AN ASSESSMENT OF THE 

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS 

AND TECHNOLOGY 

PHYSICS LABORATORY 

FISCAL YEAR 2008 

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE 

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS 

AND TECHNOLOGY 

PHYSICS LABORATORY 

FISCAL YEAR 2008 

Panel on Physics 

Laboratory Assessments Board 

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences 

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 

Washington, D.C. 

www.nap.edu 
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of 

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with regard for appropriate balance. 

This study was supported by Contract No. SB134106Z0011 between the National Academy of 

Sciences and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. 

Department of Commerce. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed 

in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agency 

that provided support for the project. 

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are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. 

www.national-academies.org 
PANEL ON PHYSICS 

JOHN F. DICELLO, Johns Hopkins University, Professor Emeritus, Chair

ROBERT H. AUSTIN, Princeton University 

STEPHEN Y. CHOU, Princeton University 

R. MICHAEL GARVEY, Symmetricom Technical Realization Center 

DANIEL R. GRISCHKOWSKY, Oklahoma State University 

WICK C. HAXTON, University of Washington 

BRYAN JACOBS, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory 

STEPHEN D. KEVAN, University of Oregon 

PAUL KWIAT, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 

LUTE MALEKI, OEwaves, Inc. 

ROBERT T. MENZIES, Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

DAVID E. PRITCHARD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

PETER RENTZEPIS, University of California, Irvine 

ROBERT M. SHELBY, IBM Corporation 

ALBERT J. SIEVERS, Cornell University 

DAVID A. VROOM, Independent Consultant 

DEBORAH K. WATSON, University of Oklahoma 

MICHAEL WELCH, Washington University School of Medicine 

Staff 

JAMES P. McGEE, Director 

ARUL MOZHI, Senior Program Officer 

CY BUTNER, Senior Program Officer 

LIZA HAMILTON, Administrative Coordinator 

JONATHAN ELLSAESSER, Senior Project Assistant 

iv 
Acknowledgment of Reviewers 

 This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their 

diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by 

the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this 

independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the 

institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the 

report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the 

study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect 

the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for 

their review of this report: 

Richard G. Brewer, Stanford University, 

John H. Bruning, Corning Tropel Corporation, 

Laura H. Greene, University of Illinois, 

Steven M. Larson, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and 

David R. Schultz, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments 

and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor 

did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was 

overseen by Alton Slay, Warrenton, Virginia. Appointed by the National Research 

Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this 

report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review 

comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report 

rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

v 

Contents 

SUMMARY 1 

THE CHARGE TO THE PANEL AND THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS 9 

ATOMIC PHYSICS DIVISION 11 

ELECTRON AND OPTICAL PHYSICS DIVISION 19 

IONIZING RADIATION DIVISION 26 

OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY DIVISION 33 

QUANTUM PHYSICS DIVISION 41 

TIME AND FREQUENCY DIVISION 51 

PROGRAMS FUNDED UNDER THE AMERICA COMPETES ACT 57 

OVERALL CONCLUSIONS 58 

vii 
vii 
Summary 

 The overall mission of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 

is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement 

science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve 

the quality of life. The institutional vision is to be the world’s leader in creating critical 

measurement solutions and promoting equitable standards with core competencies in the 

areas of measurement sciences, rigorous traceability, and standards. The mission of the 

NIST Physics Laboratory is to support U.S. industry, government, and the scientific 

community by providing measurement services and research for electronic, optical, and 

radiation technology. In this respect, the laboratory provides the foundation for the 

metrology of optical and ionizing radiations, time and frequency, and fundamental 

quantum processes, historically major areas of standards and technology. 

 The organizational structure of the Physics Laboratory for accomplishing its 

mission and goals includes six vertically integrated divisions: 

• Atomic Physics Division 

• Electron and Optical Physics Division 

• Ionizing Radiation Division 

• Optical Technology Division 

• Quantum Physics Division 

• Time and Frequency Division 

The laboratory also includes an Office of Electronic Commerce in Scientific and 

Engineering Data to facilitate the electronic dissemination of technical information 

through the Internet. In line with the vertical integration of the laboratory, each division 

is further divided into groups and projects. 

 The Panel on Physics visited the six divisions of the laboratory and reviewed a 

selected sample of their programs and projects. As described in the next chapter, “The 

Charge to the Panel and the Assessment Process,” the panel’s assessment included the 

following four criteria: (1) the technical merit of the current laboratory programs relative 

to the current state of the art worldwide; (2) the adequacy of the laboratory facilities, 

equipment, and human resources, as they affect the quality of the laboratory technical 

programs; (3) the degree to which the laboratory programs in measurement science and 

standards achieve stated objectives and desired impact; and (4) the extent of the progress 

of all of the fiscal year (FY) 2007 programs funded under the America COMPETES Act 

of 2007 (which supports the President’s American Competitiveness Initiative [ACI])1

relevant to the laboratory. 

 1

 See Domestic Policy Council, Office of Science and Technology Policy, 2006, American 

Competitiveness Initiative, Washington, D.C. “America COMPETES Act” is the short title for the America 

Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act of 

2007 (Public Law 110-69). 

1 
TECHNICAL MERIT RELATIVE TO STATE OF THE ART

 The overall quality and productivity of the Physics Laboratory are comparable to 

or better than those of other peer institutions, an accomplishment that is being achieved 

with an infrastructure that is smaller in both size and funding than the size and funding of 

most national and agency laboratories in the United States. 

The laboratory has responsibilities for the maintenance and improvement of the 

U.S. national standards for the Système International (SI) base and derived units, 

including those for time (the second), light (the candela), light output (the lumen), power 

(optical watt), thermometry (the kelvin), radiation (the gray), and radioactivity (the 

becquerel), as well as many other quantities, units, and data compilations. Following are 

some of the responsibilities of the laboratory’s six divisions: 

• The Atomic Physics Division compiles fundamental constants and 

spectroscopic data for atoms from the far infrared to the x-ray spectral region. 

It maintains the Atomic Data Center, the only center of its kind, and it sets the 

standard worldwide for these data. 

• The Electron and Optical Physics Division has the primary responsibility for 

the national primary radiometric standards for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) 

radiation. 

• The Ionizing Radiation Division is primarily responsible for radiation dose 

(gray) and radioactivity (becquerel) as well as calibrations and standards in 

industry and medicine. 

• The Optical Technology Division maintains primary standards for the candela 

and associated photometric, colorimetric, pyrometric, and spectral radiometric 

quantities. 

• The Quantum Physics Division conducts research in support of the length 

scale for mechanical measurements along with establishing a direct 

connection between optical and radio frequencies. 

• The Time and Frequency Division maintains time and frequency standards 

with the accuracy, continuity, and stability essential for supporting U.S. 

commerce and scientific research; provides an official source of time for U.S. 

civilian applications; and supports the coordination of international time and 

frequency standards, including realization of the SI second. 

