond infrared spectroscopic

techniques to study highly excited vibrational states, vibrational energy transfer, photochemical reactions, and the dynamics

of hydrogen bond formation and rupture. The measurements identify transient species and determine energy transfer rates, which

serve to improve models of condensed phase

chemistry. Current collaborations with in- dustry include measurements on catalytic systems and polymerization reactions. They

also are developing sources of femtosecond

pulses in the terahertz frequency region to be used to probe directly quantum well electron and solid-state phonon dynamics.

Resources include femtosecond laser sources generating ultrafast pulses in the infrared through ultraviolet; infrared and visible multielement detectors, and instrumentation for capturing transient spectra of samples with single laser pulses.

Contact: Ted Heilweil

(301) 975-2370

email: ejh@nist.gov B208 Physics Building

ELEMENTARY CHEMICAL

REACTION DYNAMICS

Researchers use laser pulses to observe and

manipulate fundamental molecular trans- formations such as bond breaking and bond

formation in order to develop an atomiclevel understanding of reactions important

in combustion and propulsion chemistry, in the chemistry of the upper atmosphere, and

in orbital environments. Current efforts emphasize elementary reactions of oxygen

atoms with hydrogen, water, hydrocyanic

acid, and methane. The experiments use

state-resolved nanosecond and time-resolved femtosecond spectroscopic techniques and

molecular beam methods to produce data to

test quantum chemical models of these benchmark systems.

Resources include intense, narrow bandwidth, tunable laser sources spanning the

infrared to vacuum ultraviolet; tunable femtosecond lasers; laser-induced fluores- cence and photo ionization mass spectromet- ry detection of trace gas phase species; and

pulsed supersonic jet sampling of gases.

Contact: Michael Casassa

(301) 975-2371

email: michael.casassa@nist.gov John Stephenson

(301) 975-2372

email: john.stephenson@nist.gov

B208 Physics Building
114 PHYSICS LABORATORY

IONIZING RADIATION

Division Contact:

Bert M. Coursey

(301) 975-5584

email: bert.coursey@nist.gov

fax: (301)869-7682

C229 Radiation Physics Building

RADIATION PROCESSING

To enhance quality-control methods used in

industrial radiation processing of foods and

in the production and use of medical devices, electronic components, and polymers, NIST researchers are developing standardization and measurement assurance methods related to industrial high-dose applications of ionizing radiation. As part of

this program, they are investigating radiation chemical mechanisms and kinetic studies applied to chemical dosimetry systems in

the condensed phase, including liquids,

gels, thin films, and solid-state detectors.

They also plan to examine sensor materials such as doped plastics, solid-state matrices,

fiber optics, organic dye solutions, semiconductors, scintillators, amino acids, metalloporphyrins, and organic or inorganic radiochromic and luminescent aqueous

solutions and gels. A number of analytical

methods will be used, including transmission and fluorescence spectrophotometry

and electron spin resonance spectrometry as well as optical waveguide analysis and pulse

radiolysis.

Various X-ray and gamma-ray sources and

electron accelerators with energies in the 0.1-MeV to 10-MeV range are used in this work. Conventional ultraviolet, visible, and

infrared spectrophotometers; high-intensity

gamma-ray sources; pulsed and continuous

beam electron accelerators; and organic- chemical analytical equipment also are

available.

Contact: Marc F. Desrosiers (301) 975-5639

email: marc.desrosiers@nist.gov C229 Radiation Physics Building

MEASUREMENT QUALITY

ASSURANCE

Credibility of ionizing radiation measure- ments has been a critical issue for the U.S. radiation medical diagnostics and therapy,

occupational safety, industrial, energy, defense, and environmental communities. To

this end, NIST scientists disseminate the standards and technology required for reli- able measurement of ionizing radiation to

federal, state, and local radiation control programs as well as to the medical, industrial, and defense communities. In addition, NIST researchers monitor and evaluate ra- diation measurements needs; participate in radiation research, metrology development, and quality control activities; and develop

methods for improving the accuracy of field measurements through a national system of secondary standards laboratories.

NIST has a strong influence on the design

and implementation of measurement quality assurance programs that are accredited under the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (secondary calibration

laboratories for ionizing radiation and per- sonnel dosimetry programs), the Conference

of Radiation Control Program Directors (diagnostic X-radiation), Health Physics

Society (private-sector calibration laboratories), and American Association of Physicists

in Medicine (therapeutic radiation). Pro- grams currently being developed will address measurement quality assurance needs

in sectors that include industrial processing,

radio-bioassay, and radioanalyses for environmental remediation and waste management.

In support of the accreditation programs, NIST provides technical expertise for laboratory technical document review and evaluation, traceability to the national physical standards through performance evaluation

testing, and on-site assessments. The major

research thrust is the development of a wide

variety of appropriate transfer standard in- struments and materials.

Contact:

Bert M. Coursey

(301) 975-5584

email: bert.coursey@nist.gov C229 Radiation Physics Building

NEUTRON PHYSICS

NIST researchers are exploring three major

areas of fundamental neutron physics: neutron interferometry, laser polarization of neutron beams, and various coupling coefficients of the weak interaction. The Neutron Interferometer and Optics Facility (NIOF) in the cold neutron guide hall has

achieved unprecedented levels of phase contrast and stability. Work is under way at this new facility on the development of phase

contrast imaging, on a measurement of the neutron-electron scattering length, and on

neutron tomography. The NIOF also will operate part-time as a user facility for university and industrial scientists. At another

location in the guide hall, development is in progress on neutron spin filters, based on laser polarization of %e. These neutron polarizers offer advantages over conventional methods in experiments on parity-violating

aspects of neutron beta decay and in studies

of magnetic materials. This project also is providing assistance to medical researchers who employ polarized

3He for improved

magnetic resonance imaging of the lung.
PHYSICS LABORATORY 115

Another major research and user facility is

the Fundamental Physics Station. At this station, a beam measurement of the free neutron lifetime has been in progress for several

years, and two new experiments are in preparation in collaboration with university

physicists. The first of these will be a measurement of parity-non-conserving neutron spin rotation in liquid helium; the sec- ond will look for time-reversal asymmetry in neutron beta decay. Further in the future, a

potentially much more accurate measure- ment of the neutron lifetime employing

trapped ultracold neutrons will be carried out in collaboration with Harvard

University.

In addition, work continues at a much re- duced level in the development and evaluation of neutron cross-section standards in

the energy range from thermal to 20 MeV.

These standards are of value to research in

astrophysics as well as to the assurance of accuracy in calculations for nuclear reactor

safety.

Contact: David Gilliam

(301) 975-6206

email: david.gilliam@nist.gov A106 Reactor Building

NEUTRON DOSIMETRY

NIST physicists develop and maintain standards for neutron dosimetry, both at the very high fluence levels appropriate to materials damage studies for nuclear reactors and at

the much lower levels appropriate to standardization of radiation protection instru- ments. Standard neutron fields at NIST and

at the University of Michigan have been

characterized to provide test irradiation

fields for the neutron dosimetry employed in assurance of materials integrity at nuclear power reactors in the United States. NIST

scientists also collaborate with engineers and scientists from industry and the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission in drafting regulatory guides for accurate measurements in neutron dosimetry at these reactors. Another

set of standard neutron fields at much lower

fluence rate levels is maintained at NIST for calibration of radiation protection instru- ments and personnel dosimeters. Efforts are under way to establish and maintain accreditation of other laboratories so that routine

calibrations of neutron radiation protection instruments can be taken over by the private

sector and by central military laboratories.

Contact: David Gilliam

(301) 975-6206

email: david.gilliam@nist.gov A106 Reactor Building

TIME AND FREQUENCY

Division Contact: Donald B. Sullivan

(303) 497-3772

email: donald.sullivan@nist.gov

fax: (303) 497-6461

Division 847.00

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

ION STORAGE RESEARCH

This program investigates the applications

of ions, such as

199Hg

+

, for high-accuracy

frequency standards. The ions are stored in

ion traps, devices that use electric, or a combination of electric and magnetic fields, to suspend the ions in free space. Laser radiation is used to cool the ions to temperatures on the order of a millikelvin, so the secondorder Doppler shift (a serious problem in high-accuracy frequency standards) is ex- tremely small. In some cases, ions are cooled even further, approaching the zero- point motion limit set by Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. It is expected that frequency

standards based on laser-cooled, stored ions

will be much more accurate than the best

current standards, which are based on ce- sium atomic beams. Research is also under way on related topics, such as the physics of non-neutral plasmas, quantum optics, quan- tum measurements, laser frequency stabilization, and non-linear optical sources.

Contact: David J. Wineland

(303) 497-5286

email: david.wineland@nist.gov

Division 847.10

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

ATOMIC BEAM

FREQUENCY STANDARDS

The first atomic frequency standard, based on ammonia, was built in 1950 at NIST

(then the National Bureau of Standards) in Washington, D.C. Since then, NIST has constructed a series of seven standards (based on cesium beams) with performances improving at a rate of better than an order of magnitude every 10 years. NIST-7, intro- duced in 1993, is the most recent in this series. It is based on optical state selection and

state detection rather than the more traditional magnetic methods and has an uncertainty of 5 x 10" 15

. This should decrease by

at least another factor of two with further re- finement of the accuracy evaluation process. The atomic fountain concept is being studied as a possible successor to NIST-7. The

main advantages of this concept are the re- duction in the Doppler shift and the increase

in atom observation time. These severely

limit the performance of NIST-7. The work

in this program involves research on laser pumping of the states of atoms, improve- ments in atomic-beam ovens, and the devel- opment of digital servo-control systems for more reliably controlling critical parameters

Contact:

Robert E. Drullinger

(303) 497-3183

email: robert.drullinger@nist.gov

Division 847.20

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328
116 PHYSICS LABORATORY

NOISE IN ELECTRONIC

AND OPTICAL SYSTEMS

NIST has developed systems for making

phase-noise and amplitude-noise measure- ments over a broad dynamic range of carrier frequency (into the millimeter range) and

Fourier frequency (up to 10 percent of the

carrier frequency). The accuracy of measure- ment is typically 1 dB or better depending on the frequency range. These systems provide the basis for specifications now arising

in communication, radar, and other aero- space equipment. Signals at higher milli- meter and optical frequencies also can be

characterized by beating them against a stable optical reference. A wide range of noise measurement equipment and systems for analyzing the output data is available. Most

recently, this unique measurement capability has been applied to the study of PM and

AM noise in bipolar- junction-transistor circuits. This work has led to a better understanding of noise processes in these circuits, and design rules for low noise performance

have been developed. These rules can provide for a noise reduction (close to a carrier) of as much as 20 dB.

Contact:

Fred L. Walls

(303) 497-3207

email: fred.walls@nist.gov

Division 847.30

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF

TIME-SERIES DATA

Noise processes in high-performance clocks and oscillators are often not white (fre- quency independent), so the usual variance

does not converge. The two-sample vari- ances developed to handle such noise have become standards widely used in the specifi- cation of noise in systems demanding highspectral purity. These measures have been

applied with some success to other measure- ment data. NIST researchers are continuing

development of still better variances and

have written software for the efficient calculation of a number of these measures. Outputs can be represented in both the frequency and time domains.

Contact: David A. Howe

(303) 497-3277

email: david.howe@nist.gov

Division 847.40

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

TIME AND FREQUENCY

SIGNAL DISTRIBUTION

NIST disseminates time and frequency sig- nals by radio, satellite, telephone, and the

Internet. Broadcasts from WWV (Fort Collins, Colo.) and WWVH (Kauai, Hawaii) are

at shortwave frequencies of 2.5, 5, 10, and

15 MHz for both stations and 20 MHz for WWV only. Station WWVB operating at 60 kHz provides a useful frequency reference ac- curate to 1 x 10" 11 or better. Time signals ac- curate to 100 (J.s also are broadcast from the GOES geostationary satellites providing cov- erage of most of the western hemisphere. In

addition, digital signals delivered by tele- phone and the Internet are provided to set clocks in computer systems automatically.

The time codes for each of these services in- clude advanced alert for changes to and

from daylight saving time and advanced notice of insertion of leap seconds. A current fo- cus of the program is the installation of new

transmitters at WWB to provide increased broadcast power (6 dB) that should substantially improve the reception of signals, particularly on the east and west coasts of the United States.

Contact:

D. Wayne Hanson

(303) 497-5233

email: d.hanson@nist.gov

Division 847.40

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

TIME TRANSFER AND

NETWORK

SYNCHRONIZATION

NIST has broad expertise in time transfer,

particularly using satellite methods, that can be applied to synchronization of widely

distributed network nodes. Telecommunications and electrical power networks are examples of systems requiring such synchronization. A NIST-developed, common-view

method using global positioning system

(GPS) satellites provides time transfer accuracy of better than 10 ns, and two-way

exchange of signals through telecommunications satellites offers even higher performance. NIST owns and operates a number of specialized GPS receivers and satellite Earth

stations needed for such work, and the NIST

time scale provides unsurpassed stability as a reference for remote synchronization.

Contact: Thomas E. Parker

(303) 497-7881

email: tom.parker@nist.gov

Division 847.50

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

FAR-INFRARED

SPECTROSCOPY

NIST has unique capabilities for highresolution studies of the spectra of atoms and molecules in the far-infrared region.

The methods of tunable far-infrared spec- troscopy and laser magnetic resonance (LMR) were developed by NIST, and several

of each of these spectrometers currently are providing high-resolution measurements on

spectra important in both space studies and

studies of the chemistry of the upper atmosphere. Pressure-broadening studies at high

resolution also have been performed, providing the basis for locating air pollutants at high altitude. Recent improvements in the NIST LMR systems have improved dramatically their sensitivity, making them especially useful in searches for difficult-to-
PHYSICS LABORATORY

detect molecular species such as free radicals and molecular ions.

Contact: Kenneth M. Evenson

(303) 497-5129

email: kenneth.evenson@nist.gov

Division 847.60

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

HIGH-PERFORMANCE

DIODE LASERS

Diode lasers are used widely in many appli- cations where spectral and spatial purity is not critical, but they could be used in a variety of other applications if these properties were improved substantially. Such applications include analytical chemistry and sens- ing of trace impurities or pollutants as well

as narrow-line sources for length standards and optical manipulation of atoms and

molecules. Recognizing the broad range of measurement applications for highperformance diode lasers, NIST has devel- oped a program aimed at developing methods for controlling the output characteristics of these versatile and inexpensive

lasers. The program selects specific practical

applications and works on the system designs needed to provide solutions. Current

projects include a calcium-stabilized laser

for use as a length reference, methods for synthesizing signals in the optical region, and laser-spectroscopy methods for detect- ing trace impurities.

Contact: Leo Hollberg

(303) 497-5770

email: leo.hollberg@nist.gov

Division 847.80

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

QUANTUM PHYSICS

Division Contact: James Faller

(303) 492-8509

email: james.faller@nist.gov

fax: (303)492-5235

JILA, Boulder, Colo. 80309-0440

BOSE-EINSTEIN

CONDENSATION

The discovery of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) by JILA scientists in June 1995 has opened up whole new areas of research. JILA

(formerly the Joint Institute for Laboratory

Astrophysics) is a joint venture of NIST and

the University of Colorado. In BEC, atoms

cooled to temperatures as low as 10 nanokelvin undergo a phase transition in which a large percentage of the atoms all take on exactly the same quantum wave

function, becoming completely indistin- guishable from one another.

Preliminary studies on low-lying phononlike excitations will develop into measure- ments on vortices and viscosity. Thermal

behavior near the critical temperature and

the kinetics of condensate formation are

also promising topics for study. The implications of condensate formation for precision

metrology must be explored as well, includ- ing theoretically predicted coherent atom

beams, dubbed bosers.

Contact:

Eric A. Cornell

(303) 492-6281

email: eric.cornell@nist.gov

JILA, Boulder, Colo. 80309-0440

THIN FILMS

Images of amorphous silicon films taken by an scanning tunneling microscope (STM) at various stages throughout the growth process show particles 3 nm to 5 nm in size forming in the vapor and bonding to the film

surface during growth. If these particles can

be prevented from forming or reaching the

surface, it should be possible to improve the

film's ability to convert light into electrical

current. A laser scattering system is being

developed to detect the silicon/hydrogen

clumps as they are forming.

In another project, lines of aluminum as small as 3 nm in width have been deposited on silicon surfaces using the electron beam

and electric field produced at the tip of an

STM. Independent auger electron spectros- copy studies of the electron-induced deposition of aluminum show nearly pure aluminum deposits.

Contact: Alan C. Gallagher

(303) 497-3936

email: alan.gallagher@nist.gov

JILA, Boulder, Colo. 80309-0440

LASER DEPOSITION OF

THIN FILMS

Evidence suggests that laser-deposited materials can attain better film properties at lower processing temperatures than materials deposited by normal thermal means. The microscopic basis for the effect of kinetic-energy-enhanced epitaxy has been

demonstrated at NIST for the first time. An

apparatus has been developed to produce a

neutral cobalt atom beam with a controlled

energy. When cobalt atoms are deposited onto silicon at thermal energy, most of the atoms reside on the surface. However, deposition of cobalt atoms on a silicon(lOO) wafer
118 PHYSICS LABORATORY

at enhanced kinetic energies mimics substrate heating in the 500 K range with ther- mally deposited cobalt, in which the silicide material forms.

Contact: Stephen R. Leone

(303) 497-3505

email: stephen.leone@nist.gov

Division 848.00

Boulder, Colo. 80309-0440

internal degrees of freedom of the molecules

play a major role, causing the small

mobilities.

Contact: Stephen R. Leone

(303) 497-3505

email: stephen.leone@nist.gov

Division 848.00

Boulder, Colo. 80309-0440

STABILIZED LASERS

The remarkable price reduction of diode lasers, taken with cost-effective frequency sta- bilization approaches, leads to consideration

of possible future widespread exploration of frequency-stabilized diode lasers in a vast range of new applications. Traditional inter- ferometric control systems profit from the laser system's increased performance along

with its decreased cost and generated heat. A new concept in development will allow stabilization to produce a constant laser wavelength for interferometric applications. Advanced low noise tilt and displacement

sensors now can be usefully designed and

may become widespread when the stabilized

laser system cost is decreased by one order of magnitude or more.

Contact: John L. Hall (303) 497-3126

email: john.hall@nist.gov

JILA, Boulder, Colo. 80309-0440

RESEARCH

FACILITIES

SYNCHROTRON

ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION

FACILITY II The heart of the NIST Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility II (SURF II) is a 300-MeV electron storage ring. The synchrotron radiation emitted is highly collimated,

nearly linearly polarized, and of calculable

intensity. Seven beamlines are available, and a users' program is in operation. SURF

II is well suited for studies in radiometry;

atomic, molecular, biomolecular, and solidstate physics; surface and materials science;

electro-optics; and surface chemistry and ra- diation effects on matter. Special facilities

are available for developing and testing extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) optical components

and systems. Although the primary purpose

of SURF II has been the production of EUV

radiation (wavelengths above about 4 nm),

there are opportunities for using SURF II for applications in the infrared, visible, and

ultraviolet spectral regions.

CAPABILITIES The typical storage ring electron beam current is 200 mA at 284 MeV. The photon intensity in the region 60 nm to 120 nm is about 1.6 x 10

1 photons per second per milliradian of orbit for an instrumental resolution of 0.1 nm. Experiments can be conducted conveniently throughout the wavelength range 4 nm to 1000 nm, from

the soft X-ray region to the infrared. One

normal-incidence, two grazing-incidence, and several toroidal grating monochromators are available to disperse the radiation. A

large, ultrahigh vacuum spectrometer cali- bration chamber, 1.2 m x 1.2 m x 2.5 m

and accessible through a clean room, is available for radiometric applications in a

MOBILITY OF CLUSTER

IONS

New methods have been established at NIST

to measure the mobilities of ions clustered with water and other molecules important

in the upper atmosphere. Ions are produced

in a mass-selected ion source and injected

into a flow tube where they are converted to

clusters by three-body reactions with a sol- vent molecule. The mobility of the cluster ions is measured by the arrival times of ion "packets" at a mass spectrometer detector, following a pulsed depletion of a small

fraction of the ions at two places in the flow

tube. The method has been applied for benzene dimer ions, water cluster ions, ammonia cluster ions, and mixed clusters.

In general, the size of the cluster ion deter- mines the mobility in helium in a predict- able fashion, but for collisions with molecules that have strong dipole moments,

remarkably small mobilities are observed. The additional strong attractive forces and
PHYSICS LABORATORY

clean, vacuum environment. A 6.65-m

normal-incidence vacuum spectrometer, with resolving power of about 100,000, is

available on a beamline dedicated to highresolution vacuum ultraviolet radiation

research.

APPLICATIONS The continuous radiation from SURF II is used as a national standard of spectral irra- diance for radiometric applications, a spec- trometer calibration facility, extreme

ultraviolet and infrared microscopy, and for fundamental research in the following areas:

• optical properties of materials;

• electron density of states in solids;

• surface characterization;

• photoelectron spectroscopy;

• atomic and molecular absorption spectroscopy;

• molecular kinetics and excitation and

ionization dynamics; and

• radiation interactions with matter (such

as lithography, radiation damage,

dosimetry, photobiology).

AVAILABILITY Beam time on SURF II is available to any

qualified scientist if beamline vacuum re- quirements are met and scheduling arrange- ments can be made. Proposals should be

submitted for NIST review before use of the

facility is desired. Informal contact also is encouraged.

Contact: Robert P. Madden

(301) 975-3726

email: robert.madden@nist.gov

Bl 19 Radiation Physics Building

EUV OPTICS FABRICATION

AND CHARACTERIZATION

FACILITY

The emerging field of high-reflectance, normal-incidence soft X-ray or extreme

ultra-violet (EUV) optics has a wide range of

applications. The ability to produce highquality images at wavelengths below 40 nm

has allowed construction of EUV solar tele- scopes with unprecedented resolution, EUV

microscopes able to study living biological

samples with submicron resolution, and EUV photolithographic systems that are pro- posed as tools for the next generation of integrated circuits.

NIST has initiated an EUV multilayer characterization facility at the SURF II storage

ring, which is available to all researchers on

a cooperative basis. The current facility is ca- pable of measuring the reflectance or trans- mittance of EUV optics such as mirrors,

filters, and gratings as a function of wavelength, angle of incidence, and position on

the optic. NIST is constructing a new facility

that will extend measurement capabilities to

larger and more curved optics. A thin-film

deposition chamber has been added to the

reflectometry facility that allows measure- ments of films as deposited. From these measurements, the optical constants of important multilayer materials can be deter- mined free from any influences of surface contaminants.

Contact:

Charles Tarrio

(301) 975-3737

email: charles.tarrio@nist.gov A253 Physics Building

MAGNETIC

MICROSTRUCTURE

MEASUREMENT FACILITY

The magnetic microstructure of materials can be measured with very high spatial resolution by a technique called scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis

(SEMPA). An ultrahigh-vacuum electron microscope has been modified so secondary

electrons from the sample can be analyzed

for their electron spin polarization. This al- lows for a measurement of the surface magnetism with moments both in the plane and

perpendicular to the plane of the sample.

CAPABILITIES SEMPA allows the simultaneous observation

of surface microstructure and surface magnetic domains with a resolution as high as 20 nm.

APPLICATIONS

This unique measurement facility can be used for research in magnetic thin films, high-coercivity magnetic materials, highdensity magnetic storage media, and other advanced magnetic materials.

AVAILABILITY These facilities are available for collaborative research by NIST and outside scientists

in areas of mutual interest on a timeavailable basis.

Contact: John Unguris

(301) 975-3712

email: john.unguris@nist.gov B206 Metrology Building

HIGH-RESOLUTION UV

AND OPTICAL

SPECTROSCOPY FACILITY

Accurate atomic data for neutral atoms and ions are required in support of hightechnology products and manufacturing

processes as well as advanced scientific appli

cations. The primary source of such data is high-resolution optical spectroscopy. Spectrometers in NIST's High-Resolution UV and

Optical Spectroscopy Facility are the most

powerful in the world for observations of emission and absorption spectra in the soft X-ray to near infrared regions. The 10.7-m
120 PHYSICS LABORATORY

grazing-incidence and normal-incidence vacuum spectrographs permit observations from 3 nm to 600 nm with resolving powers

of 70,000 to 400,000 and wavelength uncertainties as low as 0.0002 nm. In the visible and near-infrared region, an echelle spectro- graph provides resolving powers exceeding

1,000,000. NIST's new high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer will be capable of observations from 200 nm to 18 \im with unmatched resolution and

wavelength accuracy. A variety of discharge

sources are used to excite spectra of neutral atoms and ions stripped of up to 20 electrons. Species up to 40 times ionized are observed in plasmas created by ablating samples with a high-power laser. Current NIST

research includes development of wavelength standards used for calibration of the high-resolution spectrograph on the Hubble

Space Telescope, observations of transitions

in highly ionized atoms for plasma diagnostics in tokamaks, development of a promising new scheme for an extreme ultraviolet

laser, and precise isotope shifts of mercury

wavelengths needed to interpret ultraviolet spectra of stars.

Contact: William C. Martin

(301) 975-3213

email: wmartin@nist.gov Al67 Physics Building

LOW-BACKGROUND

INFRARED RADIATION

FACILITY

In the NIST Low-Background Infrared Radiation Facility, radiant background noise

levels less than a few nanowatts are attained

in a large (60 cm diameter x 152 cm long) vacuum chamber by cooling internal cryoshields to temperatures less than 20 K

using a closed-cycle helium refrigerator sys- tem. An absolute cryogenic radiometer (ACR) of the electrical substitution type that operates at 2 K to 4 K is housed in the chamber.