 The success of the laboratory, its relevance, and the quality of the work are 

exemplified by the Nobel Prizes in physics awarded to three of its staff during the past 

decade, an accomplishment not duplicated by government laboratories and academic 

research institutions that are much larger and funded at a higher level. Such honors 

should be taken as an affirmation of the importance and success of the overall standards, 

services, and research being performed within this laboratory and provided nationwide 

and worldwide as well as an acknowledgment of the unique and relevant 

accomplishments of the Nobel laureates themselves. It is worth noting that the research 

on which the three awards were based is directly related to improvements in 

measurements and standards. 

2 
ADEQUACY OF INFRASTRUCTURE 

Staffing 

The quality and productivity of the research staff in all of the laboratory’s 

divisions are impressive, and the laboratory appears to be moving well toward the NIST 

3-year goal for attracting and retaining excellent staff. The vast majority of the projects 

are well conceived and relevant to the mission of the divisions and to the needs of those 

who use the calibrations, standards, and research results. A major strength of the 

laboratory is the receptiveness of the researchers and administrative staff to input from 

the user community and a willingness to address new and evolving technological and 

metrological issues. 

Some groups in the divisions are staffed heavily with retired and/or emeritus 

employees, contractors, and visitors. Visiting researchers are major contributors to the 

quality and productivity of the laboratory, bringing in new ideas, establishing close 

working relationships that continue after the individuals have returned to their own 

institutions, and filling gaps in expertise in particular projects. A policy involving the use 

of nonpermanent personnel can, at the same time, be disruptive, because such a policy 

can jeopardize continuity and flexibility if not effectively implemented. Capabilities 

appear to be threatened in some areas by the staffing trends of the past few years. 

A relatively low permanent staff population appears to be partially related to the 

NIST overhead structure, which assesses the salaries of permanent staff but not the costs 

of contractor personnel. A related factor appears to be the extent to which support 

depends on external funding sources, a factor that has led to a situation in which the 

hiring or maintaining of temporary appointments is preferred over permanent 

appointments because of lower costs. A NIST committee is addressing the NIST 

overhead structure and how it is allocated. 

Security Procedures for New Personnel 

There has been notable improvement in the ability of the NIST facility at Boulder, 

Colorado, to engage guest scientists. A highly effective program enables both foreign 

and domestic scientists to work at NIST Boulder on contract through a new scientific 

services company. Programs through several universities in Colorado enable 

collaborative work by foreign and domestic scientists with the Physics Laboratory. 

The security-related background checks of new employees and visitors to the 

laboratory should be expedited as much as possible. The scientists at NIST work on 

complex experiments that often involve measurements being made after regular business 

hours when vibrations and temperature fluctuations in the building are minimized. 

Therefore, it is a serious impediment to both progress and a collaborative spirit that new 

employees, and particularly foreign visitors and employees, often face 5 to 14 months for 

background checks by an agency outside of NIST before being allowed to run their 

experiments after hours. The resolution of this issue would be in line with the ACI goal 

of increasing the ability of the United States to compete for and retain the most highly 

skilled workers from around the world. 

3 
New Facilities and Equipment 

 An impressive building program has continued since the 2005 assessment by the 

previous National Research Council (NRC) Panel on Physics.2 As noted in that 

assessment, the addition of these new facilities should alleviate many problems arising 

because of insufficient space. Although new buildings generally require less 

maintenance, they do not eliminate the need entirely, so maintenance issues must still be 

resolved both in the short and long terms, particularly in the case of existing facilities. 

A main concern is the condition of the physical plant that houses the Radiation 

Interactions and Dosimetry Group and the Radioactivity Group in the Ionizing Radiation 

Division, as well as aging equipment that must be replaced. A serious problem arises 

from the fact newer equipment must be housed in heavily (radiation) shielded bunkers, 

but the division is housed in an older building whose shielded facilities do not meet these 

requirements. This is a major issue that may require the construction of a new building. 

Funding for a major renovation, or preferably a new building, should be established for 

the Ionizing Radiation Division. Shielded radiation cells should be constructed to house 

modern radiation equipment and the high-dose-rate calibration equipment needed for 

industrial-scale dosimetry and medical imaging and calibrations. 

 A new laboratory building for the Time and Frequency Division at Boulder has 

been funded, and construction bids have been solicited. Initiatives to construct this new 

laboratory should be completed as planned. There remains, however, the problem of the 

inability to repair and maintain the present facility in a timely manner. 

It is critical for the Quantum Physics Division that funding for the new JILA 

building be provided and that the plans for design and construction move forward in a 

timely fashion, both to relieve the space crunch at JILA and to maintain the high morale 

and productivity that are key in making JILA an attractive place to work for highly 

talented staff members who are actively recruited by other institutions. 

In the Optical Technology Division, several laboratories are in new locations in 

the Advanced Measurements Laboratory (AML), and in general the overall increase in 

floor space offers much more flexibility and a much improved environment for the 

researchers to work with their equipment. Unfortunately the occupants of the AML, 

many of whom are in the new Biophysics Group, will have to move in order to create 

space for a new NIST center. Laboratory moves are always disruptive. Although the 

affected staff are facing this change with a positive attitude, it will slow the progress of 

their research for a time. It is important to have a plan in place that will adequately 

prepare their destination laboratories prior to the move. 

The Optical Technology Division is also investigating the possibility of 

developing an x-ray facility using a compact source based on inverse Compton scattering. 

There needs to be a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the development and operation of 

this facility compared with the development of beam lines at an existing synchrotron 

radiation facility. If the proposal is thought to be viable, a more focused review by a 

diverse panel of experts should be undertaken. 

The laboratory of the Laser Cooling and Trapping Group in the Atomic Physics 

 2

 National Research Council, 2005, An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories, Fiscal Years 2004-2005, Washington, D.C.: The 

National Academies Press. 

4 
Division is maintained and used at a high level with the addition of significant outside 

funding—a recognition of the importance of the research of this group to outside funding 

agencies. The Joint Quantum Institute has plans for a new building that will provide new 

laboratory space for the Laser Cooling and Trapping Group; these plans should be 

brought to completion expeditiously. 

Maintenance and Upgrading of Existing Facilities and 

Scientific Equipment 

 Routine maintenance, repairs, and upgrades of existing facilities and equipment 

vary considerably among the different laboratory divisions and sites. The panel 

requested and received a meeting with the Chief Facilities Management Officer to discuss 

routine maintenance. The available annual funding is substantially less than the 

estimated costs. 

 The capacity and capability of the instrument shops of the NIST facility at 

Boulder have continued to decline over many years and are now at the point that NIST 

Boulder researchers, particularly in the Time and Frequency Division, must regularly use 

external machining services, including commercial services, and must sometimes use 

JILA instrument shops. The absence of stronger in-house fabrication services impedes 

NIST Boulder research and metrology. JILA, in contrast, has top-notch mechanical and 

electronic shops, and this infrastructure is vital to the productivity and success of the 

Quantum Physics Division. The inadequacy of the NIST instrument shops constitutes an 

unsatisfactory situation that should be addressed and corrected. The strong emphasis on 

nanotechnology in many of the projects at JILA has led to the need for a new, highresolution scanning electron microscope (SEM) with a state-of-the-art field emission 

source for imaging of the nanostructures and for nanolithography; the present SEM at the 

laboratory is not state of the art. 

Infrastructure and facilities for the Time and Frequency Division have shown 

improvement since 2005. A central heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) 

facility is being installed to provide improved environmental controls within the existing 

buildings. A power-conditioning unit is being installed to improve the reliability and 

quality of the alternating current power to the laboratories on the site. The room in which 

the new time standard (F2) is being assembled is a significant improvement over the 

space that housed the current time standard (F1) in 2005. However, these facilities need 

further improvement, and there remains the problem of the inability to repair and 

maintain the facility in a timely manner and to an acceptable standard. This problem 

affects employee safety, efficiency, and morale and should be immediately resolved 

satisfactorily. The initiative to construct a new laboratory, mentioned above, is laudable; 

this construction should be completed in a timely fashion as planned, and the present 

facility must be maintained in an acceptable fashion in the interim. 

The Quantum Physics Division is housed in the JILA building on the campus of 

the University of Colorado. Laboratory and office space continues to be insufficient to 

adequately house current programs. Immediate steps should be taken to ensure that space 

limitations do not create potentially unsafe working conditions, are not detrimental to 

productivity, and do not affect the ability to attract, hire, and retain top-class scientists in 

the future. Funding to build additional space should be provided in a timely fashion. 

5 
Computer Security 

The security rules for computers mandated through the Office of Management and 

Budget should be examined to address the specific needs of the laboratory. The Time 

and Frequency Division’s staff and management have noted, for example, that an 

increasingly unhealthy fraction of the time and energy of scientists is consumed with 

various administrative burdens related to information technology (IT) security, 

procurement, physical security, repeated inventories, required training on administrative 

issues, and other distractions. NIST should examine ways to comply with the governing 

laws, regulations, and mandates while minimizing the distraction of the scientists from 

their mission and fundamental enterprise and maintaining productivity and morale. In 

fact, NIST would appear to be the appropriate national institution to be examining and 

developing technologies that maximize security while minimizing interference to the 

user. The NRC’s 2007 report by the Panel on Information Technology also notes, 

“There are problems with the interaction between mandated or desirable research 

activities and the standard computer-security policies that are widely respected at NIST 

and similar organizations.”3 Research at the NIST Information Technology Laboratory 

that would reduce these problems would serve not only the best interests of NIST but also 

the nation.

ACHIEVEMENT OF OBJECTIVES AND IMPACT

 The American Competitiveness Initiative identifies the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology in the Department of Commerce, the National Science 

Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science as three 

key federal agencies that support basic research programs in the physical sciences and 

engineering. NIST’s Physics Laboratory is the only laboratory of its kind among these 

three agencies and, as such, represents a unique and essential national asset within an 

institute that is both unique and essential. 

According to the Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2007-2012 of the Department of 

Commerce, “NIST research laboratories focus on providing the measurements, 

standards, verified data, and test methods necessary to support the development of new 

technologies and to promote the competitive standing of the United States in the global 

economy.”4

 The strategic plan document further notes that NIST’s scientific and 

technical staff work closely with private industry, academic researchers, and other 

government agencies. In order for NIST to achieve these objectives, the NIST Physics 

Laboratory has provided unduplicated services and technology to business, industry, 

medicine, academia, and other government agencies in the areas of commerce, 

transportation, communication, defense, science, and research. In parallel with these 

responsibilities, it has carried out a research program, in many instances the only such 

research in the United States or the world, designed to continually improve and expand 

 3

 National Research Council, 2007, An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology Information Technology Laboratory: Fiscal Year 2007, Washington, D.C.: The National 

Academies Press, p. 1. 4

 Department of Commerce, 2007, Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2007-2012, Washington, D.C.: 

U.S. Government Printing Office, p. 35. 

6 
its capabilities in standards and metrology so as to maintain the leadership position of the 

laboratory, NIST, and the nation. 

Detailed observations and recommendations with regard to how well the Physics 

Laboratory and its divisions have achieved their responsibilities are discussed in the 

chapters that follow. The overall quality and productivity have continued to rise during 

the past several decades, including areas of standards originally dominated by other 

countries, and are now comparable to or better than that of other peer institutions, an 

accomplishment achieved with an infrastructure that is smaller in both size and funding 

than the size and funding of most national and agency laboratories. The external impact 

of the Physics Laboratory is well demonstrated by the fact that three of its staff have 

received Nobel Prizes in physics in the past decade. Within NIST itself, the Physics 

Laboratory has 9 of the total of 30 NIST Fellows. These achievements have been 

accomplished during a time when the lead of the United States in other areas has been 

diminishing or has vanished as a result of worldwide changes; the Physics Laboratory is 

dealing with these same changes. 

 To maintain its international position, the Physics Laboratory has developed a 

strong network of collaborations with national and international groups that provide the 

laboratory with evaluations of national needs and recommendations of future directions 

as well as evaluations of the Physics Laboratory’s performance. Following are examples 

of such collaboration: 

• The NIST Measurement Services Advisory Group (MSAG) was recently 

created with a goal of bolstering measurement services within NIST. The 

MSAG selected the Atomic Physics Division’s Atomic Spectroscopy Group 

to receive funds to enhance the Atomic Data Center, including an 

enhancement of the center’s ability to collect and disseminate atomic data. 

• The Council for Optical Radiation Measurements (CORM) is a body 

originally instituted by NIST to provide guidance and prioritization on 

technical needs in industry and research. It periodically evaluates national 

needs in optical metrology and provides feedback on the services and 

standards supplied by the Optical Technology Division. 

• The Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards (CIRMS) 

advises the Ionizing Radiation Division on potential projects. An external 

advisory committee should be appointed to help the Radioactivity Group 

select and prioritize both new research projects and the specific areas of 

service collaboration. 

The Electron and Optical Physics Division should continue to pursue more 

collaborations and connections to the growing industrial base focused on EUV 

lithography. It should initiate a NIST EUV effort to couple existing, relevant expertise 

across the division. 