CAPABILITIES The ACR is a broadband detector with a flat response from the visible to the long wavelength infrared spectral region. It can measure power levels of 20 nw to 100 mw at its 3-cm-diameter aperture within an uncertainty of less than 1 percent. The ACR has a

resolution of 1 nanowatt, and its time constant is about 20 s.

APPLICATIONS

This unique facility can be used to measure

total radiant power from sources such as cryogenic blackbodies. Ongoing improve- ments will allow measurement of the spectral distribution of radiation from sources and characterization of infrared detectors and optical components.

AVAILABILITY The facility is operated by NIST staff in support of user infrared calibrations. It is avail- able for collaborative research by NIST and

outside scientists in areas of mutual interest.

Contact: Raju Datla

(301) 975-2131

email: raju.datla@nist.gov

B208 Physics Building

CONTROLLED

BACKGROUND

RADIOMETRIC FACILITY

Infrared radiometry has an important role

in space-based civilian, defense, and industrial applications. A facility to maintain an

infrared scale for specialized applications was developed with funding from NIST, NASA, and the DoD. In particular, the capability for measurements on large-area, vacuum-operational, blackbody sources operated from 200 K to about 400 K is being

established. These measurements will be

traceable to NIST via infrared radiometry

through the radiance temperature of the

source. An example of the type of scientific

activity that the NIST facility supports is the use of satellites for the determination of temperature, based on radiance measurements,

for the Earth's surface and atmosphere. These measurements are the basis for the study of global warming. A goal of the facility will be the development of infrared radi- ometers, which will be used to intercompare

large-area blackbody sources used by contractors for NASA's Mission To Planet Earth

Project.

This facility is not limited to infrared measurements. The capability to make comparisons of large area visible sources also will be

possible. For both infrared and visible sources, users are able to bring their sources

to NIST for calibration. This facility also is used for hosting intercomparisons of field ra- diometers, user sources, and training of key

personnel. A multipurpose classroom is available where short courses and workshops on radiometry can be held.

Contact:

Carol Johnson

(301) 975-2322

email: cjohnson@nist.gov

B208 Physics Building

MEDICAL-INDUSTRIAL

RADIATION FACILITY

NIST operates an electron accelerator as the heart of a new user facility for the medical and industrial radiation communities. The

Medical-Industrial Radiation Facility (MIRF) is based on a rf-powered, traveling- wave electron linac donated by the Radiation Therapy Center of the Yale University

New Haven Hospital. This reconfigured accelerator provides electron energies from 7 MeV

to 32 MeV at average beam currents of up to

0.1 milliampere. In addition to the original

beam-steering system and medical-therapy

scanner/collimator head, three additional beam ports and a switching magnet have been added at NIST. The flexibility afforded by access to these four beam lines allows NIST to address issues in radiation metrology, radiation effects, and the uses of elec- tron and high-energy photon beams.
PHYSICS LABORATORY

CAPABILITIES The medical beam line can provide electron doses of up to 5 gray per minute at the patient location and is equipped with a target

to produce a 25 MeV bremsstrahlung beam

as used in high-energy photon therapy.

On other beam lines, dose rates in excess of

1 kilogray per second over a small area have been achieved with electrons, and

exposure rates of about 2,500 roentgens per minute can be attained with suitable bremsstrahlung convenors to produce

high-energy photon beams used in industrial radiography.

APPLICATIONS MIRF offers unique opportunities for medical and industrial research. At the facility, a number of organizations are collaborating on a variety of projects, including:

• Medical dosimetry. Medical linacs are used for treating approximately 500,000 cancer patients annually at some 1,300 treat- ment facilities in the United States. Among

the medical dosimetry applications of MIRF

are the development and testing of instru- ments and dosimetry systems for use in clinical facilities as well as investigations into shielding requirements for the radiation

scattered from the patient.

• Radionuclide production. Through

photonuclear reactions, radioisotopes can be produced with high-energy electron accelerators as an alternative to the use of nuclear reactors. Applications on MIRF include production tests of radionuclides for use in nuclear medicine.

• Radiography. The facility provides for

studies pertinent to industrial radiography and computed tomography. In addition, ongoing development on one of the beam lines

is aimed at producing quasi-monoenergetic

photon beams of channeling radiation and

coherent bremsstrahlung suitable for use in

digital-subtraction angiography.

• Radiation effects and processing. Current

applications include electron-beam treat- ment of waste water, curing of polymer composites, and radiation effects on electronics.

AVAILABILITY MIRF is available for collaborative research by researchers from industry, academia, and

other government agencies under the supervision of NIST staff.

Contact:

Charles E. Dick

(301) 975-5580

email: charles.dick@nist.gov

C229 Radiation Physics Building

ELECTRON

PARAMAGNETIC

RESONANCE FACILITY

NIST is leading a national and international

effort in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimetry for measuring ionizing radiation. Paramagnetic centers (molecules or atoms with unpaired electrons) are pro- duced by the action of radiation on materials. In the EPR measurement, irradiated materials are placed in a magnetic field and

electron spin transitions are induced by an

electromagnetic field of the appropriate fre- quency (typically in the GHz range). EPR is used as a non-destructive probe of the structure and concentration of paramagnetic centers. The centers created by ionizing

radiation are proportional to the absorbed

dose and provide a sensitive and versatile measurement method.

CAPABILITIES The EPR dosimetry facility is supported by

three state-of-the-art X-band EPR spectrometers capable of measuring radiation effects on a wide range of materials from inorganic semiconductors to biological tissues. The

data acquisition system provides full computer control of all spectrometer functions, including real-time spectral display and

rapid acquisition scan to analyze rapidly de- caying signals. The data acquisition system

is interfaced with an advanced data analysis

station for data manipulation and is capable

of simulating and deconvoluting multi- component spectra.

APPLICATIONS EPR dosimetry is operable over many orders

of magnitude in absorbed dose (10" Gy to 10

5 Gy) and impacts many facets of society and industry. Areas of application include:

• Radiation accident dosimetry. Using biological tissues (bone, tooth enamel) or in- animate materials (clothing), retrospective dose assessment and mapping can be

accomplished.

• Clinical radiology. Ionizing radiation doses administered in cancer therapy can be measured for external beam therapy using

dosimeters of crystalline alanine (an amino

acid) or validated for internally delivered bone-seeking radiopharmaceuticals using bone biopsies.

• Industrial radiation processing. Routine and transfer dosimetry for industrial radiation facilities can be performed using ala- nine dosimeters as well as post-irradiation

monitoring of radiation-processed meats,

shellfish, and fruits using bone, shell, or

seed.

The EPR facility also serves as a fully functional materials research facility for analyzing radiation effects on semiconductors,

optical fibers, functional polymers, and

composites.

AVAILABILITY The EPR facility is available for collaborative research by researchers from industry, academia, and other government agencies under the supervision of NIST staff.

Contact: Marc F. Desrosiers (301) 975-5639

email: marc.desrosiers@nist.gov C229 Radiation Physics Building
122 PHYSICS LABORATORY

RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL

STANDARDIZATION

LABORATORY

Radioactivity measurements for diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine in the United States are based on measurements at NIST. Activity measurements for the gammaray-emitting radionuclides are made using

the NIST "47C" y ionization chamber. The

calibration process also includes identification of radionuclidic impurities by germa- nium spectrometry. Recent development

work has focused on therapeutic nuclides for nuclear medicine, radioimmunotherapy,

and bone palliation.

CAPABILITIES The radiopharmaceutical standardization

laboratory provides calibration services for the gamma-ray-emitting radionuclides and

is available for technical users who must make measurements consistent with national standards or who require higher accuracy calibrations than are available with commercial standards. NIST also undertakes

basic research to develop new methods of standardizing radionuclides for diagnostic

and therapeutic applications. These studies include measurements of decay-scheme parameters, such as half lives and gamma-ray

emission probabilities, and identification of radionuclidic impurities.

AVAILABILITY The customer has no direct use of the facility. NIST staff can provide calibration

services for the gamma-ray-emitting ra- dionuclides that comply with the specifications as stated in NIST Special Publication

250-10. Working at NIST, research associates of the U.S. Council for Energy Awareness produce standards that are certified by

NIST as Standard Reference Materials for

distribution to the radiopharmaceutical user communities.

Contact:

Larry L. Lucas

(301) 975-5546

email: larry.lucas@nist.gov CI 14 Radiation Physics Building

NEUTRON

INTERFEROMETER AND

OPTICS FACILITY

The Neutron Interferometry and Optics

Facility (NIOF) located at the NIST Research Reactor is one of the world's premier

user facilities for neutron interferometry and related neutron optical measurements. A neutron interferometer splits, then recombines neutron waves. This gives the interferometer its unique ability to experimentally access the phase of neutron waves. Phase measurements are used to study the magnetic, nuclear, and structural properties

of materials as well as fundamental questions in quantum physics. Related, innovative neutron optical techniques for use in condensed matter and materials science re- search are being developed

CAPABILITIES Neutrons are extracted from a dual-crystal

parallel-tracking monochromator system, providing neutron energies in a range of 4 to 20 meV. Neutrons are counted with inte- grating 3He detectors or by high-resolution

position-sensitive detectors (with a resolution better than 50 |im). The sensitivity of the apparatus is enhanced greatly by stateof-the-art thermal, acoustical, and vibration

isolation systems. To reduce vibration, the NIOF is built on its own foundation, separate from the rest of the building. The position of the interferometer is maintained to high precision by a computer-controlled

servo system. The result is a neutron inter- ferometer facility with exceptional phase

stability ( 5 x 10"3 rad/day)and fringe visibility (>70 percent). The vibration isolation

is < 10" 7 g; the positional stability, 2 Jim in translation and 1 jarad in rotation; and the temperature stability, 0.1 K/day.

APPLICATIONS Among the applications for the Neutron

Interferometer and Optics Facility are:

• neutron phase contrast imaging;

• neutron tomography;

• neutron Fourier spectroscopy for surface

studies;

• determination of hydrogen content in materials;

• measurement of bound coherent scatter- ing lengths;

• small-angle neutron scattering studies with perfect crystals;

• tests and demonstrations of quantum

principles with matter waves;

• measurement of the neutron-electron

scattering length; and

• phase transition studies.

AVAILABILITY Beam time on the NIOF is available to qualified scientists from the United States and

abroad, subject to approval and scheduling

by the facility oversight committee.

Contact: Muhammad Arif

(301) 975-6303

email: muhammad.arif@nist.gov

A106 Reactor Building
PHYSICS LABORATORY

TIME AND FREQUENCY

SERVICES

SHORT WAVE BROADCASTS.

Since 1923 NIST radio station WWV has provided around-the-clock shortwave broadcasts of time and frequency signals. A sister

station. WWVH, was established in 1948 in Hawaii. The stations:

• broadcast at 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 MHz; WWV

also broadcasts at 20 MHz;

• reliably cover continental United States and the Pacific at time accuracy of

1 —»10 ms; and

• have a frequency accuracy of 1 x 10" 7

.

Broadcasts include standard frequencies and

time intervals, time of day (both voice and

digital code), astronomical time corrections, and public service announcements (marine

weather, geophysical alerts, Omega and GPS

status information, and radio propagation

information).

Telephone access: (303) 499-7111 for WWW

and (808) 335-4363 for WWVH.

LOW FREQUENCY BROADCAST.

In 1956 low-frequency station WWVB began

broadcasting at 60 kHz. It offers:

• more predictable propagation (at 60 kHz)

than that of WWV and WWVH;

• digital time code only;

• time and accuracy of 0.1 —> 1 ms;

• frequency accuracy of 1 x 10 for measurements over 1 day; and

• good reception in most areas of the continental United States.

GOES TIME CODE SERVICE. NIST time and frequency services are re- layed to most of the Western Hemisphere by

satellites positioned high above the equator. This service:

• is cooperative with NOAA using two of

their GOES weather satellites;

• has an accuracy of 100 \is limited by in- formation on the location of the satellites;

• covers North and South America plus major portions of the Atlantic and Pacific; and

• includes digital time code and continuously updated satellite locations.

AUTOMATED COMPUTER TIME SERVICE (ACTS). NIST also offers an Automated Computer

Time Service that uses commercial tele- phone lines to deliver a digital time code for computers and automated systems. The service includes:

• time accuracy of 1—>100 ms depending on modem and mode used;

Q • frequency accuracy of 1 x 10 for measurements over 1 day;

• telephone-circuit delay measurement and

automated compensation for it.

For service call (303) 494-4774. Example

user software is available (specify RM8101 - Automated Computer Time Service) at (301) 975-6776.

Contact:

D. Wayne Hanson

(303) 497-5233

email: d.hanson@nist.gov

Division 847.40

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND

ENGINEERING LABORATORY

HHHI

The Materials Science and Engineering

Laboratory provides technical leadership

and participates in developing the measurement and standards infrastructure related to materials critical to U.S. industry,

academia, government, and the public. Materials science and engineering pro- grams at NIST cover a full range of materials issues from design to processing to performance. A unifying aim is to acquire

the knowledge and tools needed for intelli- gent manufacturing methods with real- time automated process controls.

Separate research initiatives address ce- ramics, metals, polymers, composites, and

superconductors. This research supports

efforts of U.S. industry to develop reliable, low-cost manufacturing methods for pro- ducing tailor-made materials and products with superior properties.

Through laboratory-organized consortia and one-to-one collaborations, NIST's

materials scientists and engineers work

closely with industrial researchers. Examples include work on improved processing

of rapidly solidified metal powders, poly- mer composites, ceramic machining,

aerospace alloys, and non-destructive evaluation sensors for aluminum and

steel manufacturing. The laboratory is

also strengthening its relationships with manufacturers of high-technology

products, the major users of advanced

materials.

Contact:

Lyle H. Schwartz, Director

(301) 975-5658

email: lyle.schwartz@nist.gov

fax: (301) 926-8349 B309 Materials Bldg. http://www.msel.nist.gov

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

Advanced Materials 125 Dental and Medical Materials 125 Electronic and Photonic Ceramics 125 Mechanical Properties of Brittle Materials 126 Theory and Modeling

Measurements and Standards

126 Electronics Packaging and

Interconnection 126 Evaluated Materials Data 127 High-Tc Superconductivity 127 Metals Data and Characterization 128 Nanostructured Materials 128 Non-destructive Evaluation 128 Polymer Characterization 129 Viscoelasticity of Polymers

Advanced Processing 129 Ceramic Coatings 129 Ceramic Processing 130 Intelligent Processing of Materials 130 Machining of Advanced Materials 130 Metals Processing

131 Polymer Composites

131 Polymer Blends and Processing

RESEARCH FACILITIES

131 Cold Neutron Research Facility 132 NIST Research Reactor 134 Materials Science X-ray Beamlines 134 Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering Facility 135 Powder Characterization and

Processing Laboratory

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

MSEL is separated into five divisions. Contacts for each division are listed below.

Ceramics Division

Contact: Stephen W. Freiman

(301) 975-6119

email: sfreiman@nist.gov

fax: (301) 990-8729 A256 Materials Bldg.

Materials Reliability Division

Contact: Harry I. McHenry

(303) 497-3268

email: harry.mchenry@nist.gov

fax: (303) 497-5030

Division 853.00

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

Metallurgy Division

Contact:

Carol A. Handwerker

(301) 975-5960

email: carol.handwerker@nist.gov

fax: (301) 926-7975 B26l Materials Bldg.

Polymers Division

Contact:

Leslie E. Smith

(301) 975-6762

email: leslie.smith@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-3239 A309 Polymers Bldg.

Reactor Radiation Division

Contact:

J. Michael Rowe

(301) 975-6210

email: mike.rowe@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-4770 A106 Reactor Bldg.
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

ADVANCED MATERIALS

DENTAL AND MEDICAL

MATERIALS

The dental and medical materials program

provides basic materials science, engineering, test methods, and standards to sectors of the health-care industry for the development

of new or improved materials and delivery systems. The major focus areas of this pro- gram are development of dental restorative composites of greater durability and wear

resistance, and development of metallic mercury-free alternatives to dental amalgams.

Dental restorative composites are hetero- geneous materials having three essential phases: (1) a polymeric matrix that comprises the continuous phase, (2) fillers of various types, sizes, shapes, and morphologies that constitute the disperse phase and

(3) an interfacial phase that, in varying degree, bonds the continuous and disperse

phases into a unitary material rather than a

simple admixture. While all three phases are important in determining the properties of

1 the composites, this program focuses primarily on the interfacial and polymer matrix

phases. Resources are allocated to develop

high-conversion, low-shrinkage polymeric

materials for use in dental resin and composite applications. Because these composites are used in an aggressive, aqueous

i environment that constantly challenges the vulnerable silane mediated polymer-glass

bond, this program also seeks to understand

the critical interfacial phase so that strategies can be developed for its improvement.

The occupational and environmental hazards associated with the use of mercurycontaining dental alloys are a recurring source of public concern. Since dental amal- gams have performed exceedingly well over more than 100 years, the development of a

direct filling material still based on the com- mon constituents of dental amalgams, other than mercury, is the objective of this focus. The approach chosen is based on three main

premises: (1) the cold-welding of oxide-free

silver; (2) the in-situ formation of AgxSny in- termetallics by the room temperature fast diffusion of silver and tin; and (3) the homogeneous precipitation of silver by Sn(II) in

solution.

Contact:

Francis Wang

(301) 975-6726

email: francis.wang@nist.gov A143 Polymers Building

ELECTRONIC AND

PHOTONIC CERAMICS

The objectives of the electronic and photonic ceramics program are to provide data, measurement methods, standards and refer- ence materials, models, and understanding

of the fundamental aspects of processing,

structure, properties, and performance of

electronic and photonic materials. The pro- gram supports generic technologies in bulk and thin-film ceramics to foster their efficient and economical use as electronic and/or photonic materials. The research

addresses the science base underlying ad- vanced electronic/photonic materials technologies together with associated measurement methodology.

The principal activities of the program are

directed toward materials for electronic and

photonic technology related to data processing, storage, display, and transmission. Four

aspects of this technology being addressed

are modulator materials; storage-media

materials; materials for microwave transmission; and materials for compact, shortwavelength radiation sources to increase

storage density.

Contact: Grady White

(301) 975-5752

email: grady.white@nist.gov A215 Materials Building

MECHANICAL

PROPERTIES OF

BRITTLE MATERIALS

Mechanical properties are the source of some of the greatest benefits as well as the most serious limitations of ceramics. With

their great strength-to-weight ratio, their

relatively inert behavior in aggressive envi- ronments, and their ability to withstand much higher temperatures than metals or polymers, ceramics potentially offer major

improvements for component design in a wide range of applications. On the debit

side, brittle fracture, creep at elevated temperatures, environmentally enhanced failure, and the lack of techniques that can

detect and quantify critical flaws before fail- ure occurs, impede their more widespread

uses. Problems in controlling failure of ce- ramics stem from three sources: lack of understanding of the failure processes, limited standard test techniques to permit inter- laboratory comparisons of material behavior, and inadequate statistical techniques for

reliability and lifetime estimation. The

mechanical properties program has components specifically addressing each of these

issues.

Basic understanding of mechanical behavior of ceramics is being investigated for both ambient and elevated temperature

applications. Effects of cyclic loading and

microcrack formation/coalescence are being

studied for lead zirconium titanate (PZT), a

technologically important actuator material. Mechanical properties and failure processes in fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix
1 26 MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY

composites are being investigated as a function of both temperature and fiber loading. Residual in stresses associated with crack bridging in both fiber-reinforced composites

and microstructurally toughened alumina

are being measured via micro-Raman tech- niques. In addition, environmentally en- hanced fracture remains an important

subject from both an experimental and a

theoretical (see Theory and Modeling section) viewpoint. At elevated temperatures,

the basic mechanisms responsible for creep

in silicon nitride are being investigated.

An important aspect of the program is the development of standards. New standard test techniques for hardness and toughness are being developed and tested in round-robin

experiments; these eventually will lead to the American Society for Testing and Materials and the International Organization for Standardization standards. For elevated temperatures, a new creep specimen design has been developed that concentrates more of

the applied load in the gage length and re- duces the chance of failure from non-gage

portions of the specimen.

Finally, techniques to predict lifetimes of ceramics under constant or cyclic loading

conditions are being developed. The nonparametric bootstrap approach to lifetime prediction is being applied to a number of

materials. A parametric model to predict life- times of PZT under cyclic loading also is under development. This latter model does

not restrict the material to environmentally

enhanced fracture behavior since experimental evidence has demonstrated that other,

albeit unknown, processes also are active during cyclic loading.

Contact: Edwin Fuller (301) 975-5795

email: edwin.fuller@nist.gov A329 Materials Building

THEORY AND MODELING

MSEL theory and modeling efforts focus on

the behavior and properties of materials over the range of length scales from atoms

to bulk materials. On the atomistic scale, researchers have used molecular dynamics

simulations to study fracture in brittle materials, and a new program to model dislocations in metals is under way. On mesoscopic

length scales, simulations of phase behavior, stability, separation kinetics, and morphological evolution in alloys, polymer

blends, liquid-crystalline polymers, and

homopolymer/co-polymer blends comple- ment ongoing experimental efforts in the polymers, metallurgy, and reactor divisions. Simulations of such materials processing

problems as, e.g., dendritic growth during

solidification and spinodal decomposition of chemically reacting polymers ranged from

minute-long calculations on single- processor workstations to week-long calculations on massively parallel supercomputers.

On macroscopic length scales, finite- element computer codes have been devel- oped to model a variety of materials

processes, such as injection molding for automotive parts, solder geometry in microelectronic interconnects, physical aging

in composite materials, and mechanical

properties of ceramic microstuctures.

Contact: Sharon Glotzer (301) 975-5729

email: sharon.glotzer@nist.gov

B344 Materials Building

MEASUREMENTS AND

STANDARDS

ELECTRONICS PACKAGING

AND INTERCONNECTION

To assist the strategic and rapidly growing

U.S. microelectronics industry, MSEL has embarked on a program in electronics packaging and interconnection that addresses

industry's most pressing challenges sur- rounding the utilization of advanced materials and material processes. With a specific mission to develop and deliver to U.S. electronics and electronic materials industries measurement tools and data for materials and processes used in semiconductor packaging, module interconnection, and component assembly, this program:

• develops techniques and procedures for making in-situ, in-process, and in-use measurements on materials and material assemblies having micrometer- and

submicrometer-scale dimensions;

• records and quantifies the divergence of material properties from their bulk values as dimensions are reduced and interfaces are approached; and

• develops fundamental understanding of materials needed for future packaging, inter- connection, and assembly schemes.

Contact: Michael A. Schen

(301) 975-6741

email: michael.schen@nist.gov B320 Polymer Building

EVALUATED MATERIALS

DATA

The objective of the data technologies pro- gram is to develop and facilitate the use of evaluated databases for the materials sci- ence and engineering communities. Both

research- and application-directed organizations require readily available evaluated data to take advantage of the large volume

of materials information developed by public- and private-sponsored programs. This information, particularly numeric data, is available in an ever increasing number of
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY

publications published worldwide. The necessity to consolidate and allow rapid comparison of properties for product design and

process development underlies the database

projects.

Evaluated data projects are conducted in co- operation with the NIST Standard Reference Data Program Office and include compilation and evaluation of numeric data as well

as recently initiated efforts directed at more

effective distribution and use of data.

Database projects in MSEL include:

• phase diagrams for ceramists, conducted

in cooperation with the American Ceramic

Society;

• the Structural Ceramics Database, a compilation of evaluated mechanical and ther- mal data for nitrides, carbides, and oxides of

interest to engineers and designers;

• a ceramic machinability database, coordi- nated with the Ceramic Machining Research Program;

• a high Tc superconductivity database de- veloped in cooperation with the Japanese

Agency for Industrial Science and Technology (see superconductivity);

• development and implementation of the STEP protocol for the exchange of materials

data, under the auspices of the ISO 10313

activity;

• the NACE/NIST Corrosion Performance

Database developed to provide a means to

select structural alloys for corrosive applications; and

• the Crystal Data Center, which provides fundamental crystallographic data on

inorganic materials.

These projects are developed with the co- operation of the materials community and

complement various research programs.

Contact:

Stanley J. Dapkunas

(301) 975-6119

email: stanley.dapkunas@nist.gov A265 Materials Building

HIGH-Tc

SUPERCONDUCTIVITY

A significant program in high-Tc (critical

transition temperature) superconductivity is being conducted in MSEL and other laboratories at NIST. The primary focus of the MSEL program is on bulk superconducting

materials for wire and magnet applications. In carrying out this program, researchers in MSEL work closely with their counterparts

in other NIST laboratories as well as their collaborators in U.S. industry and other national laboratories.

The primary thrusts of the program are:

• Phase equilibria—A prime objective

is the development of the portions of the phase diagram for the Pb-Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-0

system relevant to production of the high Tc materials.

• Flux pinning—This project uses a unique magneto-optical imaging facility

to examine flux pinning in a variety of

materials.

• Damage mechanisms—The primary tool used is microfocus radiography available at

the NIST beamline at the Brookhaven National Laboratory.

• Crystal structure—Thermal neutron diffraction techniques and profile refinement

analyses are being utilized to investigate

crystal and magnetic structures, composition, and crystal chemical properties.

Contact: Stephen W. Freiman

(301) 975-6119

email: stephen.freiman@nist.gov A256 Materials Building

METALS DATA AND

CHARACTERIZATION

Basic data describing the properties of metals and advanced materials based on metals form an important component of the technological infrastructure that NIST supports.

Information of this kind is essential to understanding behavior of metals in different conditions and to the effective design of

structures and devices containing metals. The measurement base is an MSEL mission

strategic thrust.

This program is focused on the development

of techniques to measure various properties

of metallic materials and the acquisition of data of technological significance. It in- cludes activities involving measurements of mechanical, magnetic, and optical properties, which impact a number of different technology sectors. For instance, in collaboration with the Copper Development Association, the mechanical behavior of lead-free plumbing solders is being investigated to provide the comprehensive and reliable data- base needed to establish internal working

pressure standards for drinking water pipe

joints. In contrast with these traditional measurements involving a widely used material, high-speed optical techniques are being

developed in another project to measure selected thermophysical properties of solid and

liquid materials at high temperatures. The

goals of this work are to generate accurate benchmark data on selected key materials and to develop new high-temperature

thermophysical standards. In other work

involving a collaboration with ALCOA and

USCAR, models are being developed and

verified for the press-and-sinter and powder

forge processes for metal matrix composites.

The goal of this work is to develop light- weight materials for automotive applications. In the area of characterization, a technique is being developed that visualizes

stress fields in opaque materials using the acoustic microscope. Work in the past year has included collaborations with DuPont,

Libby Owens Ford, and Sonix.

Contact: Robert J. Schaefer

(301) 975-5961

email: robert.schaefer@nist.gov B26l Materials Building
28 MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY

immmmmuwm

MATERIALS

Nanostructured materials are a new class of materials that provide one of the greatest potentials for improving performance and ex- tended capabilities of products in a number

of industrial sectors, including aerospace,

tooling, automotive, recording, cosmetics,

electric motor, duplication, and refrigeration. Encompassed by this class of materials

are multilayers, nanocrystalline materials, and nanocomposites. Their uniqueness is

partially due to the very large percentage of atoms at interfaces and partially to quan- tum confinement effects.

One critical need for use of nanostructured

materials is their characterization and meas- urement science, which is the focus of the NIST program. For many properties, it is not known whether the exciting novel behavior found in these new materials is due to new

physics or to a logical extension of largesize behavior to small dimensions. Examples include the deformation and fracture behavior (Do dislocations even exist in these materials?), optical characteristics (Are their properties due to interface or quantum mechanical effects?), magnetic properties

(What do magnetic domains look like in nanostructured materials and how they move in response to a magnetic field?), and

thermal properties (How do phonons propagate through interfaces?). Consequently,

implementation of this new type of material

into marketable products is delayed significantly. NIST is providing the measurement

science to answer these critical unknowns.

Important needs also include the identification of preparation methods for industrialsize quantities of material, extension of the

capabilities of conventional measurement

tools to the nanometer-size scale, and the development of consolidation methods that

retain the nanometer grain size of the initial nanocrystalline powders. For multilayers, understanding the development of epitaxy and control of both composition and

interdiffusion at the interface are of critical importance.

By experimentally addressing these issues, by bringing together the industrial and scientific communities through the organization of workshops and conferences in the

area, and by developing and preparing appropriate standards, NIST acts to accelerate the utilization of these materials by the industrial sector. Collaborations established

in the area with Xerox, General Motors, Nanophase Technologies, Pratt and

Whitney, Caterpillar, Lockheed-Martin,

Hewlett Packard, IBM, Seagate, and

Motorola corporations, for example, enable NIST to leverage its activities with the much

larger, but complementary, capabilities of other organizations.

Contact: Robert D. Shull (301)975-6035

email: robert.shull@nist.gov

B152 Materials Building

NON-DESTRUCTIVE

EVALUATION

Non -destructive evaluation (NDE) is the de- termination of product quality using test methods that do not damage the product. At MSEL, the NDE program is directed to the de- velopment of model-based methods of physical measurement that characterize the

internal geometries of materials, such as

defects, microstructures, and lattice distortions. The goal of NDE is to convert these measurement methods into sensors suited

for production-line and in-service measurements of materials quality and

serviceability.

A primary focus of the NDE program is microstructural characterization of metals and alloys, composite materials, and engi- neered surfaces. The idea is that models relate microstructure and physical properties. Research is also under way in magnetic,

thermal, and radiographic techniques.

Modeling advances include Green's function

methods for wave propagation in anisotropic

materials, obtaining elastic constants from

resonance spectra, and determining texture based on ultrasonic measurements.

Contact:

Chris Fortunko

(303) 497-3062

email: christopher.fortunko@nist.gov

Division 853-05

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3238

POLYMER

CHARACTERIZATION

The polymer characterization program provides measurement methods, data, and

Standard Reference Materials needed by U.S.

industry, research laboratories, and other

federal agencies to characterize polymers for

processibility, properties, and performance. Molecular weight and molecular weight dis- tribution are the molecular characteristics

of polymers that most affect their processing, properties, and performance. Properties

and performance also may vary widely de- pending on the solid-state structure formed

during processing. Therefore, the focus of

the program is on techniques that measure

molecular weight, its distribution, and the

solid-state structure of polymers. Primary methods employed for molecular weight are

dilute solution light scattering and os- mometry. Chromatographic techniques,

which require calibration by standards of known molecular mass, provide information on molecular weight distribution. Recent activities seek to exploit advancements in mass

spectrometry using mass-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) to determine molecular weights of synthetic polymers. Other spectroscopic methods, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and infrared, as well as X-ray diffraction, are developed and applied to elucidate the solidstate structure of polymers.

The polymer industry and standards organizations assist in the identification of current needs for Standard Reference Materials. Based on these needs, research on charac-
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY 129

terization methods and measurements is conducted, leading to the certification of Standard Reference Materials. Standards are produced for calibration of gel permeation

chromatographs, the principal method used

by industry for assessing molecular weight

and molecular weight distributions, and

melt flow standards are developed for use in the calibration of instruments used to determine processing conditions for thermoplastics.

Contact: Bruno Fanconi

(301) 975-6769

email: bruno.fanconi@nist.gov A309 Polymers Building

VISCOELASTICITY OF

POLYMERS

The goals of the viscoelasticity of polymers program are to develop measurement strategies that produce mechanical properties data in efficient ways and concurrently to build methodologies that can be applied in

the design and development of finished poly- mers. This approach uses the theoretical frameworks of continuum constitutive equations and micro- to meso-scale physical models to interrelate the mechanical re- sponses under different loading conditions and to test model predictions using available measurement methods. The work involves the first major effort to measure the mechanical and rheological responses of a

single class of solid polymer in multiple

geometries of deformation and modes of loading as well as in different temperature

histories. The combination of experiment and modeling results in both improved models and the development of new experimental methods for measuring material property parameters. Furthermore, the measurement

and modeling requirements are renewed

continuously by coordinating the efforts through collaborations with and support activities for other programs in the Polymers

Division, including polymer characterization, polymer theory and modeling,

and electronic packaging and interconnects

as well as other agency and miscellaneous

projects that result from the program's

activities.

In addition, the program works actively with

industrial research programs. Activities such

as workshops and special symposia that improve the interaction of the program with

outside industry and the general technical and scientific communities also are fostered.

Contact: Gregory B. McKenna

(301) 975-6752

email: gregory.mckenna@nist.gov A209 Polymers Building

ADVANCED PROCESSING

CERAMIC COATINGS

The ceramic coatings program is a measure- ment and characterization effort that addresses the processing reproducibility and

performance prediction issues associated

with, primarily, thermal-spray deposited ceramic coatings. The program focuses on

plasma-spray-deposited ceramic thermal

barrier coatings used in aircraft gas turbines and expected to be used in land-based tur- bines and diesel engines. Research also is conducted on the processing and properties

of chemical-vapor-deposited diamond films and on physical-vapor-deposited ceramic

coatings.

The approach taken in the plasma-spray

(PS) research has been to build on the analytical capabilities at NIST and the material

processing capabilities of collaborators. The

program has the following elements:

• development of techniques for characterization of physical and chemical properties of stabilized zirconia feedstock to provide data for increased processing reproducibility as well as data required for pro- duction of a Standard Reference Material

suitable for calibration of light-scattering

size distribution instruments used in industry for analysis of PS powder;

• development of scattering techniques to determine the quantity, size, and orientation

of porosity and microcracks in PS ceramic

coatings suitable for use in modeling the thermomechanical behavior of these

materials;

• development of methods to measure

chemical, elastic modulus, and thermal

properties on a scale suitable for use in microstructural models of behavior;

• development of techniques to model

thermomechanical behavior of thermalbarrier coatings to enable more reliable per- formance prediction; and

• development of techniques for accurate measurement of the thermal conductivity of PS coatings by use of the guarded hot-plate

technique suitable for incorporation in ASTM standards and to provide a method

for comparison with routine industrial

techniques.

Contact:

Stanley J. Dapkunas

(301) 975-6119

email: stanley.dapkunas@nist.gov A256 Materials Building

CERAMIC PROCESSING

The ceramic processing program is focused on the improvement of measurement quality in ceramic powders processing. This is accomplished by providing the U.S. ceramics community the ability to control ceramic powder properties so that cost-effective manufacturing can be achieved. The

current program continues to emphasize

structural ceramics with application of

silicon nitride to automotive engines. The

specific elements of the program are as

follows:
1 30 MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY

• ceramic powder characterization techniques, measurement science, sensors, and

models for intelligent processing, standard methods, and Standard Reference Materials;

• powder processing science to understand

interrelationships between powder characteristics and their processing environment; and

• novel processing and synthesis methods

as applied to nanosize and ultra-pure

powders.

Ceramic processing projects address the development of standard procedures and

Standard Reference Materials, improvement

of the scientific basis for powder dispersion measurements in slurries and in overall measurement accuracy, and leadership in national and international standardization

activities, including the ISO and ASTM. The

powder characteristics of interest include

physical and surface chemical properties

and phase composition. In addition, grainboundary characterization, and crystal- lographic texture investigations are carried out using advanced characterization tools.

In powder processing, efforts have been fo- cused around high-energy agitation milling

of powders, textured AI2O3 microstructure, and hot-isostatic-pressing of silicon nitride.

Contact: George Y. Onoda

(301) 975-4489

email: george.onoda@nist.gov A256 Materials Building

INTELLIGENT

PROCESSING OF

MATERIALS

The intelligent processing of materials (IPM) program makes important contributions to three MSEL strategic thrusts: ad- vanced processes, advanced materials, and measurement technology. The central ele- ments of IPM are process understanding ex- pressed in terms of a process model, real- time information on processing parameters

and material conditions obtained with online process sensors, and a model-based

sensing and control strategy to achieve the

desired characteristics in the finished product. IPM projects advance each of the ele- ments, and joint projects with industry are integrating these elements into improved

processing capabilities.

Advanced materials are those with microstructures designed and controlled to provide superior properties and performance for

specific functions. Hence, microstructural

control is perhaps the most important appli- cation of IPM. The idea is to model microstructural evolution during processing, sense microstructural changes in real time, and use a model-based system to ensure the

final product has the desired microstructure. Microstructural consistency is essential to the commercialization of advanced materials because it assures reliable properties and

performance of the material.

The IPM program also contributes to MSEL's measurement technology goal. A major focus of IPM projects is process sensors, which our industrial collaborators repeat- edly identify as a crucial need. Sensor tech- nology is a core competence of MSEL, which

has its roots in sensor development for nondestructive evaluation of materials.

Contact: Tom Siewert

(303) 497-3523

email: thomas.siewert@nist.gov

Division 853-07

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

MACHINING OF

ADVANCED MATERIALS

The goal of the NIST ceramic machining

program is to assist U.S. industry, through a

joint research program, in the development

of precision machining technology for the manufacture of reliable and cost-effective products made from advanced ceramics. Specific projects address grinding optimization,

machinability database, nano-precision

grinding, mechanisms of material removal,

characterization of machining damage, and

chemically assisted machining. Current re- search materials include those intended for

structural applications, such as silicon

nitride, and dental materials, such as machinable glass.

Contact: Saidjahanmir

(301) 975-3671

email: said.jahanmir@nist.gov A329 Materials Building

METALS PROCESSING

The properties of metals and their alloys depend strongly on their processing history. The conditions under which materials are processed and fabricated into useful items determine the distributions of phases,

grains, and defects in the final products. These distributions are crucial in determining alloy strength, ductility, magnetic re- sponse, homogeneity, and other properties

important for commercial applications. The

metals processing program focuses on meas- urements and predictive models needed by

industry to provide improved process control, develop improved alloy properties,

tailor material properties for particular applications, and reduce costs.

Three main approaches are being pursued:

• assisting in the design of materials production processes;

• measuring properties of the final materials and relating them to the process conditions to evaluate the adequacy of process models; and

• performing measurements under dy- namic conditions to monitor materials'

properties during production.

Contact: John R. Manning

(301) 975-6157

email: manning@nist.gov

A153 Materials Building
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY

POLYMER COMPOSITES

The polymer composites program seeks to facilitate the introduction of lightweight, corrosion-resistant composite materials into commercial applications by expanding the

essential science base and generating test methods, reference data, and standard materials. The outstanding properties of composites mean they can be used to make products

that are superior and more competitive in in- ternational markets. Industries as diverse as transportation, construction, marine, off- shore oil, medical devices, and sporting

goods can benefit significantly from the use

of these materials. For this to happen, however, two barriers must be addressed: the

lack of rapid, reliable, cost-effective fabrication methods; and the poor understanding and predictive capability for durability. In response to these challenges, the composites program initiated two tasks: one on process- ing science and the other on long-term

performance.

The goal in the processing science task is to develop the technology required to monitor,

understand, model, and control the events

that occur during composite fabrication. The program's primary interest is in liquid

composite molding since this fabrication method is of great interest to all industry sectors and is the consensus choice of the auto- motive industry as the method with the most

promise for making structural automotive

parts. The approach in this task involves

three steps: (1) development of measure- ment tools to characterize materials properties that control processing, (2) formulation

of sophisticated process simulation models

to ultimately optimize processing parameters, and (3) development and utilization of process monitoring sensors.

The work on performance focuses on composite characterization tools and environ- mental durability. The goals are: (1) to develop measurement methods that can de- termine the state of the material, (2) to identify the chemical and physical mechanisms

of environmental attack, and (3) to formulate reliable predictive models for long-term

behavior. The environmental durability

projects focus on glass fiber materials since they are the primary candidates for auto- motive applications. Work is beginning on

graphite reinforced composites since these systems are important for marine and infra- structure applications.

Contact: Richard Parnas

(301) 975-5805

email: richard.parnas@nist.gov A209 Polymers Building

POLYMER BLENDS AND

PROCESSING

Applications of polymer blends and alloys have enjoyed steady growth over the last dec- ade in terms of market share, consumption,

and employment within the plastics industry. This growth has challenged materials

suppliers to respond quickly to customer

needs by reducing their new product develop- ment cycle.

The goals of the polymer blends and process- ing program are to establish expertise in

static and kinetic aspects of phase behavior

in polymer blends, effects of shear flows on

mixing and separating, and reactive process- ing to promote compatibility. Current pro- gram objectives use the knowledge base and measurement expertise to develop tools needed by industry to process polymer

blends more effectively. Accordingly, the pro- gram works on development of measure- ment methods using fluorescence, light

scattering, neutron scattering, and micros- copy to aid in monitoring polymer blend

processing.

Contact:

Eric Amis

(301) 975-6681

email: eric.amis@nist.gov

B210 Polymers Building

RESEARCH

FACILITIES

COLD NEUTRON

RESEARCH FACILITY

The NIST Cold Neutron Research Facility (CNRF) is the first in the United States de- voted exclusively to cold neutron research. The facility provides U.S. researchers prime

access to a key tool of modern materials sci- ence with capabilities unavailable elsewhere

in this country.

The facility is focused on a novel liquid hydrogen cold source operating at 20 K. The

cold source is viewed by one port inside the

reactor hall and seven neutron guide tubes. The guide hall and associated office and

laboratory space have more than tripled the workspace available at NIST for neutron beam researchers.

CAPABILITIES Instruments currently in operation include:

• Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS)

Instruments. The NIST/Exxon/University of Minnesota and the NSF/NIST Center for High Resolution Neutron Scattering

(CHRNS) 30-meter SANS instruments combine long flight paths and variable colli- mation to provide flexibility, angular resolution, and beam intensities that compare

favorably with any SANS instruments in the world. Large-area position-sensitive detectors provide exceptional sensitivity to materials structures ranging from roughly 1 nm to 500 nm. An 8-meter SANS instrument also is

available. Computer- automated equipment

is available for maintaining samples at temperatures from 4 K to 700 K and in magnetic

fields up to 20 kilogauss. To extract structural information from the data, the re- searchers analyze SANS patterns with an

interactive color graphics system and related programs. Polarized neutron capabilities are planned for both 30-meter instruments.
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY

• Depth-Profiling Instrument. With a measured chemical sensitivity 20 times that of the existing NIST thermal-beam instrument,

this station features automated sample handling, near real-time spectral processing,

goniometer positioning of sample and

detectors, and sample temperature control. Increased signal intensity will permit multi- dimensional imaging of elemental distributions and profiling of nuclides with

absorption cross-sections for charged particle emission of less than 1 barn.

• Prompt-Gamma-Ray Activation Analysis. Providing much greater sensitivity for this method than any existing thermal-beam in- strument in the world, this equipment provides unique measurements of chemical

elements, such as hydrogen (detection limit < 2 |ig), that are difficult to detect by other means.

• Medium Resolution Time-of-Flight

Spectrometer. The energy resolution of this instrument, 40 to 600 (leV, is suitable for a broad range of studies of diffusion al motions and magnetic and vibrational excitations. A combination of double-crystal

monochromator and Fermi chopper, with a

detector array covering a large range of scattering angles, allows incident energies from

2.2 to 15.5 meV and (elastic) momentum

transfers from 1 to 49 nm" .

• NIST/IBM/University of Minnesota Cold Neutron Reflectometer. This instrument

exceeds the sensitivity of the NIST thermal neutron instrument—already among the

best in the world. In addition, the CNRF re- flectometer incorporates vertical scatteringplane geometry and a horizontal sample

plane that allows examination of liquid surfaces. Independent movement of sample and

detector allows measurement of off-specular

scattering. This reflectometer is clearly at the forefront worldwide and provides unique

capabilities to U.S. researchers.

• Fundamental Physics Station. Available

for use only in collaboration with the NIST

fundamental physics research group, an end

guide position physics station currently is in- strumented for a new measurement of the

lifetime of the neutron. A second fundamental neutron physics station, a neutron inter- ferometer, is also operational.

• Neutron Optical Bench. This station is available for testing and calibrating neutron

devices such as focusing capillary tubes.

• Triple-Axis Spectrometer. A spin-polarized

inelastic neutron spectrometer is operational, with intensity and resolution un- matched in the United States. Among other

features, this instrument includes novel transmission polarizers providing excellent polarization analysis, and a horizontally fo- cusing analyzer providing much higher

fluxes for inelastic scattering.

At press time (mid 1996), three other instru- ments are in the process of being installed: a high-resolution time-of-flight spectrometer, a spin-echo spectrometer, and a backscattering spectrometer. These instruments

will become available during 1996-1997.

APPLICATIONS The unusual sensitivity and range of measurements possible at the NIST CNRF provide

applications in materials structures, materials dynamics, chemical analysis, and neutron physics. Currently operational instruments are used to study microstructures in metals, ceramics, and colloidal mixtures; thin films, layered structures, and

interfacial properties; magnetic properties

and shear-induced phenomena; molecular geometry of polymer and biological macromolecules; chemical composition of semiconductors, high-tech materials, air- pollution filters, and other samples; and

neutron decay rates.

AVAILABILITY The CNRF operates as a national facility open to all qualified researchers. NIST

develops experimental stations for use by the general U.S. research community. Twothirds of the available time on these stations

(three-fourths on CHRNS instruments) will be allocated by a Program Advisory Committee (PAC) on the basis of scientific merit of written proposals. The second mode involves Participating Research Teams (PRTs)

,

which are developing the remaining stations. The PRTs are responsible for design, construction, and maintenance of the facilities in return for three-fourths of the avail- able time. The remaining time will be

allocated by the PAC. For all instrumental

stations, instrument-responsible scientists

will be designated to assist users in performing their experiments.

Contact:

J. Michael Rowe

(301) 975-6210

email: mike.rowe@nist.gov A106 Reactor Building

NIST RESEARCH

REACTOR

The NIST research reactor is a national center for the application of reactor radiation to a variety of problems of national concern. A wide variety of internal and external pro- grams have benefited from the broad range

of capabilities available to researchers from

industry, universities, and government

laboratories.

CAPABILITIES The NIST reactor is an enriched-uranium,

D2O cooled and moderated reactor, with a peak thermal core flux of 4 x 10

14 neutrons/cm

2

-s. The core comprises 30 fuel ele- ments of a unique, split-core design, in which nine radial beam tubes look at a 17- cm gap between fuel-element halves. A large- volume cold source, two tangential and one

vertical beam tube, a thermal column, several vertical thimbles, and four "rabbit"

tubes complete the configuration. The

reactor operates continuously, 24 hours a

day on monthly cycles, followed by approximately a week of shutdown for refueling and

maintenance.
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY

The reactor utilizes the flux available in a

very efficient manner through relatively short core-to-instrument distances and

large-diameter beam tubes. As a result, the

flux on the sample for certain instruments is comparable to that at other major research

reactors of higher power and peak core flux.

The experimental facilities in the reactor

hall are used for neutron scattering and diffraction, neutron radiography, trace analysis and depth profiling, neutron dosimetry and standards development, irradiations, and isotope production.

Sample environments for low and high temperature, low and high pressure, and high

magnetic fields are routinely available. Online graphics, plotting, and data fitting are

available via personal computers,

Macintoshes, Micro-VAXs, and a DEC 5810.

• Elastic Scattering. Four beam ports are dedicated to elastic scattering studies.

A new high-resolution powder diffractometer

is installed at beam tube 1 (BT-1). It is a

32-detector instrument that provides three monochromator positions, each set at 0.154-nm wavelength but at different takeoff angles to allow maximum flexibility' in

selecting the optimal resolution function for a given measurement. Collimations down to

: 7'-20'-7' are available.

A deflection instrument dedicated to the measurement of residual stress is now operational at BT-8. This diffractometer is opti- mized for such measurements and provides

great flexibility.

A triple-axis spectrometer with a four-circle goniometer is installed at BT-6 and is used

primarily for residual stress and texture measurements, although inelastic scattering

experiments also can be performed. This spectrometer is typically operated in the elastic scattering mode without an analyzer for

texture studies and with the analyzer for residual stress measurements. Incident energies are continuously variable with 2 0M's

from 20' to 75' available. Beam sizes up to 30 x 50 mm2 and down to 2 x 2 mm2 (for

residual stress studies) are utilized. Singlecrystal structure determinations are per- formed on this instrument while a new

residual stress/texture/single-crystal diffrac- tometer is being completed on BT-8.

A new thermal-neutron reflectometer, in which the incident beam can be polarized and the spin state of the reflected beam analyzed, is operational on BT-7. In this reflec- tometer, a pyrolytic graphite (PG) filtered beam is incident on the vertically focusing

PG monochromator set for a principal wavelength of 0.235 nm. For collimations of ~ 1'

preceding and 1 following the monochromator, respectively, the wavelength resolution

is 81/1- 0.01 and the actual flux on the sampie is ~5 x 10 neutrons/cm -s. Two He

detectors are incorporated—one for reflectivity measurements; the other is for grazingangle-diffraction experiments.

Polarization of the incident beam is accomplished in transmission by one or more

polarizing Fe-Si supermirrors deposited on

single-crystal Si substrates. Reflectivities down to about 2 x 10"7 with a signal-to- noise ratio of about 1 have been measured.

• Inelastic Scattering. Three triple-axis inelastic scattering spectrometers are operational. The BT-4 instrument employs two

remotely selectable, vertical-focusing monochromator crystals (PG and Cu), which provide incident energies from 3 meV to 300 meV continuously. It is capable of elastic- peak resolution down to 0.04 meV and also can be used in the inverted-filter mode for

energy-loss spectroscopy of vibrations in the 15-meV to 280-meV range. The BT-9 spec- trometer offers variable incident energy in

the 5-meV to 50-meV range and collimations down to 10'-12'-12'-16'.

• The BT-2 instrument has both triple-axis and polarized-beam (up to 96 percent) capabilities. Either a PG or a Heusler-alloy monochromator, each vertically focused, are

available, with remotely insertable cold beryllium or PG filters. Built-in guide fields and spin rotators and collimation as low as 10'-5'-5'-20' are available.

• Elemental Analysis. Neutron activation

analysis is performed utilizing the clean room for sample preparation, the reactor

irradiation facilities, semi-hot and warm

radiochemistry labs, and state-of-the-art radiation-counting labs. Development of methodology has aimed at accuracies and

sensitivities over concentrations of 10" 10

percent to 100 percent.

Radiochemical separations for specific ele- ments and multielement analysis at the

ultratrace level are available. A thermal neutron-capture prompt-gamma activation

analysis facility is operational, with a neutron fluence of 5 x 10 n/cm -s in a 2-cm-diameter beam.

A thermal neutron-depth-profiling facility is

installed on BT-3 for non-destructive deter- mination of near-surface elemental depth

distributions in a variety of materials. Sensi12 J tivities approaching 10

: atoms/cm with a

spatial resolution of better than 30 nm for depths of 5 mm to 20 mm are achievable.

• Neutron Standards and Dosimetry. A number of neutron fields for standards and

dosimetry are available. These include a Cf

fission source; a

235U cavity fission source;

the thermal column beam, an intermediate energy standard neutron field; and 2-, 24.5-, and 144-keV filtered beams.

• Irradiation Facilities. Four pneumatic

tubes for 40-cm3 rabbits with fluence ranges

of 3 x 10

11 to 2 x 1014 n/cm2-s for irradiations of seconds up to hours are available. The cadmium ratio range for these facilities

is 4 to 3000 (Au). For long irradiations 6-cm- and 9-cm-diameter in-core thimbles

are used. These are D2O filled with fluences

of 2-4 x 10

l4 n/cm2

-s.
134 MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY

• Neutron Radiography. Radiography facilities are available at a highly thermalized beam of the thermal column. Fluences

Q 1 1 range from 10 to 10 n/cm -s, depending on resolution, with a Cd ratio of 500:1 and

an L/D ratio adjustable from 20:1 to 500:1. The beam is 25 cm in diameter at the image

plane, 2 m from the reactor face. Facilities

for autoradiography also have been

developed.