The level of coordination or overlap of the Biophysics Group in the Optical 

Technology Division with other divisions should be clarified. Although this Biophysics 

Group fits into the Optical Technology Division, several other divisions include the 

activities of this group in their portfolios. The Physics Laboratory has the potential to 

play an increasingly important role in collaborating with other, external organizations to 

7 
exploit the new technologies and methods in many facets of the biosciences. However, it 

will be necessary for the Physics Laboratory to elucidate a comprehensive plan for 

organizing and staffing its expanded role in this area if it is to optimize its effectiveness. 

The terahertz research in the Optical Technology Division has outstanding 

measurement capabilities in terahertz research, but because these are developing 

technologies and because of reorganization within the laboratory, it is not obvious which 

applications are to be investigated and who the future customers are to be. The terahertz 

research technical leads and the division management should delineate applications areas 

and their potential applications for the laboratory’s unusual capabilities in the area of 

terahertz research. 

The Physics Laboratory should develop a strategic plan in quantum information 

because it has the potential to become a major innovator of such technology. Conversely, 

failure within the United States to develop a leadership position in this area could 

threaten U.S. competitiveness economically and scientifically and could undermine 

national security. 

8 
The Charge to the Panel and the Assessment Process 

 At the request of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National 

Academies, through its National Research Council, has since 1959 annually assembled 

panels of experts from academia, industry, medicine, and other scientific and engineering 

environments to assess the quality and effectiveness of the NIST measurements and 

standards laboratories, of which there are now nine,5 as well as the adequacy of the 

laboratories’ resources. In 2008, NIST requested that five of its laboratories be assessed: 

the Building and Fire Research Laboratory, the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory, 

the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory, the NIST Center for Neutron 

Research, and the Physics Laboratory. Each laboratory was assessed by a separate panel 

of experts, and the findings of the individual panels are summarized in separate reports. 

This report summarizes the findings of the Panel on Physics. 

 For the FY 2008 assessment, NIST requested that the panel consider the 

following criteria as part of its assessment: 

1. The technical merit of the current laboratory programs relative to the current 

state of the art worldwide; 

2. The adequacy of the laboratory facilities, equipment, and human resources, as 

they affect the quality of the laboratory technical programs; and 

3. The degree to which the laboratory programs in measurement science and 

standards achieve their stated objectives and desired impact. 

In addition, since NIST has begun to receive increases in funding through the America 

COMPETES Act of 2007, which supports the President’s American Competitiveness 

Initiative, the Director of NIST requested that the assessment panels specifically examine 

and review the progress of all of the activities at the laboratories supported by funding 

under the America COMPETES Act of 2007 and that the panels comment on those 

activities in their reports. 

The framework for this technical assessment is the mission of NIST, which is to 

promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement 

science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve 

the quality of life. The NIST laboratories conduct research to anticipate future metrology 

and standards needs, to enable new scientific and technological advances, and to improve 

and refine existing measurement methods and services. 

 To accomplish the assessment, the NRC appointed a panel of 18 volunteers whose 

technical expertise matched that of areas of work being performed by the Physics 

Laboratory staff. Each panel member was further assigned to one of six division review 

teams, with each member’s general field of expertise matching that of the work 

performed by staff in the relevant division. The six divisions are Atomic Physics, 

Electron and Optical Physics, Ionizing Radiation, Optical Technology, Quantum Physics, 

 5

 The nine NIST laboratories are the Building and Fire Research Laboratory, the Center for 

Nanoscale Science and Technology, the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, the Electronics and 

Electrical Engineering Laboratory, the Information Technology Laboratory, the Manufacturing Engineering 

Laboratory, the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory, the NIST Center for Neutron Research, and 

the Physics Laboratory. 

9 
and Time and Frequency. 

 Selected members of the panel met for 1 day with the staff of the Time and 

Frequency Division and the Quantum Physics Division in Boulder, Colorado, on 

February 15, 2008. The remaining members of the panel separately visited the other 

laboratory divisions at Gaithersburg, Maryland, for 1 day on February 26, 2008. During 

both visits, the members of the panel, including the panel chair, attended presentations, 

tours, demonstrations, and interactive sessions with the laboratory staff. These sessions 

included interactive visits with the research and technical staff within their laboratories 

and research facilities. The entire panel assembled for a 2-day meeting at the NIST 

facilities in Gaithersburg on February 27-28, 2008. During that time they attended 

overview presentations by the Physics Laboratory management and participated in 

interactive sessions with the laboratory managers. The panel also met during this time in 

a closed session to deliberate its findings and to define the contents of this assessment 

report. 

 The panel’s approach to the assessment relied on the experience, technical 

knowledge, and expertise of its members, who were chosen because their backgrounds 

matched the technical areas within which the laboratory activities are conducted. The 

panel reviewed examples of the standards and measurements activities and the 

technological research selected by the panel in consultation with NIST and NRC 

administration. It was not possible to review all of the laboratory’s individual programs 

and projects exhaustively. The panel’s goal was to identify, assess, and report salient 

examples of accomplishments and opportunities for further improvement with respect to 

the technical merit of the laboratory work, its perceived impact with respect to achieving 

the laboratory’s own defined objectives, and specific elements of the laboratory’s 

resource infrastructure that are intended to support the technical work. These highlighted 

examples, along with data from scientific and technical literature and supplemental 

information provided by each division, are intended to provide the basis of an overall 

evaluation of each division and of the laboratory as a whole, while preserving useful 

comments and suggestions specific to projects. The assessment is currently scheduled to 

be repeated biennially. While the panel applied a largely qualitative rather than 

quantitative approach to the assessment, it is possible that future assessments will be 

informed by further consideration of various analytical methods that can be applied. 

 The comments in this report are not intended to address each program within the 

Physics Laboratory exhaustively. Instead, this report identifies key issues and focuses on 

representative programs and projects relevant to those issues. Given the necessarily 

nonexhaustive nature of the review process, the omission of any particular Physics 

Laboratory program or project should not be interpreted as a negative reflection on the 

omitted program or project. 

 This report first summarized issues that apply broadly to several or all of the 

divisions or to the Physics Laboratory as a whole. Then, after this chapter on the charge 

to the panel and the assessment process, it presents observations specific to each Physics 

Laboratory division. Finally, it comments on the programs funded under the America 

COMPETES Act and provides overall conclusions. 

10 
Atomic Physics Division 

DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVISION 

Mission 

The mission of Atomic Physics Division is to determine atomic properties and 

investigate fundamental quantum interactions in order to provide data and measurement 

support for national needs. The mission involves the development and application of 

atomic physics research methods, including those involving the interaction between 

atoms and electromagnetic fields, to achieve fundamental advances in measurement 

science—some at the quantum limit—relevant to industry and the technical community, 

and to produce and critically compile physical reference data. 

Scope 

 The scope of the Atomic Physics Division includes the following three strategic 

elements. 