APPLICATIONS Many of the principal applications have

been described elsewhere in this report. Others include:

• Structural and Spectroscopic Studies of Magnetic Materials. Recent efforts have fo- cused on rare-earth compounds, amorphous

magnets and spin glasses, superconductors,

magnetic bilayers, and hydrogen in metals.

• Elemental Analysis Programs. Examples

include studies in environmental chemistry,

nutrition, biomedicine, energy and electronic devices—with emphasis on Standard

Reference Materials for these applications.

• Neutron Dosimetry Studies. Specific projects include neutron fluence standards for power reactor pressure vessel irradiation surveillance, ultralight mass assay for commercial track recorder detectors, absolute

fission-rate measurements, and develop- ment of thermal neutron beam monitors.

AVAILABILITY There are 25 thermal neutron facilities at the reactor, which provide about 125,000 instrument hours per year. In 1992, over 700 researchers from 14 NIST divisions, 28 other government organizations, 1 14

U.S. industrial and university laboratories, and 65 foreign laboratories utilized the facilities, either collaboratively with NIST staff or independently.

Contact:

J. Michael Rowe

(301) 975-6210

email: mike.rowe@nist.gov A106 Reactor Building

MATERIALS SCIENCE

X-RAY BEAMUNES

NIST operates two beam stations on the X23A port at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. The light source

provides an intense continuous-spectrum

beam of collimated and polarized X-rays many orders of magnitude brighter than the beams provided by conventional laboratory

sources. These two beam stations offer access to dedicated instrumentation for small- angle X-ray scattering, X-ray diffraction imaging (topography) and X-ray absorption

fine structure (XAFS).

CAPABILITIES Small-angle X-ray scattering can be carried out in the photon energy range from 5 keV

to 11 keV. The minimum wave vector is

2 1 4x10 nm" and the wavelength resolu- tion is AX/X = 10" 4

, enabling anomalous

small-angle scattering with excellent resolution. Diffraction imaging of single crystals and powders is carried out with monochromatic photons between 5 keV and 30 keV. An

energy-tunable X-ray image magnifier enables imaging of microstructures down to

less than 1 mm. The energy-scanning ex- periments, primarily XAFS, also are per- formed over an energy range from 5 keV to 30 keV.

APPLICATIONS Small-angle scattering measurements on ce- ramic and metallurgical materials are used

to characterize microstructure in the 2-nm

to l-|im size range as a function of starting

chemistry and processing parameters. Scat- tering from a particular entity can be separated from other scatterers in a complex

material using anomalous small-angle

X-ray scattering. Diffraction imaging is used

to study imperfections and strains in single

crystals and powder compacts. The structure

of strained semiconductor interfaces and

metal multilayers can be studied using XAFS. A combination of XAFS and diffraction

will provide a capability for site-specific local structure determination in crystals.

AVAILABILITY Beam time is available to qualified scientists provided safety requirements are met and

scheduling arrangements can be made. Proposals for collaborative use of the facility are reviewed at NIST; proposals for independent

use of the facility should be submitted to the NSLS.

Contact:

Gabrielle G. Long

(301) 975-5975

email: gabrielle.long@nist.gov Al63 Materials Building

SMALL-ANGLE X-RAY

SCATTERING FACILITY

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is a technique in which a highly collimated beam of X-rays (wavelength range 0.07 nm

to 0.3 nm) is used to probe the structure

of materials on the size scale of 0.1 nm to 100 nm.

Materials exhibiting structure in this size range include polymers, biological macromolecules, ceramics, metals, and alloys. The

small-angle scattering patterns can be analyzed to characterize the size and shape of the scattering centers as well as their spatial distribution and surface area. Data obtained from these experiments are complementary

to data obtained from other diffraction studies and from morphological studies using

electron microscopy.

CAPABILITIES The NIST 10-m SAXS camera uses a 12-kW

rotating anode X-ray generator as a source

of X-rays. The target is usually copper X(Ka) = 1.54, but additional wavelengths

are available. The collimation path is defined so as to permit 10" nm" resolution in

reciprocal space at the surface of a two- dimensional position-sensitive proportional

detector. The collimation path and the scattered beam path are evacuated, and all ele- ments of vacuum operation, X-ray optical configuration, sample selection, and calibration are computer controlled. Image data
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY

are collected by a minicomputer, and a complete collection of software is available

for displaying, analyzing, and modeling the

results.

Sample chambers are available for measure- ments at high temperatures and to deform

specimens during measurement.

APPLICATIONS The SAXS technique is used to study molecular conformation, microphase domain structures, crystallization phenomena, network

formation, craze initiation, void distribution, and similar phenomena resulting from

fluctuations in electron density within a material. Such studies are currently of broad interest in all areas of materials science.

AVAILABILITY This facility is operated by members of the NIST staff in support of their active research program in polymeric materials. It is avail- able for use by researchers from industry,

academia, and other government agencies on either a collaborative or independent

basis.

Contact: John D. Barnes

(301) 975-6786

email: john.barnes@nist.gov A209 Polymer Building

POWDER

CHARACTERIZATION AND

PROCESSING

LABORATORY

Advanced ceramics are manufactured by the consolidation of fine powders. Researchers

at NIST are working to develop the scientific foundation needed for improving reproducibility and reducing the cost of producing ce- ramic components. The powder characteri- zation facility offers specialized instrumentation for measuring physical properties, phase composition, and surface chemical

properties. In addition, facilities exist for processing and synthesizing ultrapure

powders.

CAPABILITIES • Physical Properties Measurement.

Particle-size distribution, specific surface

area, specific gravity, and porosity are some

of the major physical properties for which in- strumentation is available. Powder-size dis- tribution can be determined by gravity sedimentation followed by X-ray absorption,

centrifugal sedimentation, light diffraction, and photon correlation spectroscopy. The

size range of these instruments covers 0.03 (im to 200 |im. Each instrument works

in a specific range and provides the data in the form of a discrete size range. The particles are examined directly by the application

of scanning and transmission electron microscopy of particles as small as 0.001 (im.

• Surface and Interface Chemistry Measurements. The surface and interface characterization of powders contributes to the knowledge base of the surface interactions

of particles in contact with dispersants and

binders. As the particles become smaller,

their surface characteristics become more

significant. MicroRaman and Fourier trans- form infrared spectroscopy are used to study

surface composition, and electrophoretic

mobility and acoustophoretic mobility are used to study modification to the powder sur- face as a result of an interaction with disper- sants and binders.

• Phase Composition. Since most of the ce- ramic powders undergo phase transformation during densification, understanding the phase changes in specific densification envi- ronments is an active part of NIST research. The Siemens high-temperature X-ray diffrac- tometer has a temperature range from room

temperature to 3000 K and a position sensitive detector. In addition, sintering can be

carried out in oxygen-free argon or nitrogen environments.

• Solid-State Imaging. The solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)

spectrometer/imager carries out measure- ments in chemical shift, nuclear spin density, relaxation times, and imaging of NMR

active nuclear distribution. Ceramic powder

slurries, green bodies, and dense ceramics

can be analyzed for identification of impurities, chemical state, and composition distri- bution by non-destructive evaluation. In

addition, the NMR can determine amorphous phase content of the powders.

• Powder Synthesis. The ability to synthesize powders of controlled characteristics is necessary for development of a powderprocessing knowledge base. The fine-powder

synthesis facility consists of a chemical flow

reactor for controlled synthesis and inert at- mosphere chambers. A solution atomizer is available to generate polydisperse aerosols

in the range of 0.001 |im to 1.0 \im, as is a

spray dryer to form monodisperse agglomerates in the range 0.5 Jim to 100 |im.

• Collodial Suspensions Preparation.

Colloidal processing of ceramic powders has emerged as an attractive technology for pro- ducing defect-free ceramics. However, some

major issues still remain to be addressed, including the lack of characterization techniques for slurries that contain high

concentrations of solids and scientific under- standing of limitations in the preparation of such slurries. The powder processing laboratory consists of an acoustophoresis instru- ment, a rheometer, a high-energy agitation

ball mill, and slurry consolidation equip- ment. These techniques are used to study

interface chemistry, flow behavior, size reduction, morphology modification, and

densification of polydisperse particles and

similar processes resulting from interactions between the particles and their environment.

AVAILABILITY These facilities are used primarily to support NIST research programs using ceramic powders. They are available for collaborative or independent work by qualified government,

industry, or university personnel with prefer- ence given to projects related to ceramics

research.

Contact: George Onoda

(301) 975-4489

email: george.onoda@nist.gov A256 Materials Building
BUILDING AND FIRE

RESEARCH LABORATORY

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

The Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) enhances the competitive- ness of U.S. industry and public safety through performance prediction and measurement technologies and technical advances that improve the life-cycle quality and cost effectiveness of constructed

facilities. BFRL's efforts are closely coor- dinated with industry, professional and

trade organizations, academe, and other agencies of government.

Major BFRL goals are to improve the productivity of U.S. industries of construction, which now face stiff competition from overseas firms, and to reduce the human and economic losses resulting from fires, earthquakes, winds, and other hazards. Laboratory research includes

fire science and fire safety engineering;

building materials; computer-integrated

construction practices; structural, mechanical, and environmental engineering; and building economics. Products of the laboratory's research include measurements and test methods, performance

criteria, and technical data that are in- corporated into building and fire standards and codes. Staff members are involved in more than 100 activities to develop voluntary standards.

The laboratory conducts investigations at the scene of major fires and structural

failures due to earthquakes, hurricanes, or other causes. The knowledge gained from these investigations guides research and is applied to recommendations for design and construction practices to re- duce hazards.

Contact: Richard N. Wright, Director

(301) 975-5900

email: richard.wright@nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-4032 B216 Building Research Building

http://www.bfrl.nist.gov

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

Structures

136 Structural, Earthquake, and Wind

Engineering

Building Materials

137 Cement and Concrete 137 Organic Building Materials 138 High-Performance Construction

Materials and Systems 138 Construction Materials Reference

Laboratories

Building Environment

138 Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation 139 Refrigeration Machinery

139 Heat Transfer 139 Building Controls

140 Computer-Integrated Construction

Fire Safety Engineering

140 Fire Modeling and Applications 140 Large Fires

Fire Science

141 Advanced Fire Sensing

141 Advanced Fire Suppression

1 41 Smoke and Toxic Gas Prediction

142 Polymer Combustion Research

Applied Economics

142 Microeconomic Analysis

RESEARCH FACILITIES

143 Large-Scale Structures Testing Facility

1 43 Tri-Directional Test Facility 144 Large Environmental Chamber

144 Calibrated Hot Box

144 Line Heat-Source Guarded Hot Plate

145 Advanced Insulation Facility

145 Fire Research Facilities

STRUCTURES

Division Contact:

H.S. Lew

(301) 975-6061

email: hai.lew@nist.gov

fax: (301) 869-6275 Bl68 Building Research Building

STRUCTURAL,

EARTHQUAKE, AND

WIND ENGINEERING

Under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, NIST performs research and development work used in standards for

the seismic safety of structures. Experimental and analytical research under way at NIST contributes directly to the development

of design and construction standards for new and existing buildings and lifeline

structures. Other structural research involves determination of limit states and identification of mechanisms of failure and

establishing criteria to ensure structural

safety and serviceability.

The results provide designers and constructors with improved methods to predict and

assess the resistance of buildings and structures to seismic and wind loads, guidelines

for strengthening new and existing structures, and technologies to revise civil engineering related standards and codes.
BUILDING AND FIRE RESEARCH LABORATORY

Current research addresses:

• a rational procedure to determine

the ultimate shear strength of partially reinforced masonry walls;

• strength and ductility of connections in precast concrete structures;

• evaluation criteria for base-isolation sys- tems and test procedures for evaluating the response of structures subjected to seismic

loading;

• strengthening methodologies for concrete frame structures; and

• performance of non-structural components.

Other structural research includes:

• non-destructive testing methods to detect internal flaws and discontinuities in structural members:

• studies of structural performance for developing standards and test methods for high-performance concrete in major construction applications;

• response of low-rise structures and

cladding to extreme wind loads;

• techniques and instrumentation for assessing the properties of existing structures and for developing technical criteria and

methodologies for strengthening and repair- ing existing structural members and systems;

• analytical and experimental methods for

identification of dynamic response characteristics of flexible members and structural networks;

• response measurements of full-scale

structures; and

• reliability of compliant offshore

structures.

Contact:

H.S. Lew

(301) 975-6061

email: hai.lew@nist.gov B168 Building Research Building

BUILDING MATERIALS

Division Contact:

Geoffrey J. Frohnsdorff

(301) 975-6706

email: geoffrey.frohnsdorff@nist.gov

fax: (301) 990-6891 B368 Building Research Building

CEMENT AND CONCRETE

NIST researchers are developing a funda- mental understanding of the relationship between chemistry, microstructure, performance, and service life of conventional and

high-performance concrete and other inorganic building materials. Their goal is

to develop tools for predicting the behavior

of these materials and their service lifetimes. Because the service life of concrete largely depends on the transport of water, dissolved

salts, and gases in the pore system of the

concrete, researchers are developing mathematical representations of the microstructure of concrete and models for use in predicting its diffusivity and permeability.

Models are being developed to consider service conditions, including the chemistry of the environment; the transport rate of reactants by diffusion, convection, and capillarity; and reaction mechanisms.

Research projects include development and

validation of models for simulating microstructure development in cement pastes as

the cement hydrates and the degradation of

concrete. Artificial intelligence systems are being developed for optimizing the selection

of materials and for diagnosing the causes

of material degradation. The research is performed using a variety of techniques,

including scanning electron microscopy,

computerized image analysis, X-ray diffraction, and thermal analysis.

This work helps the U.S. construction industry to be competitive by providing a strong

technical basis for standards for concrete and concrete materials. The research is coor- dinated with industry and voluntary standards organizations and trade associations, the National Science Foundation's Center

for Advanced Cement-Based Materials, and

federal and state government agencies.

Contact: James R. Clifton

(301) 975-6707

email: james.clifton@nist.gov B348 Building Research Building

ORGANIC BUILDING

MATERIALS

NIST is conducting basic and applied re- search to develop methods for predicting the performance and service life of organic

building materials such as protective coatings for steel, polymer-matrix composites, and roofing materials. Researchers are investigating degradation mechanisms,

improving characterization methods, and de- veloping mathematical models of the degradation processes. Stochastic models, which

are based in reliability theory and lifetesting analysis, are included in the modeling efforts for all three of these materials.

To help in understanding the mechanisms

of degradation and provide data for models,

materials are characterized in many ways, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, scanning

electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray, and visual and infrared imaging.

Researchers also are developing improved ways to characterize atmospheric environ- ments to which these materials are exposed. Characterization of environmental parameters that cause degradation is needed to link material properties with service life.

The NIST research strengthens the scientific and technical basis for engineering
138 BUILDING AND FIRE RESEARCH LABORATORY

standards for organic building materials developed by voluntary consensus standards

organizations. Sometimes, as in the Coatings Service Life Prediction Consortium and

the Consortium for Performance of TapeBonded Seams for Elastomeric Roofing

Membranes, the research is carried out in

close collaboration with, and support from,

industry and other federal agencies.

Contact: Jonathan W. Martin

(301) 975-6707

email: jonathan.martin@nist.gov

B350 Building Research Building

NIST's High-Performance Construction Materials and Systems Program is a BFRL-wide

research program. It supports the national program, CONMAT, which the Civil Engineering Research Foundation and 10 industry groups established "to develop the high-performance construction materials and systems necessary for America's well- being and international competitiveness in the 21st Century." The NIST program involves four of BFRL's divisions—Structures, Building Materials, Fire Sciences, and Fire

Safety Engineering—and its Office of Applied Economics. The program encompasses

high-performance concrete, steel, polymermatrix composites, organic coatings, and

roofing materials and is developing rational methods for evaluating, by measurement or

prediction, all major aspects of perform- ance—structural, durability, and fire

resistance, and providing a testbed for col- laboration with industry in development of a

computer-integrated knowledge system

(CIKS) for high-performance construction materials and systems. The results of the NIST program will facilitate acceptance of

new and improved construction materials by

the construction industry.

Contact:

S. Shyam-Sunder

(301) 975-6713

email: sshyam-sunder@nist.gov

B350 Building Research Building

CONSTRUCTION

MATERIALS REFERENCE

LABORATORIES

NIST's Construction Materials Reference

Laboratories (CMRL), managed by BFRL,

comprises the ASTM-sponsored Cement and

Concrete Reference Laboratory (CCRL)

founded in 1929 and the AASHTO (American

Association of State Highway Transportation

Officials) -sponsored AASHTO Materials Ref- erence Laboratory (AMRL) founded in 1965. The laboratories provide a reimbursable, vol- untary, quality assurance service for more

than 1,200 commercial and other laboratories that test construction materials for compliance with standards—ASTM standards

for cements and other concrete materials in the case of CCRL, and AASHTO standards for almost the full range of highway construction materials in the case of AMRL. The services of both laboratories comprise laboratory

inspections by CMRL's staff of inspectors and operation of large proficiency sample

programs. CMRL has been described as "an outstanding example of governmentindustry collaboration" for its contributions

to the quality of construction.

Contact: James A. Pielert

(301) 975-6746

email: james.pielert@nist.gov A365 Building Research Building

BUILDING ENVIRONMENT

Division Contact: James E. Hill

(301) 975-5851

email: james.hill@nist.gov

fax: (301) 990-4192 B306 Building Research Building

INDOOR AIR QUALITY

AND VENTILATION

Computer simulation programs and meas- urement procedures are being developed and

applied by NIST researchers to better understand the phenomena of air and contaminant transport in buildings and to support

industry efforts to improve environmental

conditions in buildings in a cost-effective manner. The results of this research are pro- viding reliable methods to design buildings

and HVAC systems and to evaluate ventilation characteristics and indoor pollutant concentrations in buildings.

The modeling efforts include the develop- ment and application of multizone airflow and indoor air quality models, specifically

the CONTAM series, which predicts airflows and contaminant concentrations in multi- zone building systems. CONTAM has been

used at NIST to study the indoor air quality

impacts of HVAC systems in single-family

residential buildings, ventilation in large mechanically ventilated office buildings,

and radon entry and transport in large

residential, office, and school buildings.

Measurement procedures are being devel- oped and demonstrated to evaluate build- ing ventilation and indoor pollutant

concentrations. These procedures range from sophisticated tracer gas methods used predominantly in building research efforts

to less involved procedures that can be employed by building operators. NIST re- searchers are developing new test procedures

and demonstrating them in the field to evaluate their feasibility and reliability. The

HIGH-PERFORMANCE

CONSTRUCTION

MATERIALS AND SYSTEMS
BUILDING AND FIRE RESEARCH LABORATORY

efforts in which these procedures are demonstrated in the field have resulted in the development of an important database of building ventilation and indoor air quality

performance in the field.

Contact: Andrew K. Persily

(301) 975-6418

email: andrew.persily@nist.gov A3 13 Building Research Building

laboratory studies, pool-boiling and flow- boiling heat-transfer coefficients are measured for alternative refrigerants and

refrigerant mixtures, including tests with

pool-boiling additives.

Contact:

Piotr A. Domanski

(301) 975-5877

email: piotr.domanski@nist.gov

Bl 14 Building Research Building

HEAT TRANSFER

Buildings account for over 60 percent of

all electricity used in the United States and

almost 40 percent of all natural gas con- sumed within the United States, at an an- nual cost that exceeds $170 billion. A

significant portion of this energy is used to provide space heating and cooling. Researchers at NIST are developing basic data and simulation models for heat, air, and

moisture transfer through building envelope

components. They are enhancing the capabilities of MOIST, a widely used computer

model for predicting moisture transfer within the building envelope. They are devel- oping a Standard Reference Material (SRM)

that will be used to calibrate private-sector

facilities for measuring thermal perform- ance of windows while maintaining the supply of three other SRMs used to calibrate insulation manufacturers' "in-house" in- strumentation. In addition to conducting measurements for industry on conventional

building insulation products, researchers within the heat transfer group are developing measurement techniques to assess the thermal performance of new insulation products with superior thermal performance. A

study currently is being conducted to deter- mine the energy-savings potential of reflective roofing materials.

A 1-m guarded hot plate is used to develop SRMs; to determine thermal conductivity

values for various materials, such as CFC- blown insulation; and to provide measure- ment services to manufacturers and

researchers. A calibrated hot box is used to

measure the steady-state and dynamic per- formance of full-scale wall systems. A calo- rimeter and finite-element models are used

to characterize the performance of advanced

insulation systems such as gas-filled and vacuum insulation panels.

This work provides the national "meter bar"

for the thermal insulation industry. All advertised thermal insulation product perform- ance is traceable to measurements made in

this program.

Contact:

A. Hunter Fanney

(301) 975-5864

email: hunter.fanney@nist.gov B320 Building Research Building

BUILDING CONTROLS

NIST research is fostering the development

of more intelligent, integrated, and opti- mized building mechanical systems. A dynamic building/heating, ventilating, and

air-conditioning control system simulation program is used to study HVAC/control sys- tem dynamics and interactions. An ex- panded building management and controls laboratory is used to assist the building controls industry in the development, evaluation, and testing of communication

protocol standards for the open exchange of information. NIST technologies serve as a

basis for ASHRAE standards to assist the

control system manufacturers to develop

interoperable systems and methods for test- ing conformance to the standard.

The application of "smart" control systems

to buildings is a relatively new area of re- search. Plans call for exploring how real- time models, on-line system identification, optimal control, and fault detection and

diagnostics can be combined to improve

control system performance, make control

strategy decisions that optimize building

operations, and advise the building operator

REFRIGERATION

MACHINERY

NIST researchers identify and characterize

refrigerant and refrigerant mixtures to improve the efficiency of refrigeration cycles and replace harmful chlorine-containing

refrigerants that were implicated in the destruction of the upper-atmosphere ozone

layer. The researchers evaluate alternative

refrigerant cycles, systems, and components

that will operate efficiently with new refrigerants. Working with industry, they improve

capabilities in determining the performance

of alternative refrigerants and help refrigeration equipment manufacturers in designing

refrigeration systems.

The researchers evaluate alternative refriger- ants and a wide variety of refrigeration

cycles by using a breadboard heat pump to which different components and circuits can

be "plugged" and "unplugged." These

breadboard modifications are based on theoretical and simulation studies conducted to

find the optimal combination of mixtures and appropriate refrigeration cycle for the

best and most versatile performance. Fluoro- carbon and hydrocarbon refrigerants are studied in novel applications like a waterto-water heat pump or a heat pump with

evaporative cooling of the high-pressure refrigerant. In addition to simulation and
140 BUILDING AND FIRE RESEARCH LABORATORY

or manager on building operations, equip- ment problems, or maintenance require- ments. Research on smart building control systems will be performed by simulation and

emulation studies, laboratory testing, and

field studies in real buildings.

Contact: George E. Kelly

(301) 975-5870

email: george.kelly@nist.gov Bl 14 Building Research Building

Organization for Standardization's project on developing the Standard for the Ex- change of Product Model Data.

Contact: Kent A. Reed

(301) 975-5852

email: kent.reed@nist.gov

B306 Building Research Building

FIRE SAFETY

ENGINEERING

Division Contact: David D. Evans

(301) 975-6897

email: dave.evans@nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-4052 B250 Polymer Building

FIRE MODELING AND

APPLICATIONS

The United States has one of the worst fire records in the industrialized world. NIST

researchers are helping to reduce the losses and the cost of fire safety by providing

scientific and engineering bases needed by manufacturers and the fire safety community. This work involves the development of

predictive, analytical methods that permit

the quantitative assessment of hazard and

risk from fires. Researchers base these methods on numerical modeling but also include hand-calculation methods for estimating hazards and design curves/tables to be used

by architects and engineers. To ensure widespread use, the necessary data must be

readily available, and data input and presentation must be in terms readily understandable by the average professional. This

research includes strong emphasis on stateof-the-art computer graphics and computeraided design techniques. The results of this work help manufacturers, purchasers, designers, code officials, fire investigators, and

practitioners evaluate the fire hazard implications of the products and fire protection

strategies they use.

The expedient transfer of scientifically based

technology from NIST to the professional user community and the creation of a link between NIST computer-based activities and

others doing similar or complementary work

can enhance fire safety and reduce its costs. Over the past decade, NIST researchers devel- oped many computer models of various as- pects of fire. These researchers develop

engineering systems for design application and fire investigation, collect supporting

data and programs, and operate training programs and user workshops.

In addition, NIST maintains the Fire Research Information Service (FRIS) consist- ing of national and international fire research literature and FIREDOC, the auto- mated database of fire research literature. FRIS is the only comprehensive national

library resource for the fire community.

Contact: Walter W.Jones

(301) 975-6887

email: wwj@nist.gov A249 Polymer Building

LARGE FIRES

Large fires result from industrial or transportation accidents, natural disasters, arson, or when fire protection systems in constructed

facilities fail to perform adequately. While

these fires present a hazard to building occupants, firefighters, and the surrounding

area, little is known about their characteristics, their growth and control, and methods of mitigating their impact. NIST is performing research and developing tech- niques to measure and predict the behavior

of large fires and the action of building fire protection systems. Large building fires in- volve the interaction of strongly buoyant gas

flows and thermal radiation with complex

structures and, in some cases, automatic fire suppression systems. Experiments to evaluate room-size fire behavior and the perform- ance of existing fire suppression systems are being conducted to provide information that

COMPUTER-INTEGRATED

CONSTRUCTION

NIST researchers are developing rational techniques for defining and testing computer representations of information needed throughout the building process, from the conception of a building to its demolition. The goal of the program is to develop vali- dated neutral data representations for use in standards for accessing, exchanging, and ar- chiving information. As a corollary, the pro- gram seeks to develop testing methods that assure consistency, completeness, and correctness of information. The research draws on evolving information technologies, in- cluding knowledge engineering and semantic modeling. Subject areas for research include standards and codes, engineering

drawings, and product data.

Past research has resulted in methodologies

for representing, analyzing, and expressing standards and for interfacing standards to computer-aided design systems. Recent results are being applied in the development

and validation of national and international standards for product data. This work led to the improved 3D Piping IGES Application

Protocol (AP) to meet a high-priority data exchange requirement of industry and gov- ernment. It also has produced a prototype AP framework to provide a structure to classify APs and to plan DOD Computer-Aided

Acquisition and Logistics Support Program

APs and the work of the International
BUILDING AND FIRE RESEARCH LABORATORY

can be used to reduce the vulnerability to

large fires.

NIST also is measuring smoke plumes from

large, open-air fires to help develop computer models that can predict their size and

movement. Computational fluid dynamics

models based on large eddy simulation tech- nology have been developed to assess the local impact of large fires. These methods are being used by industry in preplanning analysis for potential accidents or as technical support for emergency response. In addition, NIST operates a large-scale fire research facility that is capable of detailed measure- ments of fire behavior for room size fires. Among its many uses, this facility provides data on the burning characteristics of fuel packages for use as input data to fire models.

Contact: William D. Walton

(301) 975-6872

email: william.walton@nist.gov A345 Polymer Building

FIRE SCIENCE

Division Contact: Richard Gann

(301) 975-6866

email: richard.gann@nist.gov

fax: (301) 975-4052 B250 Polymer Building

ADVANCED FIRE

SENSING

The damage from fires that are detected quickly can be kept small. NIST researchers

are studying new "fire signatures" that would enable the development of a new generation of detectors. The signals from these

detectors would be analyzed electronically to

alert occupants or suppression devices, per- haps even before flames exist. The research

also is intended to understand and provide

technology for avoiding the high false- alarm rate of current detectors. In addition, advanced concepts for fire suppression

chemicals, reduced explosion potential, and

minimizing collateral damage from the application of the suppressant are being

explored.

NIST also is developing a first-generation, fire-emulator/detector-evaluator. Identified by industry as a principal stimulant to the development and commercialization of new

fire alert devices, the emulator will provide a

well-controlled environment in which fire sensors can be exposed to highly reproducible, time-varying concentrations of combustion products at predetermined temperatures

and flow velocities. This will provide accurate determination of the sensitivity and utility of new detector designs.

Using this device will demonstrate the re- sponse of discriminating detector systems to

early fire events and will enable improved

fire protection with reduced cost and losses.

Contact: William L. Grosshandler

(301) 975-2310

email: william.grosshandler@nist.gov

B356 Polymer Building

ADVANCED FIRE

SUPPRESSION

Rapid, effective response to a fire is essential

to improve life safety and avert major property loss. Halon fire suppressants have long been used to protect the most important, sensitive, and irreplaceable facilities. Production of these chemicals has now been halted due to their deleterious effect on stratospheric ozone.

In performing leading research into replace- ments for the halons, NIST is working

closely with the industries and federal

agencies that need alternative suppression

capability, the potential manufacturers of advanced fire suppression technologies, and

other researchers in the field. NIST research

includes studying the mechanisms of highly

efficient flame extinguishants to help identify new chemicals for practical use, investi- gating the transport properties of gaseous and liquid suppressants to optimize their

effectiveness, and developing performance measures for new fire suppression

technologies.

Contact: William L. Grosshandler

(301) 975-2310

email: william.grosshandler@nist.gov B356 Polymer Building

SMOKE AND TOXIC

GAS PREDICTION

Most people who perish in fires die from smoke inhalation. Many are exposed to this smoke for longer periods because the blackness of the smoke impedes their escape from

the burning building. NIST research is devel- oping the scientific base and the predictive methods for the yields of carbon monoxide

(the predominant toxicant) and soot. These

require improved knowledge of the chemical and physical processes in flames, combined

with the fluid mechanical processes that dominate air entrainment into fire plumes

and the flow fields within a compartment.

The results of this research have been used

to formulate a global model of soot formation and oxidation processes, improve strategies for incorporating chemistry into turbulent flow fields, and extend optical investigations into flames where the effects of chemistry-turbulence interactions can be probed effectively.

Contact: Kermit Smyth

(301) 975-6490

email: kermit.smyth@nist.gov B360 Polymer Building
142 BUILDING AND FIRE RESEARCH LABORATORY

POLYMER COMBUSTION

RESEARCH

The materials industry is seeking products

that are both low in flammability and will not pose environmental hazards over their

life cycle. NIST is working on several key re- search areas needed to produce natural and

synthetic polymers and composite materials

that can meet these goals. One area is the measurement of flammability properties by bench-scale methods, directly relevant to

real fires, and the development of mathematical models that use the measured flammability properties as inputs to predict fire performance of materials in the conditions

of actual use.

Another research area concerns approaches

to environmentally acceptable, char- forming flame retardant treatments for flaming and smoldering combustion. This effort includes studying the physical and chemical

nature of char and how its properties can be enhanced. Theoretical modeling using molecular dynamics and quantum mechanics

complement the experimental work to de- velop a technical basis for the design of a new generation of fire resistant materials, which, while retaining their intended-use

properties, will be low in combustion toxicity and safe for the environment.

Contact: Takashi Kashiwagi

(301) 975-6699

email: takashi.kashiwagi@nist.gov

B258 Polymer Building

APPLIED ECONOMICS

Office Contact: Harold Marshall

(301) 975-6131

email: harold.marshall@nist.gov

fax: (301) 208-6936 B226 Building Research Building

MICROECONOMIC

ANALYSIS

The Office of Applied Economics (OAE)

conducts research and provides technical

assistance in the field of microeconomic

analysis. It provides information to decision makers in the public and private sectors who

are faced with choices among new technologies and policies relating to manufacturing,

industrial processes, the environment,

energy conservation, construction, law en- forcement, and safety. It also develops and

conducts prototype training programs in applied economics for scientists and engineers.

Benefit-cost analysis, life-cycle costing,

multicriteria decision analysis, risk analysis, and econometrics are techniques the OAE

uses to evaluate new technologies, processes, governmental programs, legislation, and

codes and standards to determine efficient

alternatives. Research areas include energy

conservation in buildings, fire safety, auto- mation, seismic design, and building eco- nomics. Products include reports of research

findings, standard methods and guidelines

for making economic evaluations, audiovisuals that teach and illustrate methods in

practice, and decision support software with documentation.

Current research includes developing and

automating a decision support system, BEES, for evaluating the environmental and economic performance of buildings; developing models and software for evaluating the

life-cycle cost effectiveness of composites and other new technology materials in construction; constructing an optimization

model for determining the appropriate

prices and levels of production for NIST's Standard Reference Materials; and providing

economic software tools for evaluating the long-term cost effectiveness of capital invest- ments in buildings and building

components.
BUILDING AND FIRE RESEARCH LABORATORY 143

RESEARCH

FACILITIES

LARGE-SCALE

STRUCTURES TESTING

FACILITY

The NIST large-scale structures testing facility consists of a universal testing machine

(UTM) that may be used with a 137-m-high

reaction buttress equipped with a horizontal hydraulic ram of 4.5-MN capacity. A combination of horizontal and vertical forces may

be applied to large-scale specimens.

CAPABILITIES The UTM portion of the facility is a hydraulically operated machine of 53-4-MN capacity and is one of the largest in the world. It tests

large structural components and applies the

forces needed to calibrate very large capacity

force-measuring devices. It can apply compression forces to column sections or fabri- cated members up to 18 m in height. The

reaction buttress will resist horizontal forces

to 4.5 MN from floor level to 12.2 m high. Flexure and tension specimens may be subjected to forces up to 18 MN and 26 MN, respectively. Two-meter-thick test floors east and west of the machine may be used to tie specimens in place.

A servo system has been added to the origi- nal manual controls of the UTM. It can be programmed by function generator or computer to create any desired loading function using force, strain, or displacement as the

variable.

Loads may be applied to a specimen by both

the UTM and horizontal ram. A four-rail

track system equipped with low-friction rollers has been used for concrete column tests. An "A" frame was used to resist horizontal

reaction forces generated by the ram and

was attached to the buttress at the desired

height.

APPLICATIONS A testing program was conducted to evaluate

the performance of concrete columns 1.5 m

in diameter and up to 9-1 m high. Another

test series evaluated fracture propagation in

steel plates 1 m wide and 0.1 m and 0.15 m

thick. A third experiment used the servocontrol system, programming repeated loads applied to composite specimens.

Low-cycle fatigue tests, destructive or ulti- mate loads, earthquake simulation in two

dimensions, and complex loading of components may all be accomplished in this

facility. Servo operation of this machine

creates a unique potential for precisely controlled very large forces applying to test components.

AVAILABILITY This facility, which NIST staff must operate,

is available for cooperative or independent

research. Tests should be arranged as far in advance as possible as special hardware may

be needed for attaching specimens.

Contact:

H.S. Lew

(301) 975-6061

email: hai.lew@nist.gov

B168 Building Research Building

TRI-DIRECTIONAL

TEST FACILITY

The tri-directional test facility at NIST is a

computer-controlled apparatus capable of applying cyclic loads simultaneously in

three directions. It is used to examine the

strength of structural components or assemblages under the application of a variety of loading phenomena, such as an earthquake

or wind. This is one of the largest such facilities in the world, in terms of both its high

load capacity and its capability to handle

large, full-scale specimens.

CAPABILITIES The facility can apply forces and/or displace- ments in six directions at one end of a speci- men. The other end of the specimen is fixed. Specimens up to 3-3 m high x 3 m in length or width may be tested. The six degrees of freedom are translations and rotations in and about three orthogonal axes.

Six closed-loop, servo-controlled hydraulic

actuators that receive instructions from a computer apply the forces. Operating under computer control, the facility simultaneously maintains control of the load and/or

displacements in each of the three orthogonal directions. Loads may be applied up to 2,000 kN in the vertical and about 890 kN in each of the two horizontal directions.

APPLICATIONS The test facility is limited only by the size of

the test specimen. Loads may be cyclic or unidirectional depending on the type of load- ing condition being simulated. The facility

is used to study masonry shear walls subjected to reverse cyclic lateral loading and

precast concrete connections also subjected

to reversed cyclic lateral loading. This facility supports NIST's role in conducting re- search for seismic design and construction standards in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program.

AVAILABILITY The tri-directional test facility is used by NIST staff in a variety of NIST research projects and in collaborative projects with other

agencies. It also is available for independent

research but must be operated by NIST staff.

Contact:

H.S. Lew

(301) 975-6061

email: hai.lew@nist.gov Bl68 Building Research Building
144 BUILDING AND FIRE RESEARCH LABORATORY

LARGE ENVIRONMENTAL

CHAMBER

The large environmental chamber is

14.9 m x 12.8 m x 9.5 m high. It has an

earth floor and may be excavated as needed

for building construction. The chamber is one of the largest of its kind, capable of ac- commodating two-story houses under simulated environmental conditions. This chamber has been used for thermal performance, heating and cooling load measurements, and energy consumption studies of buildings of different kinds.

CAPABILITIES The chamber is capable of automatically

maintaining steady and/or dynamic temperature profiles from -45 °C to 65 °C and

humidity from 50 percent relative humidity

(rh) at 1.7 °C up to 35 °C dewpoint at 49 °C. A wider range of rh (15 percent to 80 percent) may be obtained manually. Air circulation maintains the temperature vari- ation within the chamber to within ±1 °C. Damper-control return ducts in all four cor- ners of the chamber permit good air distribution. Supply air is furnished by ceiling

diffusers.

APPLICATIONS The chamber is used to measure indoor temperature fluctuation, heat loss and heat gain

through building envelopes, energy conservation and moisture condensation studies, and air infiltration under simulated and dynamically fluctuating outdoor temperature

cycles. The chamber has been used to test a

variety of conventional and special struc- tures and equipment, including military hardware (such as inflatable life rafts, relocatable air-inflatable hospital units, and

portable walk-in coolers) under extreme cli- matic conditions.

AVAILABILITY This facility, along with several smaller chambers (including one designed for vehicles), has substantial potential for use by

researchers in industry and universities. Collaborative programs and individual research can be arranged.

Contact:

Piotr A. Domanski

(301) 975-5877

email: piotr.domanski@nist.gov

Bl 14 Building Research Building

CALIBRATED HOT BOX

The NIST calibrated hot box measures the heat transfer coefficient of full-scale build- ing wall sections. Designed according to ASTM Standard C976, it consists of two

large, heavily insulated chambers—an envi- ronmental chamber and a climatic chamber—each with one open side. Indoor and

outdoor conditions are simulated in the chambers. The open test section measures

3 m x 4.6 m. A well-insulated frame supports the wall specimen clamped between

the open sides of the two chambers.

CAPABILITIES This facility is the only one of its kind de- signed to perform simultaneous dynamic

transfer measurements of air, moisture, and

heat during simulated winter and summer

conditions under steady-state and dynamic

climatic conditions. While the environ- mental chamber temperature and humidity

are maintained to simulate a relatively steady and narrow range of indoor conditions, the climatic chamber can attain temperatures ranging from -40 °C to 65 °C. The apparatus measures the performance of homogeneous or composite walls having a range of thermal resistance from 0.35 m" to

9 8.8 m • C/W. It accommodates wall speci- mens up to 0.6 m thick and up to 700 kg/m

2

in weight per unit area.

APPLICATIONS NIST researchers use the facility to develop standard test methods to evaluate dynamic

thermal performance of full-scale walls under cyclic temperature conditions. The build- ing industry and government agencies are seeking reliable evaluation techniques for wall thermal mass, especially to predict energy consumption of buildings with heavy mass effects in comparison to standard wood-frame buildings.

NIST has participated in round-robin test

activities with domestic and overseas ther- mal insulation laboratories.

AVAILABILITY The facility provides a unique opportunity to measure simultaneous transfer of air, moisture, and heat through wall and roof speci- mens with openings for windows and doors. While available for use by those outside NIST, this apparatus must be operated by NIST staff.

Contact:

A. Hunter Fanney

(301) 975-5864

email: hunter.fanney@nist.gov B320 Building Research Building

LINE HEAT-SOURCE

GUARDED HOT PLATE

The 1 -meter guarded hot-plate apparatus measures thermal conductivity of building

insulation materials. The thermal resistance

of all insulation products sold in the United

States is traceable to this apparatus. NIST re- searchers use the hot plate to provide cali- bration specimens for guarded hot plates in other laboratories. The hot plate also is used

to investigate edge heat loss from thick ther- mal insulation materials. This facility is the only one of its kind in the world that will permit low-density thick insulation to be measured with an uncertainty of less than

0.5 percent.

CAPABILITIES This apparatus has a test temperature range

of 80 °C for the hot plate and -20 °C for the cold plates. The apparatus permits measure- ment of vertical and horizontal heat flow to simulate heat transfer through ceilings and
BUILDING AND FIRE RESEARCH LABORATORY

walls, respectively. This apparatus operates within its own carefully controlled temperature and humidity environment shielded by an insulated enclosure. This facility provides

for absolute measurement of thermal resis- tance of thick and low-density test speci- mens used as transfer standards. These

standards are used to calibrate or verify heat flowmeter (ASTM C518) or guarded hotplate (ASTM C177) equipment.

AVAILABILITY This apparatus is available for use by those

outside NIST, but it must be operated by NIST staff. Collaborative programs may be

arranged.

Contact:

A. Hunter Fanney

(301) 975-5864

email: hunter.fanney@nist.gov B320 Building Research Building

ADVANCED INSULATION

FACILITY

The advanced insulation facility consists of experimental apparatus and analytical tools

to assess the thermal performance of ad- vanced insulation systems. These systems

include gas-filled, powder-filled, and metalclad vacuum panels. The facility consists of a calorimeter facility to measure the ther- mal resistance of advanced insulation panels, a state-of-the-art infrared thermography

system to characterize thermal anomalies, and finite element software.

CAPABILITIES The maximum panel size that can be ac- commodated by the calorimeter facility is

0.9 by 0.9 m. The maximum thickness that can be accommodated is 0.1 m. The temperature of one side of the panel may be varied from -15 °C to 10 °C. The other side of

the panel, encased by a calorimeter, is maintained at laboratory ambient temperature. The infrared thermography system consists

of both short-wave and long-wave scanners and advanced software that permits analysis

of both real-time and stored images. The

finite element software is applicable to all

classes of advanced insulation systems.

APPLICATIONS The facility is used to measure the thermal

resistance of advanced insulation systems in- cluding, but not limited, to gas-filled, metalclad vacuum, and powder-filled panels. The

facility is well suited to measure non- homogeneous insulation systems but could

be utilized to measure the thermal perform- ance of conventional insulation materials.

AVAILABILITY This facility has substantial potential for de- velopers of advanced insulation systems in industry and academia. Cooperative Research and Development Agreements are used to establish research projects within

this facility.

Contact:

A. Hunter Fanney

(301) 975-5864

email: hunter.fanney@nist.gov B320 Building Research Building

FIRE RESEARCH

FACILITIES

As the federal government's principal fire re- search laboratory, NIST maintains some of

the country's best and most extensive fire

testing facilities. A substantial portion of NIST's fire tests are performed in a specially equipped fire research building, which measures 27 m x 57 m and is designed for largescale fire experiments. Smoke abatement equipment permits large fire tests to be conducted safely without polluting the environment.

In addition to several individual burn

rooms, which are modified from time-to- time to accommodate special NIST testing requirements, the facility houses several specially designed calorimeters for measuring

the rate of heat release from materials and

large samples, a room/corridor facility for

studying smoke and toxic gas transport, pilot furnaces, and reduced-scale model enclosures. Also, a two-story "townhouse" is used

to study fire spread from a burning room, smoke transport between levels, and sprinkler performance. The townhouse features a

living room that is continuously weighed,

allowing the burning rate of finish materials to be measured.

A new computer-based data acquisition sys- tem provides state-of-the-art data collection

capabilities for all large-scale fire testing. Up to 300 instruments with scanning rates

of more than 100 channels per second can

be dedicated to a single test. During an ex- periment, real-time, full-color graphics present the data as collected, with automatic

conversion to engineering units for gas

analysis, rate of heat release, temperature, and other measurements.

CAPABILITIES • Heat-Release-Rate Calorimeters. NIST

pioneered and developed the oxygen con- sumption methodology for measuring the

rate of heat release and has used it longer

and in more devices than any other laboratory. The major benefit of this technique is

the independence of the apparatus in measuring enthalpy responses to changes in heat

release rate.

NIST has two calorimeters available for measuring the rate of heat release of free- standing items, such as pieces of furniture. The smaller one has a capacity of 0.5 MW;

the larger, 7 MW. Provisions for measuring

smoke production and gas species yield are available with both instruments.

• Room/Corridor Facility. NIST researchers have constructed and used a room/corridor

facility to evaluate an analytical model that

predicts the transport of smoke and toxic gases from the room of fire origin into the

corridor and secondary target rooms. The design of this facility makes it possible to measure the hazards associated with the burning

of wall linings or room furnishings by evaluating the rate of heat release, smoke production, and toxic gas generation. The facility
146 BUILDING AND FIRE RESEARCH LABORATORY

is available in its present form or with design modifications for evaluating a variety

of building contents and furnishings.

• Burn Rooms. A standard burn room built

to ASTM specifications, 2.4 m x 37 m x 2.4 m high, adjoins a large overhead hood that

collects the exhaust products from the room

fires. The exhaust collection system is cali- brated to measure the rate of heat release and the generation rates of smoke and other combustion products from the fire. The

burn room is available for developmental

and validation studies of mathematical models and for studies of fire performance of fur- nishings and interior finish materials.

The room fire environment can be characterized in terms of temperature and pressure

gradients and the spatial distribution of ther- mal flux, gaseous combustion products, and

smoke. Other measurements permit the cal- culation of thermal losses to the room

boundaries and mass and energy flows from the room. Smaller burn rooms also are

available.

• Pilot Furnaces. A pilot furnace for evaluat- ing the fire endurance of wall assemblies or

floor/ceiling assemblies is available. This

furnace, capable of handling specimens

1 m x 1 m, may be used for research purposes only and cannot be used for code ac- ceptance testing. Typically, fire exposure

similar to that specified by ASTM El 19, under carefully controlled conditions of fur- nace pressure and oxygen concentration, can be carried out. Depending on the parameters required, a variety of other exposure conditions can be applied.

• Reduced-Scale Models. NIST facilities are available for reduced-scale modeling of fullscale fire configurations. Physical models

offer an economical means of achieving sufficient variation of physical parameters for a

generalized understanding of fire behavior. Based on the results of reduced-scale experi- ments, limited full-scale verification then can be performed.

AVAILABILITY

Industry, university, and government representatives are encouraged to use these fire

testing facilities on a collaborative or inde- pendent basis, with certain restrictions. For

safety reasons, NIST staff must closely supervise all use of the facilities.

Contact:

Daniel Madrzykowski

(301) 975-6677

email: madrzy@nist.gov

A345 Polymers Building
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

LABORATORY

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

FACILITIES

About 60 percent of all U.S. workers have

jobs that depend on the information they generate and receive on advanced infor- mation networks. Innovations in computer hardware, software, and digital communications will challenge managers to apply new technology for productivity increases throughout the American economy in the coming years and will have pervasive effects on industry structure as well as on the quality7 of govern- ment services. The merging of computer

and telecommunications technology

heightens the importance of an inte- grated approach to developing and using

computer and related telecommunications systems. As the technology changes,

it will be essential to find ways to enable

organizations to preserve their invest- ments in applications systems, to upgrade

existing systems, and to improve the portability of staff skills, data, and software.

Also, since computers will be distributed throughout society, both at home and in

the workplace, computer integration, interoperability, usability, reliability, and security will become even more important.

To rise to this challenge, NIST has consolidated the activities of the Computer

Systems Laboratory (CSL) and the Computing and Applied Mathematics Laboratory (CAML) into a new Information Technology Laboratory.

Contact: Shukri Wakid, Director

(301) 975-2900

email: swakid@nist.gov

fax: (301) 840-1357

A231 Technology Building

http://www.nist.gov/itl

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES

Software Diagnostics and Conformance

Testing

147 Software Quality 147 Conformance Testing 148 Future Standards tor Software 148 Geographic Information Systems

Computer Security

148 Security Technology 149 Systems and Network Security

Advanced Network Technologies

149 High-Speed Networks 149 Multimedia and Digital Video 149 Next-Generation Internet

Human-Machine Interface Technologies

150 Spoken Language Technology 150 Text Search and Retrieval 150 Visual Image Processing

151 Three-Dimensional Visualization

Applied and Computational Mathematics

151 Mathematical Modeling

151 Mathematical Software 152 Optimization and Computational

Geometry

152 Image Compression

Statistical Engineering

152 Industrial Experimentation 153 Measurement Process Evaluation

High-Performance Systems and Services

153 Scientific Visualization

153 Performance of Modern-Architecture Computers

154 Continual Upgrades

RESEARCH FACILITIES

154 Computer and Network Security Facility

155 Advanced Network Facility

SOFTWARE DIAGNOSTICS

AND CONFORMANCE

TESTING

Division Contact: MarkW. Skall

(301) 975-3262

email: mark.skall@nist.gov

fax: (301) 948-6213 Room 562 NIST North

SOFTWARE QUALITY

Growing dependence on computers requires assurance that critical systems will operate

reliably and exactly as intended without adverse effects, even when outside circumstances cause other systems to fail. NIST

researchers are studying problems and potential solutions in building and operating highintegrity systems and are looking at life-cycle methodology, risk management, formal methods, object-oriented design, software reliability, clean-room techniques, and formal

verification.

Contact:

D. Richard Kuhn

(301) 975-3290

email: kuhn@nist.gov

Room 517 NIST North

CONFORMANCE TESTING

NIST researchers are designing and developing test methods for conformance tests and

using these methods to produce test metrics and test suites for evaluating the quality and

correctness of information technology products. Several conformance test metrics and

test suites have been produced for evaluating

implementations of language compilers (C, COBOL, Ada), computer graphics
148 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

metafile, database language SQL, Information Resource Dictionary System, Remote Database Access, and POSIX. In collaboration with industry, the user community,

and various testing laboratories, NIST re- searchers work to identify new technologies

and to develop measurement schemes, test

collections, reference implementations, test

suites, and tools necessary to advance the technology and produce usable, reliable implementations.

Past research has resulted in a method for minimizing subjectivity in the evaluation of

visual results in graphics testing. This method is implemented by a customizable interface, randomized self-explanatory displays, and automatic capture of results. Recent activities focus on providing confor- mance test services and test metrics electronically via the Internet. One test service automatically routes test data received via email through series of tests that evaluates

the data and generates a report describing

the test results. A prototype implementation

for testing conformance of distributed relational databases is being developed using the World Wide Web to provide the access, connectivity, and interface between the remote

databases.

Contact: Lynne S. Rosenthal

(301) 975-3353

email: lsr@nist.gov

Room 552 NIST North

FUTURE STANDARDS FOR

SOFTWARE

For the past several years, NIST has recog- nized the need to increase its involvement in technology specifications used in the develop- ment of high-technology software. In today's information processing environment it is be- coming increasingly common for these new

technology specifications to quickly become

de facto standards. NIST researchers are seek- ing to become involved with organizations

that are developing pivotal, forward-looking

technology specifications in all areas related

to high-technology software. This involve- ment will emphasize the development of ap- propriate metrics, measurement technology,

and techniques for testing conformance to new high-technology software specifications.