1. The Laser Cooling and Trapping strategic element focuses on the physics and 

applications of laser cooling and the electromagnetic trapping of neutral 

particles, the manipulation of Bose-Einstein condensates, and the use of optical 

dipole forces as a new tool for analyzing microscopic objects in biochemistry. 

It includes both fundamental studies, such as the investigation of superfluidity, 

and applied studies, such as quantum information processing and manipulation 

techniques for biomolecular systems. A strong theoretical-experimental 

collaboration is aimed at interpreting experimental results and providing 

guidance for new experiments. 

2. The Atomic Spectroscopy strategic element has as its objective to critically 

compile fundamental constants and spectroscopic data for atoms from the far 

infrared to the x-ray spectral region. Such reference data are disseminated 

through the NIST Physics Laboratory Web site. When reliable data do not 

exist for high-priority needs, specific measurements or calculations are 

undertaken to produce them. 

3. The Quantum Processes and Metrology strategic element focuses on 

developing and exploiting precision metrology at the interface between atomic 

and nanoscale systems. Systems under study include quantum dots and wires, 

the quantum optics of nanosystems, ultracold atomic quantum gases, metallic 

nanoparticles, and those systems with nanoscale features induced on surfaces 

by highly charged ions. 

Projects 

Laser Cooling and Trapping 

The Joint Quantum Institute is a major new project for the division since the 

11 
NRC’s previous review.6

 This institute was formally established with the University of 

Maryland and the National Security Agency (NSA) in the fall of 2006, modeled in part 

along the lines of JILA. The purpose of this partnership is to create an institute of the 

caliber that will attract top scientists and students into the field of coherent quantum 

phenomena. This cross-disciplinary effort combines atomic/molecular/optical physics, 

condensed-matter physics, and quantum information in a single institute to capitalize on 

the different strengths of these fields through interdisciplinary collaboration. 

In 2007, the Joint Quantum Institute benefited from about $2 million of funding 

under the America COMPETES Act of 2007, helping to enhance the position of the 

United States in this emerging technology. New laboratories are being designed for 

NIST researchers, and several collaborative projects have been initiated. Two staff 

members taught a graduate course in quantum information at the University of Maryland, 

25 Fellows have been appointed, and a new staff member was hired. An additional 

benefit of the institute will be the opportunity for NIST to share its expertise by the 

training of students through the graduate program at the University of Maryland, which 

will leverage the capabilities of the Laser Cooling and Trapping Group in the exploration 

of this new frontier. Quantum information has the potential to spur major innovations. 

Failure to develop leadership in this area could threaten U.S. competitiveness 

economically and scientifically and could undermine national security. This effort should 

receive continued support. 

Atomic Spectroscopy 

A second major project in the Atomic Physics Division, the Atomic Data Center, 

is the only center of its kind. Its mission is to critically compile fundamental constants 

and spectroscopic data for atoms from the far infrared to the x-ray spectral region. As a 

unique center, it sets the standard worldwide for these data. These results are 

disseminated on the NIST Physics Laboratory Web site to produce high-quality data for 

immediate scientific or technological needs. When such data do not exist for highpriority needs such as fusion energy, space astronomy, or microlithography, specific 

measurements or calculations are undertaken at the center to produce them. Improved 

measurements have also been initiated in support of fundamental constants. This 

database experiences more than 50,000 requests for data each month. An online 

collisional-radiative modeling system of hot plasmas was added in conjunction with the 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 

Quantum Processes and Metrology 

A third major project in the division involves a leading-edge optical lithography 

effort. This work in the precision measurement of materials is unique and is much 

appreciated by a community of users such as Intel Corporation and ASML, a provider of 

lithography systems for the semiconductor industry. The division’s work also includes 

the most accurate diffraction measurement capability, work to make an absolute standard 

 6

 National Research Council, 2005, An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories, Fiscal Years 2004-2005, Washington, D.C.: The 

National Academies Press. 

12 
of current, and the development of new magnetic material for read heads in magnetic data 

storage devices. The theoretical work in this group is strong, supporting experiments 

throughout the laboratory, including theoretical support for optical lattices, the atomic 

clock work at NIST Boulder and JILA, and the preeminent effort in cold collision 

Feshbach resonances important at present in Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) research. 

Staffing 

The Atomic Physics Division has seen a healthy turnover in staff as two scientists 

in atomic spectroscopy have retired and three new scientists have been hired. Fifty 

percent of the scientists were new to the division in the past decade. The Laser Cooling 

and Trapping Group completed a successful bid to hire a new experimentalist. The 

Quantum Processes and Metrology Group has completed two hires since the previous 

assessment, one a transfer within NIST and one hired from a university. These 

impressive hires, which show a small amount of growth for the division, have been 

successful because of both the funding related to the America COMPETES Act and the 

first-rate reputation of this division in the scientific community. 

 The Atomic Spectroscopy Group, which has had two retirements in the past 3 

years, currently functions by leveraging its effort with emeritus staff, contractors, and 

visitors. This appears to be a highly effective means to maintain productivity and to 

retain expertise, although it jeopardizes continuity if not effectively implemented. 

Major Equipment, Facilities, Ancillary Support, and Resources 

 The status of equipment, facilities, and ancillary support and resources in the 

division appears to be good. Much of the current equipment of the division is state of the 

art. The facilities are between good and excellent and are well maintained. The 

Advanced Measurements Laboratory building provides state-of-the-art facilities for the 

Laser Cooling and Trapping Group and for parts of the Quantum Processes and 

Metrology Group. This laboratory is maintained and used at a high level with the 

addition of significant outside funding—a recognition of the importance of the research 

of this group to outside funding agencies. The Joint Quantum Institute has plans for a 

new building that will provide new laboratory space for this group. 

ASSESSMENT OF THE DIVISION 

As stated above, the mission of the Atomic Physics Division is to determine 

atomic properties and investigate fundamental quantum interactions in order to provide 

data and measurement support for national needs. The major projects of the division 

reflect this mission, striking a healthy balance between applied studies targeting highpriority needs of industry, the fusion energy community, and the space astronomy 

program, and more fundamental studies that may lead to new technologies that could 

affect U.S. leadership economically and scientifically; they could also affect national 

security issues. 

The major accomplishments since the previous assessment, in 2005, include both 

13 
institutional progress and technological accomplishments. Examples of institutional 

progress include the following: 

• The NIST Quantum Information Program, started in 2000, is a crosslaboratory effort in quantum information science. This program is a 

coordinated effort aimed at producing a prototype quantum logic processor. 

Initiative funds from the FY 2007 budget significantly enhanced the program 

that currently supports 10 divisions in three NIST laboratories: the Physics 

Laboratory, the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory, and the 

Information Technology Laboratory. 

• A new entity in the Quantum Information Program, the Joint Quantum 

Institute, was formally established with a cooperative agreement and 

Memorandum of Understanding in September 2006. As discussed above, this 

institute creates a partnership between NIST, the University of Maryland, and 

NSA to study coherent quantum phenomena (quantum information science), 

an area that has the potential to become a revolutionary technology that will 

affect the United States economically and in national security issues. 

Supported by America COMPETES Act funding, the goal of this institute is to 

keep the United States in the forefront of quantum information science. 

• The NIST Measurement Services Advisory Group was recently created with a 

goal of bolstering measurement services within NIST. The MSAG selected 

the division’s Atomic Spectroscopy Group to receive funds to enhance the 

Atomic Data Center, including its ability to collect and disseminate atomic 

data. 

 Technological accomplishments in the division since the previous NRC 

assessment of the Physics Laboratory include the following: 

• A theoretical and experimental study was done to examine ionized states of 

heavy atoms, which have several critical applications, including the obtaining 

of diagnostics of the conditions in the International Thermonuclear 

Experimental Reactor, a joint international research and development project 

that aims to demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion 

power. 

• New magnetic materials for ultrasmall read heads in magnetic data storage 

devices were developed. A patent is pending for this valuable contribution to 

the data storage industry. 

• A neutral atom swap gate for quantum computation was demonstrated using a 

novel, two-period lattice. This work, published in Nature,

7

 represents a 

significant step forward for neutral atom quantum computing. 

 7 Marco Anderlini, Patricia J. Lee, Benjamin L. Brown, Jennifer Sebby-Strabley, William D. 

Phillips, and J.V. Porto, 2007, “Controlled Exchange Interaction Between Pairs of Neutral Atoms in an 

Optical Lattice,” Nature 448 (July 26): pp. 452-456. 

14 
Technical Merit Relative to State of the Art 

Laser Cooling and Trapping

The area of atom cooling and trapping was pioneered at NIST in the Laser 

Cooling and Trapping Group, leading to a Nobel Prize in 1997. This group also 

pioneered confining cold atoms in optical lattices formed by the interaction of the atom 

with a standing wave of light. The trapped atoms are being explored as a possible route 

to quantum computation and for the quantum simulation of problems of interest in 

condensed matter. This work is among the best in its field. 

Atomic Spectroscopy 

The evaluation of fundamental constants, accomplished with considerable 

international collaboration and consultation, considers all experiments that bear on these 

constants and is the accepted source for the best values of the fundamental constants. 

Likewise, the atomic data evaluated and compiled by the Atomic Spectroscopy Data 

Center are the primary source of atomic data. 

Quantum Processes and Metrology 

 

 Optical lithography is reducing the limit on feature size for large-scale integrated 

circuits to permit even greater densities. The work being carried out by the Quantum 

Processes and Metrology Group in materials and precision measurements is unique and is 

much appreciated by the community of users such as Intel Corporation and ASML. 

Fundamental research involving materials for optics is being undertaken, in particular to 

find a composite material with as small a birefringence as possible. The most accurate 

diffraction measurement capability exists in this group; this capability is essential for 

developing optics at the level needed. In collaboration with the NIST Electronics and 

Electrical Engineering Laboratory, a new approach is being taken to develop an absolute 

standard of electrical current. It is based on using a single electron transistor to count the 

number of electrons per second. The development of such new standards is a highly 

relevant project for NIST. 

Adequacy of Infrastructure 

Laser Cooling and Trapping 

 The recently completed new laboratory facilities supporting the work of the Laser 

Cooling and Trapping Group provide a research environment that is far superior to that of 

the previous laboratory facilities. One benefit is that complex laser systems and 

associated optical components that previously needed considerable adjustment in the 

morning and a readjusting at midday now operate for weeklong timescales without 

readjustment. This change frees up to several hours per day for productive work and 

allows more complicated experimental setups to be constructed, allowing more advanced 

research programs. Also, some of the noisy pumps and machinery associated with the 

15 
experiments are now in the service corridor behind the laboratories, which reduces the 

vibration and stress on experiments as well as on the scientists working on them. 

 The permanent personnel in the Laser Cooling and Trapping Group are among the 

best in their field. This group’s attractiveness is attested to by the six NRC and other 

fellows who elected to join the group. 

Atomic Spectroscopy and Quantum Processes and Metrology 

The facilities for the Atomic Spectroscopy Group and the Quantum Processes and 

Metrology Group are between adequate and state of the art. 

Achievement of Objectives and Impact 

Laser Cooling and Trapping 

 In the area of laser cooling and trapping, the intense correlated photon source is 

likely to be particularly important in the short run because of its high rate of production 

for correlated pairs of photons. 

Atomic Spectroscopy 

 The Atomic Spectroscopy Group maintains the premier database of atomic data: 

the group’s fundamental constants work and its atomic data are the world standard. 

Quantum Processes and Metrology 

The Quantum Processes and Metrology Group is successful in understanding 

interactions between light and solids and, for example, in using this knowledge to design 

new materials and techniques for new lithographic processes that are reducing the feature 

sizes of integrated circuits to ever-smaller dimensions in order to allow faster and more 

capable semiconductor devices. Light-atom interactions are also used to characterize 

materials precisely and for the precision measurement of micro-movements of 

nanostructures. Obtained precision is currently approaching the size of an atom. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The technical merit of all three groups in the Atomic Physics Division continues 

at a very high level compared with the current state of the art. The Laser Cooling and 

Trapping Group is a leader in the coherent control of atoms, which may quite possibly 

constitute a technological revolution. The Quantum Processes and Metrology Group is 

performing state-of-the-art work in optical lithography including the precision 

measurements of materials. The Atomic Spectroscopy Group maintains a unique source 

of atomic data and fundamental constants, with a critical compilation of new data and the 

determination of specific measurements for high-priority needs in the industry, in the 

fusion energy community, and in the astrophysical community. 

16 
The facilities, equipment, and human resources of all three groups are good to 

excellent. The Advanced Measurements Laboratory building provides excellent 

laboratory space, and much of the equipment is state of the art. The Atomic 

Spectroscopy Group is currently highly leveraged in personnel through the use of retired 

employees, contractors, and visitors; their contribution is currently effective, but must be 

allocated with care and cannot be counted on for the future. All the groups are achieving 

their stated objectives. 

In 2007 NIST received about $6 million for quantum information science under 

America COMPETES Act funding. One-third (about $2 million) was combined with 

funding from the University of Maryland and the National Security Agency to support 

the new Joint Quantum Institute. Quantum information and quantum computers are 

intrinsically cross-disciplinary, involving physics, mathematics, materials science, and 

computer science and engineering. Canada and Europe have quantum information 

centers, and the NIST center is needed to keep up U.S. competitiveness in this potentially 

revolutionary area of science and technology. 

Overall the funds allocated to the Physics Laboratory for atomic physics are a 

wise investment of U.S. research dollars in an area of technology that is witnessing rapid 

advances and competition from abroad. The panel strongly encourages the continuation 

of funding for the new Joint Quantum Institute. 