Contact: Bruce K. Rosen

(301) 975-3345

email: bruce.rosen@nist.gov

Room 562 NIST North

GEOGRAPHIC

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Geographic information systems (GIS) tech- nology allows users to collect, manage, and

analyze large volumes of spatially referenced and associated data. New research

directions are emerging from the interdisci- plinary uses of GIS technology through studies integrating computer graphics standards, database management standards, expert sys- tems technology, and Global Positioning

Satellite technology to support GIS applications. This group's research is focused on

providing GIS compatibility through standards and conformance testing for GIS standards, such as the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (FIPS PUB 173). Because the activities of many governmental and private or- ganizations are land- or location-based or

both, GIS technology will be important in in- tegrating existing spatial data to administer, manage, and monitor people, money, and activities in accomplishing the objectives of

these organizations.

Contact: Bruce K. Rosen

(301) 975-3345

email: bruce.rosen@nist.gov

Room 562 NIST North

COMPUTER SECURITY

Division Contact:

Stuart W. Katzke

(301) 975-2934

email: stuart.katzke@nist.gov

fax: (301) 948-1233 Room 426 NIST North

SECURITY TECHNOLOGY

Research and development efforts focus on common, interoperable cryptographic security technology, such as algorithms, functionality, and interfaces, and on protocols; public key infrastructure for managing public key certificates needed to facilitate data

integrity, authentication, access control, nonrepudiation, and data confidentiality services

in global applications; and application interfaces for cryptographic modules. Develop- ment efforts include standards, guidance on

the use of cryptographic technology, and con- formance tests so that strong cryptographic

mechanisms will be available for the protection of sensitive information. Cryptographic

standards promote interoperability and an ac- ceptable level of security. Testing of products

which were built to conform to the standards

verifies that the provisions of the standard were implemented correctly. NIST has begun

testing of more complex cryptographic modules through accredited, private-sector laboratories and plans to promote testing of

entire systems in the future. The Crypto- graphic Module Validation Program encompasses testing for cryptographic modules

(Federal Information Processing Standard

(FIPS) 140-1), the Data Encryption Standard and its modes of operation (FIPS 46-2 and

81), the Secure Hash Standard (FIPS 180-1), and the Digital Signature Standard (FIPS

186). For details, see the Computer Security
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

Resource Clearinghouse, which may be

accessed at http://csrc.nist.gov/cryptval/.

Contact:

Miles Smid

(301) 975-2938

email: miles.smid@nist.gov

Room 426 NIST North

SYSTEMS AND NETWORK

SECURITY

Research, development, and application efforts focus on secure, interoperable systems

to protect the integrity7

, confidentiality, reliability, and availability" of information and

systems. R&D efforts addresses technical

areas such as advanced countermeasures

(for example, intrusion detection, firewalls, and scanning tools): vulnerability analysis

and mitigation, access control, and incident

response; security criteria and metrics; assur- ance methods; role-based access control to network resources and Internet security

(such as key management).

Contact: Tim Grance

(301) 975-4242

email: tim.grance@nist.gov

Room 426 NIST North

ADVANCED NETWORK

TECHNOLOGIES

Division Contact:

Craig Hunt

(301) 975-3600

email: craig.hunt@nist.gov

fax: (301) 590-0932 Room 445 NIST North

HIGH-SPEED NETWORKS

NIST researchers are working with industry

in the development of protocols for the Broadband Integrated Services Digital Net- work (B-ISDN) or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks, and Hybrid FiberCoaxial (HFC) systems. The goal is to expedite the development and deployment of high-speed, interoperable communications

systems and services. NIST provides leader- ship at the ATM Forum in developing test

suites for ATM product interoperability and

standards conformance testing.

Research projects include ATM network simulation and modeling, evaluating the completeness and correctness of ATM routing

protocols, evaluating proposals for the Media

Access Protocol for HFC systems, and developing test and measurement methods for interoperability and conformance.

Contact: David Su

(301) 975-6194

email: david.su@nist.gov

Room 445 NIST North

MULTIMEDIA AND DIGITAL

VIDEO

NIST researchers are working with industry

to promote the development of cost-effective,

interoperable, distributed multimedia appli- cations and to enable the development of

digital video technologies for broadcast, interactive television, video-on-demand, and

video conferencing. Research emphasizes measurement techniques for characterization of distributed multimedia tech- nologies and digital video devices and

services; techniques for integrating multi-media services with network technologies; and

industry-driven standards for multimedia

technologies and digital video devices and

services.

Research projects involving video teleconfer- encing technologies include close collaboration with the International Multimedia

Teleconferencing Consortium to define and

conduct interoperability testing for T.120 and H.324 standards-based products and re- search and development activities related to

teleconferencing technologies over multicast. The latter includes the definition of a convergence layer between T.120 and trans- port multicast and fast track improvements

to the T.120 International Telecommunications Union standard. Research projects in- volving resource sharing in a multimedia

environment include the development and

implementation of mechanisms for sharing

applications among participants on different platforms through a collaborative Java-based

application.

Contact:

Jean-Philippe Favreau

(301) 975-3634

email: jean-philippe.favreau@nist.gov

Room 445 NIST North

NEXT-GENERATION

INTERNET

NIST researchers are working to remove barriers to the next generation of reliable and se- cure internetworking technologies and

integrated network services. The focus of re- search is on testing methods and reference implementations for next-generation in- ternetworking technologies; interoperability

among next-generation internetworking

products; and measurement techniques and

performance characterizations for network

services that integrate voice, video, and data.

Research projects include investigating

changes to the Internet architecture that will support guaranteed bandwidth and quality of

services for real-time applications, such as audio, video, and synchronized data. This

project focuses on the scalability of the pro- posed enhancements, interoperability issues, and methods and metrics to characterize the

digital data streams.

Contact:

Craig Hunt

(301) 975-3600

email: craig.hunt@nist.gov

Room 445 NIST North
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

HUMAN-MACHINE

INTERFACE TECHNOLOGIES

Division Contact: Shukri Wakid

(301) 975-2900

email: swakid@nist.gov

fax: (301) 840-1357

A231 Technology Building

SPOKEN LANGUAGE

TECHNOLOGY

Recent advances in automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology have enabled the de- velopment of automatic dictation and

spoken language understanding systems and

prototype spoken language interfaces to in- formation technology. Interdisciplinary

efforts involve the natural language processing, information retrieval, and cognitive engineering (for example, usability testing and

human factors) communities.

Much of the relevant research is "corpus- based" and relies on shared use of spoken

language databases and standard test methods.

NIST works closely with researchers, other government agencies (such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), and the

Linguistics Data Consortium in the collection, processing, characterization, and distri- bution of spoken language corpora. Approximately 150 CD-ROMs have been pro- duced by NIST for use within the ASR and

spoken language research community. NIST

also develops and implements periodic

benchmark tests to define the state of the art

for research ASR systems. The scope of these

tests includes several forms of large vocabulary continuous speech, including

speech read from prepared texts, conversational speech, goal-directed spontaneous

speech, and, most recently, radio broadcasts. Research facilities include Sun workstations,

speech-signal-processing software tools and

peripherals, and CD-ROM production tools. Areas of interest include characterization of spoken language data, ASR, natural lan- guage understanding and information access, and usability testing.

Contact: David S. Pallett (301) 975-2935

email: david.pallett@nist.gov A216 Technology Building

TEXT SEARCH AND

RETRIEVAL

NIST is working to accelerate the transfer of

better text search and retrieval technology

into commercial systems. One approach is to conduct a conference attracting international participation from more than 50 re- search groups in text retrieval, both from

industry and academia. The Text Retrieval Conference (TREC) is now starting its fifth

year. Participating groups work with a large,

diverse test collection built at NIST, submit

their results for a common evaluation, and

meet for a 3-day workshop to compare tech- niques and results. The conference is starting

to serve as a major technology-transfer

mechanism in the area of text retrieval.

NIST also has developed a public domain

prototype retrieval system (the PRISE sys- tem) capable of handling over 3 gigabytes of

data. This system uses natural language in- put and state-of-the-art statistical ranking

mechanisms. The prototype serves as a re- search vehicle within NIST and as a starter

kit for groups outside NIST interested in working with these new types of search engines or with the Z39-50 (ANSI/NISO) protocol for search and retrieval, which is used for communication between the PRISE client and server. The PRISE server is especially de- signed to isolate the search engine from the

details of the Z39-50 protocol and to mini- mize the effort needed to interface

the server to natural language search engines other than PRISE. More information is available on http://potomac.ncsl.nist.gov/

Contact: Donna K. Harman

(301) 975-3569

email: donna.harman@nist.gov

A216 Technology Building

VISUAL IMAGE

PROCESSING

The visual image processing group develops

test methodology and testbed systems and

publishes test data for evaluating image

based systems used in optical-character rec- ognition (OCR), document conversion to electronic form, fingerprint classification, and face recognition. These evaluation methods are designed to include a wide variety of

statistical and neural network algorithms

and system architectures. The methods being

developed are used for automated fingerprint

classification, automation of data entry from

images of handprinted forms, automation of conversion of machine-printed documents to electronic form and measurement of recognition systems on realistic applications. Data

sets, evaluation software, and prototype OCR

and fingerprint classification systems are distributed on CD-ROM. More information is available on http://www.nist.gov/itl/div878/

878.03/vip.html

Contact:

Charles L. Wilson

(301) 975-2080

email: charles.wilson@nist.gov A216 Technology Building
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY -|

THREE-DIMENSIONAL

VISUALIZATION

The visualization group conducts research to demonstrate the utility and feasibility of three-dimensional visualization and computer graphic techniques to access, manipulate, and exchange complex information. Information visualization is a process of transforming data and information that are not inherently spatial into a visual form al- lowing the user to observe and understand

the information.

NIST is developing an interactive visual interface to a statistical text retrieval system. The

objective is to demonstrate the utility of vis- ual interfaces for supporting access to large

collections of complex documents. Evaluation methodologies and test corpora for measuring scalability and usability of visual

interfaces, which are being constructed to support this endeavor, will be made available

to the research community. In the manufacturing domain, NIST is collaborating with industrial partners to investigate how the application of three-dimensional visualization can speed up the manufacturing process. This effort includes the use of commercial off-the-shelf software to create

visualizations of factory floor assembly lines and support for parts design and assembly. NIST researchers are analyzing usability and

performance capabilities of a number of virtual environment and World Wide Web visualization tools for these and other related

applications. More information is available on http://speckle.ncsl.nist.gov/-

jacki/wrg.htm

Contact: Sharon J. Laskowski

(301) 975-4535

email: sharon.laskowski@nist.gov A2 16 Technology Building

APPLIED AND

COMPUTATIONAL

MATHEMATICS

Division Contact: Paul T. Boggs

(301) 975-3800

email: paul.boggs@nist.gov

fax: (301) 990-4127 Room 365 NIST North

MATHEMATICAL MODELING

Mathematical and computational problems

are becoming more elaborate as measure- ment techniques, physical understanding, and computational capability improve. Solv- ing these problems requires innovative combinations of the methods of modern applied

and computational mathematics. With the collaboration of other scientists and engineers, mathematicians of the Applied and

Computational Mathematics Division de- velop and analyze mathematical models of phenomena; design and analyze computational methods and experiments; transform

these methods into efficient numerical algo- rithms for modern, high-performance computers; and validate and extend the models

by comparing them with experiments. Major

research interest areas include crystal growth, fluid flow, electromagnetic waves, magnetic materials, molecular dynamics,

foams, and polymers. Frequently occurring

mathematical areas include partial differential equations, random processes, and inverse problems.

Contact: James L. Blue

(301) 975-3809

email: james.blue@nist.gov

Room 365 NIST North

MATHEMATICAL

SOFTWARE

The increasing prevalence of computation in science and engineering has generated an

acute need for accurate and robust computer

software to solve frequently occurring mathematical and statistical problems. NIST

mathematicians and computer scientists are

actively involved in the development of algo- rithms for the solution of such problems, as

well as in the reliable and maintainable im- plementation of these algorithms on modern

high-performance computers. Division re- searchers undertake specific projects in re- sponse to both internal NIST needs and the needs of the computational science community in industry and academia. Recent efforts address such problem areas as the evaluation

of mathematical functions, the adaptive solution of partial differential equations on distributed memory multiprocessors, and the design of high-performance software for

large sparse linear systems.

Such research has fostered associated efforts

in improving the environment for mathematical software research, development, and

use. Areas of concern include highly reliable arithmetic systems, object-oriented software

design, test and evaluation methodology, automated distribution mechanisms, and

expert advisory systems. Examples of these efforts include the Guide to Available Mathematical Software—a virtual mathematical

software repository—and the Matrix Market—a source of test data for evaluating

sparse matrix algorithms. Both are operated

as publicly available network services.

Contact: Ronald F. Boisvert (301) 975-3812

email: ronald.boisvert@nist.gov

Room 365 NIST North
152 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

OPTIMIZATION AND

COMPUTATIONAL

GEOMETRY

The use of optimization techniques is in- creasing in design, process modeling, and

broad areas of science and engineering, eco- nomics, and management. Examples in- clude the use of optimization models in curve and surface fitting, parameter estimation, maximum entropy, minimum energy, maximum likelihood as well as in newer

areas such as performance improvement in production systems and advanced design and

control. Improved algorithms and computational power have led to the consideration of multidisciplinary optimization models that pose significant new challenges in all areas

of optimization. Division researchers design,

analyze, and implement large-scale optimization algorithms and use these methods to develop and solve optimization models in many areas. Current concentration is on

large-scale algorithms for non-convex, nonlinear programming problems using interior- point methods and sequential quadratic

programming.

Computational geometry is a rapidly emerging field with applications in robotics, statistical mechanics, cartography, computer

graphics, materials science, and molecular

dynamics. NIST researchers are developing

robust and efficient computational schemes

for large-scale terrain modeling, molecular beam epitaxial simulations, and related problems. Algorithms and software are in wide

use at NIST and many other scientific and

commercial centers.

Contact: Paul T. Boggs

(301) 975-3800

email: paul.boggs@nist.gov

Room 365 NIST North

IMAGE COMPRESSION

A recurring theme in information science is the need for efficient encoding of stored and

transmitted information. Common information encoding schemes are typically ill-suited

to computers and to data networks and, as a

result, can be improved substantially. Image

compression is an important emerging concern because the infrastructure does not meet the user demands for still images, se- quences of still images (for example, in ex- ploratory surgery), and video. More

importantly, the trends indicate that the de- mand will increase while the systems of the

future, by being highly mobile, will rely on

inherently limited communications and stor- age technologies (for example, wireless communications and storage media of minimal

weight).

Division scientists perform applied and refer- ence implementation research in areas in- cluding the development of efficient image

compression techniques with emphasis on

wavelets, on adapting generic compression

techniques for image compression, and on error correction codes that are tuned to the needs of image compression. The group also develops reference software and data that facilitate algorithm development and the test- ing of such algorithms for performance and

correctness of output (for example, compli- ance testing). Finally, metrics for quantifying the quality of the images produced

by lossy compression schemes are being

developed.

Contact:

Tassos Nakassis

(301) 975-3632

email: anastase.nakassis@nist.gov

Room 365 NIST North

STATISTICAL ENGINEERING

Division Contact: Lynne B. Hare

(301) 975-2839

email: lynne.hare@nist.gov

fax: (301) 990-4127 Room 353 NIST North

INDUSTRIAL

EXPERIMENTATION

NIST's collaborations with industry and its

projects to support industrial research and

development typically involve the conduct of experiments, generation of data, and analysis of the results. NIST statisticians partici- pate in these collaborations by contributing

strategies for experimentation, graphical and

numerical data analysis, stochastic modeling

of empirical phenomena, uncertainty evaluation, computationally intensive methods, and reliability modeling.

Ongoing collaborative research projects include the following:

• improving measurements of lithographic

overlay on semiconductor wafers by using hybrid electrical-optical test structures;

• developing certification and uncertainty

analysis methodology for Charpy V-notch measurement machines;

• developing a non-contact sensor for measuring the temperature of hot-rolled aluminum;

• working with an industry consortium to compare various methods for machining

ceramic components;

• applying robust regression to optical fiber dimensional quality control;

• developing a practical protocol for reliable measurement of solderability using a wetting

balance;
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

• working with an industry consortium on

predicting the service life of metals coatings;

• error modeling and correction for improving metrology characteristics of coordinate measuring machines; and

• evaluating the effects of various process- ing methods and formulations on strength and durability of concrete.

Contact:

Keith Eberhardt

(301) 975-2853

email: keith.eberhardt@nist.gov

Room 353 NIST North

MEASUREMENT PROCESS

EVALUATION

Measurement is the backbone for advancing

scientific research and creating new technologies. NIST statisticians collaborate with

subject experts in developing techniques for evaluating measurement processes, tying measurement processes to accepted standards, and assuring the quality of measurements. Expertise in the design of experiments, modeling, estimation of components of variance, interlaboratory studies,

quality control, and uncertainty analysis, coupled with a strong research focus, brings

statisticians into contact with leading re- searchers in measurement science, both at NIST and elsewhere. This expertise also provides opportunities for contributing to the measurement science base for emerging

technologies.

In the initial phases of such programs, ex- periments at NIST and with industrial partners are conducted to evaluate the status of measurements in the user community. Prob- lems are identified, and models for describ- ing the error structure of the measurements

J are developed and validated. The initial characterization, which may require several rounds of experimentation and produce re- finements to the measurement process, is

followed by the development and dissemination of artifact standards, test methods, and

procedures for the measurement technology

of interest.

For example, statisticians have worked with

other NIST scientists in cooperation with the FBI to develop standards to assure the quality

of DNA measurements that are introduced as physical evidence in legal proceedings.

Statisticians are working with scientists from

NIST's Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory on the development of artifact standards for measuring the sheet

resistance of silicon wafers. In cooperation with the semiconductor industry, a new

measurement method was developed and interactions between probing instruments and

wafers were studied.

Contact:

Carroll Croarkin

(301) 975-2849

email: carroll.croarkin@nist.gov

Room 353 NIST North

HIGH-PERFORMANCE

SYSTEMS AND SERVICES

Division Contact: Dean Collins

(301) 975-4712

email: dean.collins@nist.gov

fax: (301) 963-9137 B122 Technology Building

SCIENTIFIC VISUALIZATION

Researchers at NIST are developing and

applying advanced methods for using stateof-the art, computer-based scientific graphics for rendering complex experimental,

computational, and analytical results in

physics and chemistry. Researchers use a

collection of vector and raster workstations, photographic and video hardware, highspeed networking for transmitting large

graphics data sets between computers and

graphics devices, and computational geometry algorithms and software for the analysis

of two- and three-dimensional data sets. Techniques also have been developed to manipulate dynamic objects in automated

design and manufacturing systems; to dis- play quasicrystal structures with icosahedral symmetries and scanning electron tunneling

microscopy data with polarization analysis; and to study models of turbulent combustion

showing the dependence of solutions on time and fuel-oxidizer mixture parameters.

Contact: Gordon E. Lyon

(301) 975-5679

email: lyon@nist.gov B364 Materials Building

PERFORMANCE OF

MODERN-ARCHITECTURE

COMPUTERS

NIST researchers in the area of computersystems performance are promoting the

effective evaluation and efficient use of advanced computers by the federal govern- ment. Their areas of interest include characterization of new computer architectures to

identify improved technology for applications, exploration of economical program- ming methods that standardize across

classes of architecture, and design of coherent evaluations that economically and reliably characterize the machines.

These NIST researchers also are involved in

the development of instrumentation and

related management techniques for gigabit networks of workstations and computers used

for scientific calculation and visualization- based applications.

Contact: Gordon E. Lyon

(301) 975-5679

email: lyon@nist.gov B364 Materials Building
154 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

CONTINUAL UPGRADES

The laboratory maintains a central scientific computing environment for NIST staff at Gaithersburg and Boulder. It procures and

operates computer and communications

facilities and maintains them at state-of-theart levels suited to the needs of a highly di- verse scientific and engineering research and

development community. The continuing program of upgrading responds to advances in hardware, software, and communications technologies as well as to changes

in the kinds of tools used in modern scientific research.

NIST specialists log and analyze the use of the components of the facilities—hardware,

software, operating systems, and networks

to determine what changes or new equip- ment will be most useful. They take steps to acquire them where possible or to develop

them internally. They design interfaces as needed for users to gain access to the re- sources best suited to their needs. This work

proceeds with a broad view of the overall operation of the computing environment and

its interactions with external environments

as well as detailed understanding of the progress of hardware and software capabilities and of the roles of visualization and net- working in the design and execution of

scientific computing projects.

Contact: Jack Newmeyer

(301) 975-2966

email: jack.newmeyer@nist.gov

B08 Technology Building

RESEARCH

FACILITIES

COMPUTER AND

NETWORK SECURITY

FACILITY

The NIST Computer and Network Security Facility is used to improve the current security posture of federal computer and telecommunication systems and to provide security for these systems as they migrate toward open

system environments. Research performed in the facility is aimed at applying methods to protect the secrecy and integrity of information in computer systems and data networks, evaluating personal identification and

authentication techniques to control access

to information resources, and developing

computer and network security architectures

to determine proper implementation of controls for integrity and confidentiality of infor- mation and authentication of users.

CAPABILITIES The facility is equipped with desktop computers and workstations, security devices, terminals, personal identification systems, and

access to supercomputers through localarea, national, and global networks. Several communications technologies and applications environments are available for research

efforts for developing and testing security protocol standards.

Operational capabilities include a computer emergency response team to facilitate identification and response to acute computer and

telecommunications security incidents in- volving self-replicating computer viruses.

Test and evaluation capabilities range from

specific functionality tests of cryptographic

modules to test methodologies for network se- curity protocols to the specific criteria used

to evaluate the trustworthiness of systems

that handle unclassified, but sensitive, data.

A laboratory is available for research in risk management techniques and methodologies

and evaluation of risk management software

to determine applicability to environments at different agencies. Several computers support

the development of advanced computer access control systems based on smart-token

technology and the virus laboratory for re- search in multiuser environments. A small

systems security laboratory completes the Computer and Network Security Facility.

APPLICATIONS The facility is used primarily to develop and

test federal standards for computer and net- work security. Support is provided to other

federal agencies and industry where the protection of unclassified data is required.

AVAILABILITY

Collaborative research programs can be

arranged.

Contact:

Stuart W. Katzke

(301) 975-2934

email: stuart.katzke@nist.gov

Room 426 NIST North
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

ADVANCED NETWORK

FACILITY

The facility is equipped with desktop computers, workstations, protocol analyzers and

simulators as well as ATM, ISDN, Internet, and satellite communications facilities and

switches.

APPLICATIONS

Facilities are used to develop and assess de- sign alternatives, evaluate performance, and

test standards for advanced communications

and distributed multimedia systems, which

include the following:

• ATM Network—The testbed consists of an ATM switch and several workstations. The

testbed is connected to the NIST ATM net- work and a wide- area ATM testbed.

• Digital Video Interoperability Testbed

The testbed consists of facilities for testing the video-on-demand application conforming to the Digital Audio/Visual Council specification, including MPEG2 video source and

server, Digital Storage Management Command and Control system, and set-top units. Various network access mechanisms, in addition to ATM networks, are being planned.

AVAILABILITY

Collaborative research programs with govern ment, industry, and academia can be

arranged.