The Atomic Physics Division appears to be in excellent condition in all areas: 

technical merit; adequacy of facilities, equipment, and human resources; and the progress 

toward stated objectives. The division has seen the initiation of new projects, most 

notably the Joint Quantum Institute, and the steady maintenance of important existing 

projects such as the Atomic Data Center, which continues to serve a large customer base, 

and the optical lithography effort, which is leading the way on several technological 

fronts. Over the past 3 years this division has seen small but important growth in its staff, 

successfully completing three new hires. It has used funding from the America 

COMPETES Act to support the position of the United States in the emerging field of 

quantum computing with the establishment of an interdisciplinary institute in coherent 

quantum control. This area could become an innovator of technology important to 

national security. Except for the areas mentioned in the recommendations below, morale 

and productivity in the division are high. 

This division should aggressively protect the work environment of the laboratory 

in order to enhance the productivity of the scientists and to maintain and foster the culture 

that has built outstanding scientists, many of whom are Fellows in the American Physical 

Society and recipients of many prestigious outside awards, including a Nobel Prize 

(1997). The division’s reorganization of the groups in response to changing technical 

and scientific opportunities and efforts and its involvement in the cross-laboratory 

Quantum Information Program and in the formation of the Joint Quantum Institute have 

kept both productivity and morale high. 

The following recommendations are made in the interest of improving the 

working environment of the division: 

• The security-related background checks of new employees and visitors to the 

Physics Laboratory should be expedited as much as possible. The scientists at 

NIST work on complex experiments that often involve measurements being 

17 
made after regular business hours when vibrations and temperature 

fluctuations in the building are minimized. Therefore, it is a serious 

impediment to both progress and a collaborative spirit that new employees, 

and particularly foreign visitors and employees, often face 5 to 14 months for 

background checks by an agency outside of NIST before being allowed to run 

their experiments after hours (when the best data are usually taken). 

Addressing this issue would be in line with the American Competitiveness 

Initiative goal of increasing the ability of the United States to compete and 

retain the most highly skilled workers from around the world. 

• The security rules for computers mandated through the Office of Management 

and Budget should be examined to address the specific needs of the 

laboratory. 

18 
Electron and Optical Physics Division 

DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVISION 

Mission 

The general mission of the Electron and Optical Physics Division is to support 

emerging electronic, optical, and nanoscale technologies, particularly precision optical 

measurements in the EUV radiation range through the NIST Synchrotron Ultraviolet 

Radiation Facility (SURF III). A number of very interesting supplementary research 

efforts are also pursued, as described below. The departure of the Nanoscale Electronics 

and Magnetics Group because of reorganization seems to present a strategic opportunity 

for revisiting, clarifying, and/or redefining the division’s goals for the future. 

Scope 

 With the movement of the Nanoscale Electronics and Magnetics Program to the 

new NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, there remain two primary 

research foci within the scope of the Electron and Optical Physics Division. First is the 

development of metrology for EUV optics, the maintenance of national primary standards 

for radiometry in the EUV and adjoining spectral regions, and the operation of national 

user facilities for EUV science and applications. The second focus provides 

measurements and data to enable the development of atom and photon technology in 

sensors, atom interferometers, and quantum information-processing devices. 

Projects 

Several current and future projects in this division that illuminate its core 

competencies, its connections inside and outside NIST, and its participation in various 

funding mechanisms are highlighted below. 

A major focus of the division concerns optical and source metrologies associated 

with the nation’s effort to develop photolithography in the EUV regime at the 13 nm 

wavelength. This approach is likely to be the future for extending Moore’s law (that the 

number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles about every 2 years) to enable faster 

computing through higher-resolution lithography. The division is heavily involved in 

characterizing the critical large-area, large numerical aperture (NA), aspherical, 

multilayer-coated EUV optics. The capabilities of the division in this area are unique and 

crucially important to the EUV program, as evidenced by its work with several customers 

of such optics (e.g., Intel Corporation and SEMATECH). This effort is important 

because EUV production facilities will use plasma sources having a broad angular 

distribution, and these require large-area and large NA collection optics. This work 

cannot at present be done elsewhere in the United States; it is made possible by recent 

upgrades to the SURF III facility, coupled to new instruments developed with funding 

under the America COMPETES Act of 2007. The implementation of autonomous 

operation of the accelerator with about 1 A of circulating current, also a unique 

capability, has allowed the division to test radiation damage to EUV optical surfaces 

19 
under conditions that will be typical in future production facilities; the recent results from 

the division’s work in these areas already have important ramifications for such facilities. 

A key remaining barrier to the broad implementation of EUV technology involves 

developing new EUV photoresists, the generally polymeric materials into which a pattern 

is written when one is making small electronic devices. As yet, no photoresist offers the 

required combination of radiation sensitivity, spatial resolution, and low line-edge 

roughness. The division is developing a grating-based EUV interferometer that can 

employ sources of limited spatial coherence to pattern lines with widths on the order of 

10 nm. This instrument will be used to test photoresists, but it also will serve as a useful 

testbed for similar measurements using laboratory-based EUV sources being developed 

for production facilities. It is not yet clear how strongly connected the division is to 

photoresist vendors; such connections might need to be pursued aggressively. 

Collaboration with the Polymers Division in the Materials Science and Engineering 

Laboratory at NIST would possibly be helpful on this project. 

EUV technology cuts across many different disciplines and laboratories, including 

plasma physics, optics, materials science, and several areas of chemistry. The SURF IIIbased EUV program is a common ingredient of significant utility in all of these 

disciplines, and it increasingly acts as a focal point for EUV activities at NIST. The 

division should continue active pursuit of more collaborations and connections to the 

growing industrial base focused on EUV lithography and a NIST EUV effort, to couple 

existing expertise in all of these areas. If NIST is to be a major contributor in this area, 

there is a need for the development of a clear view and possibly a plan for central 

oversight of this entire NIST EUV program. 

The unique capabilities of SURF III have facilitated long-standing efforts in 

detector calibration. Strong collaborations with the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA) over several decades have been essential in many different 

missions; the division has brought key enabling capabilities to this collaboration. For 

example, recent activity will support the NASA European Venus Explorer probe, which 

will monitor solar weather and its impact on Earth’s climate. Also, the division has 

invested resources to improve its capabilities in EUV detector calibration. The 

implementation of a cryogenic radiometry capability has improved the accuracy of these 

calibrations by nearly an order of magnitude. Future improvements extending this 

methodology to shorter wavelengths will be of much value. 