Contact:

Craig Hunt

(301) 975-3600

email: craig.hunt@nist.gov

Room 445 NIST North
INDEXES

FACILITIES INDEX

Advanced Insulation Facility, 145 Advanced Network Facility, 155

Calibrated Hot Box, 144

Cold Neutron Research Facility, 131 Computer and Network Security

Facility, 154

Concentric Loop Antenna Systems, 69

Controlled Background Radiometric

Facility, 120

Electromagnetic Anechoic Chamber, 69

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance

Facility, 121 EUV Optics Fabrication and

Characterization Facility, 119

Fire Research Facilities, 145

Fluid Flow Measurement and Research

Facilities, 103 Ground Screen Antenna Range, 68

High-Resolution UV and Optical Spectroscopy Facility, 119

Integrated-Circuit Fabrication Laboratory, 71 Large Environmental Chamber, 144

Large-Scale Structures Testing

Facility, 143

Line Heat-Source Guarded

Hot Plate, 144

Liquid-Nitrogen Flow Measurements, 103 Low-Background Infrared Radiation

Facility, 120 Magnetic Microstructure Measurement

Facility, 119 Magnetic Thin-Film Fabrication and Imaging Facility, 71

Materials Science X-Ray Beamlines, 134

Medical-Industrial Radiation

Facility, 120 Mobile Transient Reception/ Transmission System, 70

Mode-Stirred Chambers, 68 Molecular-Beam Epitaxy Facility, 68

National Advanced Manufacturing

Testbed, 82 Neutron Interferometer and Optics

Facility, 122 NIST Research Reactor, 132 Powder Characterization and Processing

Laboratory, 135 Radiopharmaceutical Standardization

Laboratory, 122 Semiconductor Processing

Laboratory, 67

Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering

Facility, 134 Standard Transient/Impulsive Field

Facility, 70

Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation

Facility II, 118

Transverse Electromagnetic Cell, 69

Tri-Directional Test Facility, 143

Ultralow-Temperature Electronics

Facility, 71 Wafer Probing Laboratory, 68

SUBJECT INDEX

absolute cryogenic radiometer, vacuum

chamber, 120

ac-dc voltage and current measurements, advanced, 54

acoustic techniques

resonators, 93

thermophysical properties of gases and standards, 93 wave guides, 93

ac voltage standards, precision waveforms, 54 adsorbed molecules, interaction with

surfaces, 91

adsorbents, fundamental and applied

properties, 92 advanced

network technologies, division, 149 Technology Program

competitions, 8

focused program descriptions, 8

overview, 6

project listing, 17

project sampler, 7 proposal applications, 27

aerospace alloys, casting, 42

air conditioning, dynamic system, 139

air speed, proficiency testing, 42

algorithms, quantum properties of complex systems, 109

alternative

refrigerants, properties, 95

solvents, environmental concerns, 93 amalgams, dental, 125 amplitude-noise measurements, carrier and Fourier frequency, 116 analog touch and capacitance probes, 76

analytes, polar and non-volatile, in complex matrices, 98

analytical chemistry, division, 97

infometrics, 101 mass spectrometry

inorganics and elemental isotopic metrology, 97

organics and biomolecules, 98

separation science methodology, 99 annealed fiber coil technology, stable current sensors, 65

annealing, semiconductor wafers, 67 antenna

calibration, 69

concentric loop systems, 69

application experts, capability enhancement, 18

applied and computational

mathematics, division, 151

applied economics, office, 142

artificial intelligence, selection of materials, 137

aspheres, measuring figure error, 73 Asynchronous Transfer Mode

high-speed network, 149

testing and evaluation, 155 atmospheric and chemometric research, 91

chemistry, thermodynamic data, 94 atomic beam frequency standards, 115

clocks, collisional phenomena, 109

-force microscope

calibrated, 73

capacitance-voltage profiling, 57

fountain concept, atomic frequency

standards, 115

physics, division, 108

-scale measuring machine, 74

spectroscopy, fundamental studies, 97

structure of matter, X-ray study, 109 atomization process, control of exhaust

emissions, 86 atom optics development, 109

nanofabrication, 107 Automated Computer Time Service, 123

Electronics Manufacturing Program, 56 production technology, division, 74 sample preparation and sensing, 101 automatic speech recognition, 150 automation

improve accuracy of spectrochemical

analysis, 98

laboratory technology and standards, 101 automotive exhaust, detection of oxygenated species, 89

back-reflection standing wave

technique, crystal imperfections, 109 BACnet interoperability testing, building control systems, 42

ball step gauge system, calibration

prototype, 72 beam stations, NSLS, 134

bidirectional characterization, optical

scatter, 112 biomimetic materials, characteristics, 85 biomolecular materials, 85

biomolecules

analytical mass spectrometry, 98

interactions and applications, 85 markers for health status, 98

three- and four-dimensional NMR

techniques, 84

bioprocess engineering measurements, 84

biosensors automated sample preparation, 101 self-assembled monolayers, 89

biosynthetic reactions, electrode-driven redox chemistry, 84

biotechnology

Center for Advanced Research in, 85

division, 84

blackbody

cryogenic, 120 vacuum-operational sources, 120

Bose-Einstein condensation, 117 breadboard heat pump, refrigerants and

refrigeration cycles, 139

bridges and other large structures, technologies, 24 Broadband

Integrated Services Digital Network,

high-speed, 149

probes and sensors, calibration, 70

Building(s) and Fire Research Laboratory, 136

controls, 139 environment, division, 138

heat transfer, 139

indoor air quality, ventilation, 138

materials, division, 137 measurement and prediction of large

fires, 140

process, computer-integrated, 140

resistance to seismic and wind loads, 136 simulated environmental conditions, 144 burn room, fire research, 145, 146

burst mode operation, OTDM systems, 64

calculations, electronic structure, 107

calibration process gas properties, 94 Program, 48

X-ray, pre- and post-flight, 1 10 calorimeter(s) heat release rate, 145 oxygen-bomb and fluorine-bomb, 94

candela, detector-based, 110

capacitance, cryoelectronic counting

device, 6l capacitance-voltage profiling, metalized AFM probe, 57

capillary electrochromatography, 99

electrophoresis automated sample preparation, 101 electromigration separation, 99

optimization of separations, 98

organics and biomolecules, 98

gel electrophoresis, electromigration

separation, 99

carbon monoxide, gas prediction, 141

catalysis and biocatalysis technologies,

12, 22
INDEX 157

cavity-ring-down spectroscopy

kinetics in gas and surfaces, 94 measurement of water vapor, 90

cell membranes, quantification of therapeutic agents, 85 cement and concrete, 137

Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, 85

ceramic(s) ATP general competition projects, 26

brittle materials, mechanical properties, 125

coatings, 129 components, machining methods, 152

division, 124

electronic and photonic, 125

fiber-reinforced matrix composites, 125 machining, 42, 130

prediction of lifetime, 126

processing, 129 Charpy V-notch measurement

machines, certification, 152 chemical

analysis with neutron beams, 101 and biomedical technology projects, ATP general competition, 22

information, timely and efficient, 101

kinetics, 94

processes finite-element modeling, 96

real-time optimization, 112

reaction dynamics, elementary, 113

reactions and emissions in sprav flames, 86

Science and Technology Laboratory, 83 Thermodynamics Data Center, 94

vapor deposition, materials processing, 87

chemiluminescence, microcolumn

separations, 99

Chemistry and Life Sciences Office, 21 computational, applied, 88

electroanalytical, 100 chemometrics

chemical knowledge with modem

measurement, 91

to improve accuracy of spectrochemical

analysis, 98

chiral interactions, spectroscopic techniques, 99

chlorinated trace constituents, natural

gas, 92 chromatographic retention indices, analysis of natural gas, 92 chromatography and electromigration techniques, 98

gas, 55, 84, 98, 100

liquid, 84, 98

micellar electrokinetic capillary, 99

supercritical fluid, 98

clays, properties, 96

clinical radiology, EPR, 121

closed loop manufacturing program, 74

cluster ions, mobility, 118

coatings ATP general competition projects, 26

service life prediction, 42

cobalt atom beam, neutral, 117

cold atoms, near absolute zero, 108

cold-welding, oxide-free silver, 125

collaborative research, 40

collision -induced dissociation, analytical problems, 98

processes, ion trap facility, 108

colloidal

solutions, dynamics, 96

suspensions, preparation, 135 Commercialization Assistance Program,

50 communication and representation mechanisms, product design, 78

compensation, machine tool errors, 75 complex

coupling, high-temperature reacting

flows, 88 Form Metrology Laboratory, 73

physical and chemical processes, finite-element modeling, 96

systems, quantum properties, 109 compliant offshore structures,

reliability, 137 component-based software, 9, 18

composites, polymer, 131 compositional mapping, lateral distribution, 91 computational

fluid dynamics, metering research, 86

geometry, optimization techniques, 152 Mathematics Division, 151 computer(s)

-aided design systems, international standards, 79

-aided manufacturing engineering,

42, 78 NAMT research, 82

voluntary consensus standards, 81

-controlled equipment, manufacturing, 75

gigabit networks, 153 graphic techniques, three-dimensional,

151 image analysis, materials selection and

degradation, 137

-integrated construction, 140

-integrated knowledge system, construction materials and systems, 138

modern-architecture, performance, 153

networks, distribution of databases, 105

scientific, 153

security

division, 148

Resource Clearinghouse, 148

simulation, molecular-level, fluids, 95

software, mathematical, 151 systems and network, 149

systems, digital signals to set clocks automatically, 116

technology, 148

concrete, strength and durability, 153 condensate formation, implications for precision metrology, 117 condensed matter theory, 107 conformance testing, 147

consortia, research, 42

constant-current coulometric measurements, instrumentation, 100

construction computer-integrated, 140

Materials Reference Laboratories, 138 contaminants

low-level gaseous, 90

particle nucleation and growth, 88

transport in building ventilation, 138 continuous-wave radiation, laser radiometry, 64

controlled

potential coulometric measurements,

instrumentation, 100

controller software, enhanced machine

control, 76

control loops ISAM layered set of processing nodes, 77 manufacturing program, 74

Cooperative Research and Development

Agreements, 40

coordinate measuring machines, improving

metrology characteristics, 153 measuring system, framework for tolerance standards, 78

metrology systems, 72

corrosion, detection and control, 87

corrosive gases, acoustic wave guides, 93

coulometry, high-accuracy, 99

crack bridging, fiber-reinforced composites, 126

cryocoolers, cryogenic temperatures, 97

cryoelectronics, nanoscale devices, 6l cryogenic

blackbody, multiple apertures, 112

current comparators, precision

electrical measurements, 53

radiometry, high-accuracy, 111, 120

Cryptographic Module Validation Program, security technology, 148

security technology, R&D, 148

crystal diffraction, X-ray calibrations, 1 10

structure, thermal neutron diffraction, 127

crystallography

protein, 85

X-ray, 85

data

-analysis algorithms, 78

electronic structure calculations, 107

Encryption Standard, security technology, 148

estimation, computational chemistry, 88

exchange protocols, PlantSTEP

Consortium, 81

databases

adsorption compressors for cryocoolers, 97

ceramics (phase diagrams, structural, machinability), 127

crystal data center, 127 data technologies program, 126

dissemination over computer networks, 105 FIREDOC, 140

fire testing, 145

kinetics program, 94 NACE/NIST corrosion performance, 127 N1ST/EPA/NIH mass spectral, 95

scientific and engineering data, 105 spoken language, 150 STEP protocol, 127

superconductivity, high critical transition temperature, 127

dental and medical materials, 125

restorative composites, phases, 125 depth profiling instrument, cold neutron research, 132

design engineering process, 78

metals production process, 130

detector systems, fire protection, 141

deterministic manufacturing, machine

tool evaluation, 75

diagnostics etching discharges in semiconductors,

55 thermal and plasma reactors, 87 diamond deposition, ATP general competition projects, 26

dielectric(s) materials and devices, measurement

methods, 66

reliability, metrology, 59

research, 55, 57

diffraction imaging, single crystals and

powder compacts, 134

diffractometer high-performance multiaxis, 110 high-temperature X-ray, 135

diffusion, oxidation, and annealing, 67

digital

circuits, size and speed requirements, 60

data storage, 15, 19

pattern generator, 71 Signature Standard, security technology, 148

video information networks, 10, 19 Inoperability Testbed, testing and

evaluation, 155

processing, measurements, 56 R&D, 149

tools, management capabilities, 19

dilute-solution thermodynamics, 96

dimensional measurement methods, sampling

strategies and data-analysis algorithms, 78

traceability, complex forms, 73
158 INDEX

diode lasers, high-performance, 117

displays and graphic image

manipulation, electronics and

photonics, 20

dissemination of databases over computer networks, 105

distributed and virtual manufacturing, NAMT research program, 82

distribution of time and frequency

signals, 116 DNA

chemistry, 84 damage, experimental measurement

techniques, 84

diagnostics, tools for, 11,21 domain analysis and business process re-engineering, infrastructure development technologies, 17 dopant concentration, waveguides and

spectroscopic properties, 66

dosimetry, electron paramagnetic

resonance, 121 drug design and chemical modeling, 23

earthquake engineering, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, 136 economic

evaluation, 142

returns, ATP, 16

elastic scattering, 133

electrical characterization metrology, 57

interconnect reliability, integrated

circuits, 58

substitution, cryogenic radiometers, 1 1

1

systems metrology and quality of power

delivery, 55 new materials and manufacturing, 21

reliability and safety, 55

transport, superconductor interfaces, 62

electric commerce of component

information, national information

infrastructure, 56

electricity, division, 52

electroanalytical chemistry

inorganic, 100

trace gas, 100

electrolytic conductimetry, aqueous and

non-aqueous, 100

electromagnetic

fields division, 59

generation, 69

trapping cold atoms, 108 immunity measurements, ground

screen, 69

noise, stability and accuracy of Josephson quantized-voltage

steps, 54

sensors, 42

technology

division, 6l microstructural analysis, 63

waves, characterization, 60

electromigration techniques, 98

electron

accelerator, radiation processing, 114 and optical physics, division, 106 beam ion trap, plasma processes and

atomic structure, 108

capture, detection system, 99

electronic and photonic ceramics, 125 commerce in scientific and engineering

data, 105

devices, immunity to transient EM

fields, 70

marketplace

infrastructure, 56 NIST efforts, 105

structure

calculations, data, 107

gas phase and solid targets, 109

systems

noise, 116

testing, 54

Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory,

51 ATP general competition projects, 20, 21 high-temperature superconducting, 62 new materials and manufacturing, 21 packaging and interconnection, 126

testing systems, 54, 68

ultrasmall devices, 6l

electrophoretic mobility, ceramic

powder, 135

electrospray, organics and

biomolecules, 98

elemental analysis, 133 elementary chemical reaction dynamics, 113

ellipsometry, multiple wavelength, 57,67

energy calibration, NASA equipment,

110 engineering

design research, 78 measurements for hydrothermal

processes, 87

process, STEP standards and

technology, 79 Enhanced Machine Controller Project, 75

enterprise integration, infrastructure development technologies, 17 enthalpy of adsorption

chlorinated trace constitutents of natural gas, 92

clay and carbon adsorbents, 92

environment

alternative solvents, 93

durability of polymer composites, 131 exposure of building materials, 137

identification and measurement of

pollutants, 91 impact of gaseous dielectrics, 55 polymer flammability, 142

stable and radioisotopes, 97

trace gases in air and from point

sources, 100 enzyme-catalyzed biochemical

reactions, heat released, 85 enzyme, production of fine chemicals, 84

error map, geometric-thermal, 75

etching, low-pressure plasma processes, 87

evaluation of fundamental constants, measurement uncertainties, and

SI, 105 exhaust emissions, combustion systems, 86

experiment design, analysis, 152 EXPRESS, formal description language, 80

extreme ultraviolet optics, 106

facilities, use of, 43

far-IR spectroscopy, 116

fast pulse and waveform acquisition standards, research, 54

fermentation broths, chromatographic

separation of biomolecules, 85

fiber optic sensors, 65

field effect transistors, high-mobility modulation-dopes, 68

film

deposition, chemistry of precursors, 87

processing, dielectrics, 57 thermal converter structures, new

methods, 54

finite-element modeling of complex

physical and chemical processes, 96

fire(s) -emulator/detector-evaluator, first generation, 141

large, 140 modeling and applications, 140

research grants, 43

Research Information Service, 140

safety engineering, division, 140

science, division, 141

sensing, 141

signatures, new generation of detectors, 141

suppression, 141 flame(s) chemistry-turbulence interactions, 141 fundamental processes, 97

retardants environmentally friendly, 42

polymers, 142

flammability, polymers, 142

flat-panel displays, metrology, 56

flexible members and structural networks, dynamic response

characteristics, 137

flow

-injection technology, optimization, 98 measurement research and standards, 86

meters

control and optimization of industrial

processes, 86

high-precision laminar, 90

installation effects, 42

low-range, 90

thermal mass, 90

tube, mobility of cluster ions, 1 18 fluence rate level, neutron dosimetry, 115

fluid and fluid mixtures, properties, 95

/solid-particle systems, finite-element modeling, 96

fluorescence gas-phase species concentration maps,

87

laser-excited, 87, 99, 108, 113

fluorocarbons

low-pressure plasma etching processes, 87

refrigerant, novel applications, 139

flux pinning, high critical transition temperature superconductivity, 127

focused program (ATP)

catalysis and biocatalysis, 12 component-based software, 18

descriptions, 8

digital data storage, 19

digital video in information networks,

19 information infrastructure for healthcare, 17 manufacturing composite structures, 13 materials processing for heavy

manufacturing, 13 motor vehicle manufacturing

technology, 15 technologies for integration of manufacturing applications, 19

tools for DNA diagnostics, 1

1

vapor compression refrigeration technology, 14

freeneutron lifetime, beam measurement,

115

radical (s), detection and electronic

structure, 94

-radical kinetics, studies, 94

frequency standards, 115

fringe density, phase-measuring

interferometer systems, 73
INDEX 159

fundamental and applied properties of adsorbents, 92

Constants Data Center, 105

constants, evaluation, 105

Physics Station end guide position, 132

free neutron lifetime, 115

studies of atomic spectroscopy, 97

GaAs heterostructures, quantum Hall

effect, 53 gamma-ray-emitting nuclides, activity measurements, 122 gamma-ray source, radiation

processing, 114

gas(es) emitted from process streams, 100

flow, large building fires, 140

isotopic-chemical characterization, 91 -phase synthesis, nanoparticles, 87

thermophysical properties from acoustic techniques, 93

toxic, prediction, 141

transport-property relationships, membrane separations, 93

used in semiconductor processing, thermophysical properties, 94

gear involute artifacts, 73

gel(s) formation dynamics and structure of precursor, %

permeation chromatographs, standards, 129

properties, 96

geographic information systems, 148

geometric-thermal characterization, machine tool, 75

geometry, computational, 152

gigabit networks, workstations and

computers, 153

Global

Positioning System GIS support, 148

intelligent vehicle systems, 77

time transfer accuracy, 1 1

Standards Policy Program, 46 warming, radiance measurements, 120 GOES

geostationary satellites, time signals, 1 1

time code service, 123

graphics computer-based, scientific, 153

testing, subjectivity, 148

guest researcher agreements, 40

guided wave microwave standards and

measurements, 59 Guide to Available Mathematical

Software, 151

halon fire suppressants, building

protection, 141 hardness measurement, 73

standard test techniques, 126

heating, dynamic building system, 139

heat transfer, buildings, 139

Henry's constants, dilute-solution thermodynamics, 96

heterostructures, fabrication by MBE, 68 hexapod machine tool, prototype, 76 high critical transition temperature

superconductivity, 127 high -density information storage, magnetic recording, 63

high-energy X-ray spectroscopy, 109 high-frequency diodes, 6l High-Performance Computing and Communications, SIMA

program, 81 Construction Materials and Systems Program, 138

diode lasers, 117

systems and services, 153

high-precision laser spectroscopy, 109 high-Q acoustic resonators, thermophysical properties of gases and

standards, 93

high-resolution

studies, spectra of atoms and molecules, 116

high-speed measurements, optical sources and

detectors, 64

microelectronics, digital circuits, 60

networks, 149

high-temperature superconductor

contacts and interfaces, 62

electronics, 62 thermocouple research, 89

hollow cathode lamps, 108 Hubble Space Telescope, calibration of spectrograph, 120 human-machine interface technologies,

division, 150 human vision, radiometric measurement of response function, 110

Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial, high-speed

network, 149 hydrocarbons, refrigerants, novel

applications, 139

hydrofluorocarbons, computational

chemistry, 88

hydrothermal processes, engineering measurements, 87

identity profiling, DNA characterization, 84 image

compression, 152 -measurement techniques, magnetic

recording technology, 64

processing, visual, 150 immunity testing, electronic equipment, 69 immunoassay-based techniques, automated sample preparation, 101 implants, wear resistance, 42 impulse response, evaluation, 70

indoor

air quality and ventilation, 138 environment, testbed for mobility, 77

industrial Partnerships Program, 47

radiation processing

quality-control methods, 114

inelastic scattering, 133

inertial sensors, semiconductors, 59 information

access, transmission, storage, and

retrieval, user interface and

efficiency-enhancement

technologies, 18

capacity, transmission and

distribution, 19

infrastructure for healthcare, 8, 17 Technology and Electronics Office, 17 automatic speech recognition, 150

general competition projects (ATP), 20 image compression, 152

Laboratory, 147

products, conformance testing, 147

text search and retrieval, 150

visualization, 151

infrared

spectral radiometry, 1 1

thermography system, insulation

panels, 145

infrastructure development technologies domain analysis and business process re-engineering, 17

enterprise integration, 17

total quality management, 18

inorganic electroanalytical chemistry, 100

inspection system, in-process and

post-process, 76 instrument control, automated

approaches, 98

insulating materials instrument calibration, 139

prediction of failure, 55 SOI wafers, 58 thermal performance, measurement,

139

integrated circuit

electrical interconnect reliability, 58

fabrication monitoring, 67 measurement of patterned layers, 74

test structures, manufacturing

characterization, 58

ultrasensitive measurement system, 71 integrated optics, metrology, 65

integration testbed for mobility, 77

intelligent processing of materials, 130

systems

Architecture for Manufacturing, 76

building mechanical systems, 139

division, 75

Integration Testbed for Large-Scale Manufacturing and Construction, RoboCrane, 77

vehicles, 77

interactive graphics, automated mechanism generation, 88

interconnect reliability, metrology, 58

interface non-linear optical measurements, 112

specifications, advanced manufacturing

systems, 81

standards, system functionality, 77

interference corrections, automated

approaches, 98

interferometer displacement measurements,

high-accuracy, 74 He-Ne laser, 108 phase-measuring, 73

interim test artifacts, physical standard

for CMM performance, 72-73

international standards, computer-aided design, 79

System of Units, practical representation, 105

internet Computer Security Resource

Clearinghouse, 148 conformance test services and test metrics, 148

database and information source, 105, 106 next generation, 149 time and frequency signals, 116

interoperability testing, 80

ionization gauges, 90

ionizing radiation

division, 114 measurement quality, 114

ion(s) beam etcher, semiconductor

processing, 67 beam sputtering, thin-film production, 110

cluster, mobility, 1 18 implantation, reference artifacts, 58

lithography, ion trap facility, 108 /molecule reactions and clustering

processes, kinetics and

thermochemistry, 94

storage research, 115

trap

facility for research on highly ionized atoms, 108

technology, quantitative spectroscopy, 98

irradiation facilities, 133

isotopic labeling, NMR studies, 84, 97

Josephson array development, 6l niobium trilayer technology, 71

Josephson-effect voltage standards, voltage-standard systems, 53 Josephson junctions, voltage standards, 62 Journal of Research of the National

Institute of Standards and

Technology, 4

kinetic-energy-enhanced epitaxy, microscopic basis, 117
160 INDEX

laboratory

accreditation program, NVLAP, 45 automation technology and standards,

101 programs, 40

projects, examples, 41

laser(s) Ar ion-pumped dye, 108

arrayed surface-emitting, 66

Bragg-reflector, 66

calcium-stabilized diode, 117 components and systems, 21 cooling and trapping, 108 cw dye, 108 cw ion, 87, 88

deposition of thin films, 1 17 diode, 117, 118 Doppler velocimetry, validation of flow meters, 86

excimer, 88

femtosecond, 112, 113

focusing of atom beams,

nanostructures, 107 heterodyne technology,

optical density, 112

high-precision spectroscopy, 109

interferometry, 75

lead salt, 112 Nd:YAG high-resolution dye, 88, 108

plasmas, 108 power/energy meters, 64

probes, flame and plasma analysis, 97

pulsed deposition system, 71 pulsed excimer measurements, 65

radiation

interaction with surfaces, 92

ion cooling, 115

radiometry, measurement methods and

standards, 64 range-imaging camera, 77

ring dye, 108

scattering, 87, 108, 117 semiconductor, 108

solid-state, 100, 108

stabilized, 118

target designators, requirements, 65

thermal CVD chemistry, 88

triangulation probe, 76

tunable dye, 88

ultrashort pulses, condensed phase, 113

law enforcement standards, research, 52

lead-free plumbing solders, mechanical behavior, 127

licenses, 42

light-scattering studies biomacromolecular solutions, 85

material properties and surface topography, 112

liquid composite molding, polymers, 131 lithography

laboratory-scale electron-beam, 71

projection X-ray, 73

loop antenna systems, 69

low-flow measurement, standards, 90

low-frequency broadcast, 123 low-temperature

plasmas, characterization, 108

refrigeration, advanced, 96 lumen, measurement accuracy, 110 luminescence phenomena, standards and measurement procedures, 110

spectral radiometry, 110

machine controller, enhanced, 42, 75 machine tool(s) ATP general competition projects, 26 performance evaluation and accuracy enhancement, 75

structures, advanced, 76 thermal behavior analysis, 75 machining of advanced materials, 130 macromolecules, potential components

of devices, 85 magnetic

instruments, materials

characterization, 63

levitation solubility instrument, phase

equilibria of mixtures, 93

materials,

structural and spectroscopic studies, 134

metrology, applications, 63

microstructure, 107

recording technology ATP projects, 20 nanoprobe imaging, 64 scanning micromagnetic recording

system, 63 magnetometer, SQUID and vibrating sample, 71 magneto-optical imaging facility, flux pinning, 127

microscope, 64

traps, cold atoms, 108

magneto-resistive sensors, micromagnetic models, 63 magnet, superconducting, 57, 62, 108 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, 38 mammalian cells, measurement of DNA

damage, 84 manometer, mercury, high-accuracy, 90

manufacturing

applications compound semiconductor growth and nanometrology, 56 focused program (ATP), 19

IC processes, 58 ISAM, 76

composite structures, 13, 23 engineering

computer-aided, 42

Laboratory, 72

Tool Kit, integrated, 79

execution systems, electronics, 56

Extension Partnership

centers listing, 31

overview, 28

success stories, 29

general competition projects, ATP, 26

processes, three-dimensional

visualization, 151 program, closed loop, 74

standards, implementation, 81 systems integration, division, 78 mass flow controllers, process gases used in industry, 94 mass spectral database, 95 mass spectroscopy

analytical, 98 enhanced ionization, 97

gas isotope ratio, 91

inductively coupled plasma, 97

ion trap, 98

isotope dilution, 97

laser resonance ionization, 97

magnetic, 98

mass- assisted laser desorption

ionization, 128 microcolumn separations, 99 molecular beam, 87 photo ionization, 113 thermal ionization, 97

triple quadrupole, 98

materials and Manufacturing Office, 23

brittle, mechanical properties, 125

building, organic, 137

characterization, magnetic

instruments, 63

construction, 138

data, evaluated, 126

dental and medical, 125

intelligent processing, 130 machining, 130

nanostructured, 128

processing

chemistry, 87 contaminant nucleation and

growth, 88

heavy manufacturing, 13, 24

reliability, division, 124

science and engineering grants, 43 and Engineering Laboratory, 124

theory and modeling, 124

mathematical

definitions, dimensions and tolerances, 78

modeling, 151

software, 151 Matrix Market, sparse matrix

algorithms, 151 measurement

comparison, VNA users, 60 dimensional methods, CMS, 78 dynamic conditions, 130

process

evaluation, 153 examination, 101

quality assurance, 114

uncertainties, evaluation, 105 Media Access Protocol, HFC systems, 149 membrane separations, fundamental

properties, 93 MEP Centers, listing, 31 mercury manometer, high-accuracy, 90

Metallurgy, division, 124

metals

coatings, prediction of service life, 153

data and characterization, 127

processing, 130 meter bar, thermal insulation industry, 139

Metric Program, 44

micelles, properties, 96 microbeam analysis, 91 microcalorimeter, microwave power

measurements, 60

microcoulometry, high-accuracy program, 100 microeconomic analysis, 142

microelectricalmechanical systems, semiconductor industry, 59

microelectronic components, modeling

of design tools, 87

microelectronics

high-speed, 60

Si-O-H and Si-P-H system data, 88

microflow injection analysis, automated

sample preparation, 101 microhotplate arrays, solid-state chemical sensors, 89

microscopy atomic force, 57, 64, 73

electron, 63 extreme ultraviolet, 106, 119

Fourier-transform infrared, 91 magnetic force, 64, 71, 107 magneto-optic Kerr, 71, 107

near-field, 113

optical, 67, 74 scanning capacitance, 57 scanning electron, 58, 73, 74, 91, 107,

119, 137 scanning optical, 58, 113 scanning probe, 63, 64, 73 scanning tunneling, 106, 117, 64

transmission electron, 66, 91
INDEX 161

microstructural analysis, electromagnetic technology, 63 microstructure atomic measurement techniques, 91

evolution during processing, model, 130

magnetic, 107, 119

metals, NDE program, 128

relationship to properties, 63

surfaces, 73 microthermography, semiconductor

devices, 58 microwave

-digestion technology, optimization, 98

guided wave standards and

measurements, 59

integrated circuits, 60

monolithic integrated circuits, 42

transmission, ceramics, 125

traps for cold atoms, 108

miniaturization, automated sample

preparation, 101 mirror systems, projection X-ray

lithography, 73

mixtures in sealed containers,

identification and quantitation, 101 mobility of cluster ions, 118 modeling

air and contaminant transport in buildings, 138 aqueous two-phase separation

techniques, 85 ATM network, 149 BEES, decision support system, 142 behavior and properties of materials, 126

building envelope, energy transfer, 139 cement and concrete structures, 137 CONTAM, air contamination, 138

design tools for process equipment, 87

eddy simulation, large fires, 141

finite-element, 96

fire hazard and risk prediction, 140 HVAC control system, 139

intelligent processing of materials, 130

Systems Architecture for Manufacturing, 76 machine tools, 75 mathematical, 151 microstructure cement pastes, 137 ceramic coatings, 129

metals, 128 MOIST, prediction of moisture transfer within building, 139

numerical, 66

optimization, computational geometry, 152

organic building materials, degradation, 137

particle formation, 88

plasmas, 108 polymer flammability measurement, 142

predictive approach to solvent behavior, 93

PRISE, prototype retrieval system, 150

modeling (cont.) protein structure/function relationships, 85

reduced-scale models, fire configurations, 146

regenerative cryocoolers, 97 semiconductor devices and packages, 58

soot formation, 141

stresses on structures, 143

supercritical water oxidation, 87

thermal-barrier coatings, 129 thermodynamics of biotechnological

processes, 85 thermophysical properties of fluids and

fluid mixtures, 95

viscoelasticity of polymers, 129 modulator materials, ceramics, 125

moisture, quantitative optical measurements, 90

molecular beam epitaxy, in-situ metrology, 57 drag gauges, 90 dynamics

particle nucleation and growth, 87

simulations, 126 measuring machine, 74

recognition, occurrence and

characteristics, 89 momentum transfer gauges, 90 monolayers

self-assembled, 89

solid-phase biological processes and

planar structures, 89 motor vehicle manufacturing

technology, 15, 25 multiangle scattering reference instrument, development, 113 multicomponent gas mixtures,

real-time sensing of species, 89

multilayer materials

general competition projects (ATP), 26

synthetic, production and

characterization, 109 multimedia and digital video, 149

information, user interface and

efficiency-enhancement

technologies, 18

nanoelectronics, metrology, 56

nanofabrication

ion trap facility, 108

with atom optics, 107

nanometer-level accuracy over mm-scale dimensions, M-cubed, 74

nanoparticles

cluster-cluster growth kinetics, 88

vapor-phase synthesis, 87 nanoprobe imaging, magnetic

recording technology, 64

nanoscale cryoelectronics, devices, 6l nanostructured materials, 128

National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, 136

Industrial Information Infrastructure Protocols Consortium, 79

Quality Program, 38

Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program, 45

ionizing radiation measurement,

quality assurance, 114

natural gas, properties of trace components, 92

navigation Global Positioning System, 77

inertial, 77

near-field scanning optical microscopy, 113

near ultraviolet radiometry, 111 networks, high-speed, 149 neutron

absorption, detection limit, 102

activation analysis, 102 beams

chemical analysis, 101

laser polarization, 114

cold

focusing for analytical measurements,

102

guide hall, research, 114

reflectometer, 132 coupling coefficients, 114

cross-section standards, development and evaluation, 115 depth profiling, chemical analysis, 101 dosimetry, 115, 134

interferometry, 114, 122

optical bench, 132

physics, 114

radiography, 134

scattering studies shearing cell, 95

small-angle, 85

spin filters, 114

standards and dosimetry, 133

thermal, diffraction, 127 tomography, 114, 122 Next Generation

Inspection System, 76

Internet, 149

NIST-7, atomic frequency standards, 115 noble metal thermocouples, 90

noise

in electronic and optical systems, 116

processes, high-performance clocks and

oscillators, 1 1

temperature measurements,

radiometer, 60

non-destructive

characterization, optical spectroscopy, 57

evaluation, 128

non-invasive optical measurements, NSOM, 113

non-linear optical measurements at

interfaces, 112 non-Newtonian fluid, dynamics, 96

North American Integrated Services

Digital Network Users' Forum, 42

nuclear magnetic resonance

spectroscopy, 84

nuclides, depth distribution, 102

octahedral-hexapod Stewart platform machine tool, prototype, 76

odorants, measurement in natural gas, 92

Office of Applied Economics, 142

Electronic Commerce in Scientific and

Engineering Data, 105 Information Services, 50 Law Enforcement Standards, 52 Measurement Services, 47

Microelectronics Programs, 52 Standards Services, 45 Technology Innovation, 49

Technology Partnerships, 47

off-shore oil production, technologies, 24

on-wafer metrology, microelectronics manufacture, 60

open-systems architecture standards,

intelligent vehicle systems, 77

optical characterization metrology,

non-destructive, 57

character recognition, image-based

systems, 150 communications

fiber and discrete components, 66

passive components, 65

constants, multilayer materials, 119

detector calibrations, 1 1

diagnostics, synthesis of nanoparticles, 87

/electro-optical components and

systems, 21

fiber dimensional quality control, 152 high-performance systems, 64 power meters, 64

sensors, 65

Fourier-transform Raman microprobe,

91

materials, non-linear, 63 measurements

non-linear, at interfaces, 112

partial pressures and moisture, 90

microscopy, near-field scanning, 113

radiation, measurement, 111 recording technology, 19

retardance, Standard Reference

Material, 65

scattering measurements, 112

systems, noise, 1 1

systems, space-based applications, 73

techniques for trace gas analysis, 100

technology, division, 110 waveguide

analysis, 114 planar geometries, 65

optics, extreme ultraviolet, 106, 119
162 INDEX

optimization and computational

geometry, 152

optoelectronic(s)

devices, commercial success, 66

division, 64

sources and detectors, characterization, 64

optogalvanic methods, characterization

of plasma discharges, 108

organic

building materials, 137 compounds

analytical mass spectrometry, 98

Henry's constants, 96

interaction of pollutants with clay, 96

separation of trace amounts, 99

spectral "fingerprints," 95

organometallic compounds, trace analysis, 99

vapor-phase epitaxy, finite-element modeling, 96

orifice pulse tube refrigerator, cryocooling, 97

oxidation, semiconductor wafers, 67

oxides, reliability in thin films, 59 oxygenated species, detection in automotive exhaust, 89

ozone layer atmospheric reaction chemistry, 112 CFC and HCFC, 95

halons, 141

parallel-actuated machine tools, multiaxis machining, 76 paramagnetic centers, action of radiation on materials, 121 parity-non-conserving neutron spin

rotation, measurement, 115

partial pressures, quantitative optical measurement, 90

particle(s) formation, modeling effort, 88

isotopic-chemical characterization, 91 nucleation and growth, molecular

dynamics, 87

patents, 43

patterned layers, measurement on

integrated circuits, 74 performance specifications, flat-panel

displays, 56

phase

composition, ceramic powders, 135

contrast imaging, NIOF, 1 14

equilibria, high critical transition temperature superconductivity, 127 -measuring interferometer systems,

resolution and accuracy, 73, 122

-noise measurements, carrier and

Fourier frequency, 116

separation, techniques, 98

photodiode detectors for radiometry, 106 photo-induced Bragg gratings, optical fiber, 66

ionization spectroscopy, gaseous contaminants, 90

photolithography extreme ultraviolet, 106, 119

facile patterning of biological species, 89

film thermal converter structures, 54 photoluminescence, high-resolution, 57

photometers, broadband, 106 photometry, 1 10 photonics, ATP general competition

projects, 20, 21

physical and chemical properties, division, 92

processes, finite-element modeling, 96

properties measurement, ceramics

powder, 135

Physics Laboratory, 104

pilot furnaces, fire endurance of wall

assemblies, 146

piston gauges, oil and gas, 90

-turning machine, geometric-thermal

characterization, 75

pixels, compositional distribution, 91 plasma(s)

etching, low-pressure, 87 fundamental processes, 97

low-temperature, characterization, 108

parameters, characterization, 88

processing and chemistry

diagnostic research, 55 materials processing, 87

reactors, diagnostics, 87

spray, ceramic coatings, 129

plug and play compatability

laboratory automation, 101 standard interfaces, 77

polarization-dependent loss and gain,

optical communications, 66

pollutant(s) emissions, combustion systems, 86

identification and measurement, 91

pollution control measurement procedures, 138

on-line monitoring, 112 polymer(s)

blends and processing, 131

characterization, 128 combustion research, 142

composites, 131 dental restorative composites, 125

division, 124 vapor transport-property relationships, 93

viscoelasticity, 129

position-sensitive detector, ceramic

powder, 135

post-process control loops, manufacturing, 74

potentiometry, scanning, 64 powder

relationships between characteristics and processing environment, 130

synthesis, ceramic powder, 135 power systems, electrical, 55

pre- and post-flight X-ray

calibrations, 110

precise signals, synthesis, 54

precision

electrical measurements,

superconductors, 53

engineering, division, 72 measurement grants, 43

Piston Turning Project, 75

pressure gauges, mechanical, 90

sensors, 59 vacuum, and low-flow standards, 90 primary gas standards, 100

Princeton Engine, real-time video

processing, 56

process and tool control, metrology, 58

-intermittent control loops, manufacturing, 74 measurements

division, 86

reliability problems, 89

Product Data Representation and Exchange standards for manufacturing, 79

production and characterization of synthetic multilayers, 109 System Engineering Tool Kit, designing and modeling production lines, 79 prompt-gamma-ray activation analysis chemical analysis, 101 cold neutron research, 132

protein(s) electrochromatographic separation of DNA and viral particles, 85

structure/function relationships, 85

pulse

radiolysis, radiation processing, 114 supersonic jet sampling of gases, 1 13

quality award program winners, 38

quantitative optical measurements of

partial pressures and moisture, 90 quantum

Hall devices, MEB facility, 68

Hall effect, national unit of resistance, 53

physics, division, 117

processes, 109 wave function, BEC phase transition, 117

-well devices, optical metrology and

sensing, 66

radiant background noise levels, measurement, 120

radiated electromagnetic interference,

testing, 69

radiation accident dosimetry, EPR, 121 damage, vacuum ultraviolet studies, 108

facility, medical-industrial, 120

processing, 1 14

radioactivity measurements, diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine, 122

radio-frequency

discharges, plasma processing, 55

radiation, biological effects, 69

radiography luminescence spectral, 110

microfocus, 127 radiometry high-accuracy cryogenic, 1 1

1

infrared, 120

infrared spectral, 1 1

1

luminescence spectral, 110

near ultraviolet, 111

noise, 60

photodiode detectors for, 106

spectral, 111 thermal, 111

visible, 120

radionuclide production, 121 Rapid Response Manufacturing

Project, 80

rare-earth-doped solid-state waveguide

lasers and amplifiers, 66

reacting flow simulation, 88

reactor radiation division, 124

real-time control

loops, manufacturing, 74

System, 77

reflectometry

thin film, 67 time-domain, 58

refrigerants advanced low-temperature, 97

alternative, 95, 112, 139

characterization to improve cycle

efficiency, 139 thermodynamic properties, 93 thermophysical properties, 93

refrigeration machinery, 139

reliability

dielectrics in thin films, 59

electrical interconnect, 58 remote location, NAMT research, 82

research and development contracts, 40 and Technology Applications Program, 47

resistance standards and materials quantum Hall effect, 53

research programs, 52

reverberating chambers, 68 RoboCrane, 77

robots measuring manufactured parts, 72 RoboCrane, 77

Rockwell C hardness indenters, measurement, 73

roofing membrane, bonding seams, 42

rotating disk reactor, thermal CVD

chemistry, 88

samples, automated preparation, 101 sampling and digitizing systems, time and

frequency domain performance, 54

strategies, 78
INDEX 163

satellite-based separations technology solvents spectroscopy (cont.) navigation, GPS, 77 analytical methodology, 99 dilute-solution, 96

\r _ A'CC i. J f f 1 A(1 1 f\C\ 11A X-ray diffraction, 66, 108, 109, 110, time transfer, urb, no antibody/antigen associations, 99 environmental and health risks, 93 128, 137 scanned probe microscopies, layered Air projects, 22 soot formation, prediction, 141 see also mass spectroscopy magnetic thin films, 71 chiral, 99 spark-discharge light sources, 108 spin polarization, secondary electrons, scanning micellar and liposomal phases, 99 spectral 107 capacitance probes, 42 multidimensional, on-line and irradiance standards, use at field sites, splitters, optical communications, 65 micromagnetic recording system, off-line, 99 110 spoken language technology, 150

ultra-high-density, 63 orthogonal methodology, 99 radiometric quantitation, light spray

optical microscopy, near-field, 113 size-selective networks, 99 emission, 1 10 combustion facility, 86

tunneling microscopy. 106, 117 supercritical fluid mixtures, 93 radiometry, 111 flames, chemical reactions and

scattering techniques for trace organic analysis, 99 spectra, Nlbl/hPA/NlH database, 95 emissions, 86

optical, measurements, 112 trace organic analysis, 99 spectrochemical analysis, automation stabilized lasers, 118

porosity and microcracks in shearing cell, neutron scattering and chemometrics, 98 standard

ceramics, 129 studies, 95 spectrophotometers, standardization, interfaces, system compatability, 77 Raman, 57 shear strength, masonry walls, 137 100 reference small angle X-ray, 134 shielding effectiveness spectrophotometry, 114 data grants, 43

scientific visualization, 153 electromagnetic fields, 69 spectroradiometer, transportable Data Program, 48

Secure Hash Standard, security structures and walls, 70 reference, 1 1

1

Materials Program, 48

technology, 148 shortwave broadcasts, 123 spectroscopic standards

security technology, 148 signal processing algorithms, species applications, 112 and process analytical applications foi computer and network, 154 detection, 89 ellipsometry, 87 spectroscopy, 100 systems and network, 149 silicon spectroscopy Information Program, 46

seismic loading, evaluation of LMUS technology, 52 array detector, 98 performance, future development, 52

structural response, 137 detector radiometry, 110 atomic, 97, 98, 99 Training and Support Program, 47

self-assembly dioxide films, precursors used in Auger electron, 109 statistical biomimetic materials, 85 deposition, 87 back-scattering, 132 analysis of time-series data, 1 1

6

monolayers for biosensing, 89 films, scanning tunneling cavity-ring-down, 90, 94 engineering, division, 152 semiconductor(s) microscope, 117 deep-level transient, 57 text retrieval system, interactive visual control of etching discharges, 55 -on-insulator metrology, semiconductor electron capture, 99 interface, 151

devices fabrication, 58 electron paramagnetic resonance, 121 STEP

and packages, metrology, 58 wafer processing, microelectro- electron spin resonance, 114 Conformance Testing Project, 80

materials, and fabrication, 20, 66 mechanical system fabrication, 71 far-infrared, 1 1

6

Data Access Interface, 79

dielectric reliability, 59 Small Business Innovation Research femtosecond laser, 92 implementation, 79

electrical Program, 43, 45 flame photometric, 99 storage-media materials, ceramics, 125

characterization metrology, 57 smoke Fourier transform infrared, 100, 101, strength and ductility, precast concrete interconnect reliability, 58 abatement equipment, 145 135, 137 structures, 137

electronics, division, 56 and toxic gas prediction, 141 Fourier transform Raman, 101 stresses, crack bridging, 126

layer deposition, monitoring and plumes, large open-air fires, 141 grazing incidence, 108 structural, earthquake, and wind

control, 66 software high-energy X-ray, 109

i ?/ engineering, 13o

low-level gaseous contaminants, 90 development high-precision laser, 109 structures, division, 136 microelectromechanical systems, 59 automating the process, 18 high-resolution time-of-flight, 132 sum frequency generation, non-linear

processing paradigms, 18

t , l An 1A1 11? no infrared, 99, 101, 113, 128 measurements at interfaces, 112

properties of gases used, 94 diagnostics and conformance laser magnetic resonance, 116 superconducting quantum interference research programs, 52 testing, division, 147 medium resolution time-of-flight, 132 devices, 62

_f L"_ 1 i ri

wafers, lithographic overlay, 152 future standards, 148 microRaman, 135 superconductivity, high critical sensors manufacturing process multiphoton ionization, 94 transition temperature, 127

tiber optic, 101 visualizations, 151 neutron Fourier, 122 superconductor(s) high-performance, 6l mathematical, 151 neutron scattering, 131 interfaces, electrical transport, 62

intelligent vehicle systems, 77 quality, 147 nuclear magnetic resonance, 84, 85, 135 magnetic loading, 62

large-scale tasks, 77 system, evaluation, 80 , „t;^ ,1 r~7 i AO i i pi optical, 57, 108, 1 19 precision electrical measurements, 53 materials for radiation processing, 1 14 solar energy generation, IR detectors, 6l optogalvanic, 109 standards and technology, 62

optical fiber, 65 solderability, measurement of, 152 photoluminescence, 66 systems and devices, 2

1

planar, 101 solid-state photon correlation, 135 wire and magnet applications, 127

real-time data processing, 76 chemical sensor arrays, 89 photon-induced ionization, 90 supercritical

solid-state chemical arrays, 89 imaging, ceramic powder, 135 polarization, 100 fluid extraction temperature of hot-rolled aluminum, infrared detectors, radiometry, 112 Kaman, o/, iui iotariflifinc /if inilutoc inn liueracuoiis oi anaiyies auu

152 solubility, solids in vapors and rapid scanning, 98 matrices, 99

see also biosensors supercritical fluids, 96 reflectance, 66 optimization of separations, 98

solute retention, chromatography and solid-state NMR, 128 fluid mixtures, thermophysical

electromigration systems, 98 spin-echo, 132 properties, 93

solution atomizer, polydisperse aerosols, triple-axis, 132 water oxidation, destruction of 135 tunable diode laser adsorption, 100

ultraviolet Fourier transform, 97, 119

UV-visible diode array, 99, 108

hazardous materials, 87
164 INDEX

surface and interface chemistry measurements,

ceramics powder, 135 and microanalysis science, division, 91

characterization, gas-phase

concentration maps and

suspensions, structure and

properties of particles, 96 dynamical processes, 91 -induced dissociation, analytical problems, 98 magnetism, 119

properties, reproducible preparation and custom tuning, 89

reactions, biomolecular processes, 85

temperature

high-speed measurement, 89

thin-film thermocouples, 90

texture measurement, 73

surfactant(s)

micelles, interaction with clay platelets, 96

surface modifications of adsorbents, 92

synchronization, network nodes, 116 synchrotron radiation, interaction with

surfaces, 92

synthetic multilayers, production and

characterization, 109

system components, interoperable, 19 systems and network security, 149

Integration for Manufacturing

Applications Program, 81

Technical Standards Activities Program,

45

technology

at a Glance, 4 Evaluation Services Program, 49

integration of manufacturing

applications, 10, 19

services, 44

specifications, software, 148 telecommunications

satellites, GPS, 116

system, computer security, 154

terrestrial solar irradiance, measurement at UV wavelengths, 1 1

1

testbed for engineering design, 78

infrastructure needs of SIMA

projects, 81

text search and retrieval, 150

theory and modeling, 126 thermal

analysis, materials selection and

degradation, 137

conductivity of gases, acoustic

resonators, 93

lens absorbance, microcolumn

separations, 99

perfonnance, walls, 144

radiation, large building fires, 140

radiometry, 111

reactors, diagnostics, 87

resistance, insulation panels, 145

voltage and current converters, 54

thermionic diode detectors, low-concentration species, 109 thermoacoustic driver, OPTR

development, 97

thermocouple, high-temperature

research, 89 thermodynamics

chemical, 94

dilute-solution, 96

thermophysical properties gases and standards from acoustic techniques, 93

gases used in semiconductor processing, 94

supercritical fluid mixtures, 93

thinfilm(s), 117

deposition chamber, reflectometry

facility, 106, 119

deposition of HTS materials, 62

fabrication process, metrology, 57

insulator deposition and etching

systems, 71

laser deposition, 117 production facility, 110

reliability of oxides, 59 thermocouple as reference thermometer, 90 vacuum deposition, 71 three-dimensional visualization, 151 timeand frequency

division, 115

services, 123

signal distribution, 1 1

6

-resolved infrared spectroscopy, 113

-reversal asymmetry in neutron beta

decay, 115

-series data, statistical analysis, 116

transfer and network synchronization, 116

tissue engineering, 23

tolerancing and metrology research, 78

tools for DNA diagnostics, 11,21

topography, X-ray diffraction imaging,

134

total quality management,

infrastructure development

technologies, 18 toughness, standard test techniques, 126

toxic gas, prediction, 14

1

traceability complex form measurement, 73

flow measurement, 86

national physical standards, 114

trace components

gas analysis, 100 microbeam analysis, 91

natural gas, 92

organic compounds, 98, 99

trace gas analysis, optical techniques, 100

tracer gas methods, indoor pollutant concentrations, 138

transfer standards, 86

transport properties, molecular-level

prediction, 93

transverse electromagnetic cells, 69

tri-directional test facility, 143

triple-axis spectrometer, 133 tunneling microscopy, 106 two-dimensional NMR methods, 84

ultrapure materials, low-level contaminant gases, 100

uncertainty, measurement, 105

user interface and efficiency- enhancement technologies information access, transmission,

storage and retrieval, 18 multimedia information, 18

vacuum

and pressure equipment, 90 chamber, internal cryoshields, 120

deposition, layered magnetic thin films, 71 measurements, standards, 90

sputtering, metals and dielectrics, 67

ultrahigh systems, 90

ultraviolet radiometry, 108 vapor

compression refrigeration technology,

14, 26

-phase synthesis of nanoparticles, 87

pressure, chlorinated trace constituents

of natural gas, 92

transport-property relationships, membrane separations, 93

vector network analyzers, six-port, 60

vehicles

intelligent systems, 77

technologies, 23

ventilation buildings, 138

intelligent controls, 139

video

display terminals, emission measurements, 70 multimedia and digital, 149

processing, digital, 56

virtual manufacturing, 82

viscoelasticity of polymers, 129

viscosity of gases, acoustic resonators, 93

visual image processing, 150

visualization

scientific, 153

three-dimensional, 151 VLSI test structures, 68

voltage acceptance tests at high voltage, 55 standards Josephson array, 53, 6l

precision ac waveforms, 54

vortices and viscosity, phonon-like

excitations, 117

voxels, giga-scale electronics and MEMS, 91

waste destruction, reactors, 87 waveform acquisition standards, time and frequency domain performance, 54

wavelength

calibration, Standard Reference

Material, 66

standards, optical fiber communications, 66 wave propagation studies, ground

range, 69 wavemeter

Fabry-Perot, 109

Fizeau, 108

Weights and Measures Program, 49 wind engineering, National Earthquake

Hazards Reduction Program, 136 windows, measurement of thermal

performance, 139

wiresuperconductor, 62 thermocouple as reference thermometer, 90

World Wide Web

Computer Security Resource

Clearinghouse, 148 conformance test services and test metrics, 148

database and information source,

105, 106 manufacturing process visualizations, 151 NIST site, 5 time and frequency signals, 116

X-ray beamlines, materials science, 134 beams, collimated and monochromatic,

110

calibrations, NASA, pre- and post-flight, 110

crystallography, 85

detector microanalysis, 6l

ultrasensitive measurement system, 71

diffraction, 91

fluorescence probe, in-situ metrology, 57

reflectivity, 57

study of atomic structure of matter, 109
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Michael Kantor, Secretary- Mary L. Good. Under Secretary for Technology

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001

(301) 975-2000

Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328

(303) 497-3000

NIST Special Publication 858

September 1996 edition

Prepared by Public and Business Affairs A903 Administration Building

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001

(301) 975-2762

Any mention of commercial products

is for information only; it does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute

of Standards and Technology nor does

it imply that the products mentioned

are necessarily the best available for

the purpose.