The Electron and Optical Physics Division has spearheaded a recent, very exciting 

development of a new kind of neutron detector based on the production of Lyman-α

radiation following the n + 3

He → 1H + 3H nuclear reaction. By producing multiple 

photons per neutron, a very high detection efficiency is possible (only one or two of these 

photons needs to be detected). In addition to high quantum efficiency, this potentially 

transforming detector has much lower noise and much higher bandwidth as compared 

with existing neutron detectors. This development should be of interest in a variety of 

applications (including ones of relevance to health physics and homeland security) and to 

several agencies and vendors. The division should be encouraged to pursue this project 

and its numerous potential spin-offs. 

In the past several years, the division has assembled a small but state-of-the-art 

quantum telecommunications effort. The team performing this work has developed an 

ultrahigh-bandwidth detector that offers world-record speed for transmitting a quantum 

20 
encryption key. The team members are now moving toward developing entangled and 

correlated photon sources for use with this system, a critical step toward reliable quantum 

communication. This program, which was developed in part with resources provided 

under the America COMPETES Act, appears to be well coupled to quantum physics 

groups across the Physics Laboratory, and as the NIST quantum information effort 

matures, this program should be a valuable component. The extent to which the quantum 

telecommunications team is connected to research outside of NIST is of concern; that is, 

at the moment its quantum communication testbed seems to be used almost exclusively 

for internal NIST research (in rather sharp distinction with most of the other activities of 

the division). The division should consider ways in which the quantum telecommunications laboratory can better serve the greater research community outside of NIST. 

The division supports a small but active program in x-ray tomography. This 

effort is well connected to other groups inside and outside NIST. A recent project to 

develop a LEGO phantom (model) for tomography was well conceived and appears to 

provide a precise length standard for medical imaging. Such a standard could enable 

much more precise quantitative evaluations, for example of tumor growth. 

Staffing 

The division currently supports just under 20 full-time-equivalent of scientific 

staff, about half of whom are involved with SURF III operations and EUV technology 

development. This appears to fit the current research scope reasonably well. 

Since the implementation of third-generation synchrotron radiation facilities by 

the DOE, the SURF III facility has redirected its scientific program and has become an 

important ingredient of the nation’s effort to develop EUV technologies. With the right 

coordination and direction, the impact of SURF III and its associated EUV program could 

be even greater in the future. The former SURF III director, who retired several years 

ago, has not been replaced. Although the current arrangement with the division director’s 

assuming this responsibility works, the situation merits some review. The existing EUVrelated activities at SURF III are individually strong and useful, but the overall program 

might benefit from focused direction and coordination. Such coordinated leadership of 

the SURF III EUV program will likely be essential if a compact x-ray source is 

purchased and operated by this division. 

Major Equipment, Facilities, Ancillary Support, and Resources 

The Electron and Optical Physics Division supports a state-of-the-art quantum 

telecommunications laboratory, as discussed above. The speed records of the system here 

are impressive; the division’s current move to develop sources of entangled and 

correlated photons for future studies is appropriate. Ongoing or planned connection of 

this effort to such source development elsewhere at NIST (e.g., the Optical Technology 

Division) is encouraged. 

The SURF III facility supports a variety of beam lines devoted to detector and 

instrument calibration as well as EUV optics testing, as discussed above. Several of these 

beam lines provide unique and important capabilities. The division operates the SURF 

III facility, as discussed above. Twenty years ago, this facility was used extensively for 

21 
vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy. In the early 1990s, however, many of those programs 

migrated to newer facilities around the country, leaving SURF III with a mission focused 

primarily on the core activity of detector and instrument calibration. The emergent role 

of EUV radiation in next-generation lithography has offered the facility a new mission of 

national prominence. This area should continue to be a major focus of this division. 

The division is also investigating the possibility of developing an x-ray facility 

using a compact source based on inverse Compton scattering. Such a source could 

provide a relatively narrow spectral width of the emitted x-rays, whose energy can 

therefore be optimized for particular applications. A commercial vendor exists that 

promises a product with performance comparable to a good bend-magnet line at a 

synchrotron radiation facility. Motivations for developing such a facility include 

developing metrology for an emerging tool that might have broad application, 

particularly in medical diagnostics and therapies; developing in-house x-ray microscopy 

and tomography capability; and spearheading a service to a broad spectrum of users 

around the NIST laboratories. The proposal has some merit but needs significant further 

development, for several reasons: 

1. At present the vendor seems a little idiosyncratic, offering little detailed 

information about the source performance or characteristics. This is cause for 

concern. 

2. The source is fairly expensive to purchase and to maintain, on the scale of 

common instruments at NIST. The division estimates that to purchase the 

source and to develop a single x-ray beam line would cost about $10 million. 

Annual operating costs would be about $3 million, or half of the division’s 

current budget. Some careful planning will be required for this single division 

to purchase and maintain this instrument and associated facilities. 

3. The division, as well the rest of the laboratory, needs to undertake a costbenefit analysis of developing and operating this facility compared with 

developing beam lines at an existing synchrotron radiation facility. A 

synchrotron bend-magnet beam line will cost perhaps $1.5 million to $2 

million and will have significantly lower operating costs. Some of what the 

division wants to do could be done, perhaps better, at a synchrotron radiation 

facility, and the operating costs (to NIST) would be lower. Some of the 

metrologies associated with such an instrument that the division wants to 

pursue might not be easily done at a facility. Also, if compact sources such as 

the one under consideration achieve widespread use, for example in hospitals, 

there would be a clear advantage for NIST to research using that same 

approach. 

4. The division should earnestly engage the biomedical community to determine 

how useful the planned instrument is likely to be in medical therapies. For 

example, to reach tumors deep inside the body, many cancer radiation therapies 

require x-ray energies well in excess of 1 MeV. It is not clear whether the 

commercial device will provide such high-energy photons. 

5. The expense of developing and operating this facility suggests the need for 

sharing the responsibility with other NIST laboratories. The division should 

investigate this possibility, which it reports that it is doing. However, the 

22 
currently available instrument serves as a single source. Serving too broad a 

community with a single source is known to cause problems at synchrotron 

radiation facilities. The many trade-offs between local control of a focused 

program and a broad program with a large user base need careful 

consideration. 

 If the proposal is thought to be viable, a more focused review by a diverse panel 

of experts in x-ray, accelerator, medical, and material physics should be undertaken. 

ASSESSMENT OF THE DIVISION 

 Following is the summary of the panel’s assessment of the overall quality of the 

Electron and Optical Physics Division (including opportunities for improvement) in terms 

of the charges from the Director of NIST. 

Technical Merit Relative to State of the Art 

 The unique and state-of-the-art capabilities of the division include the following: 

• The precision reflectometry of large-area and large NA multilayer-coated 

EUV optics for at-wavelength testing and characterization; 

• The provision of transfer standard EUV photodiodes and the development of 

cryogenic radiometric capability, which improved calibration accuracy by an 

order of magnitude; 

• The primary national standard for source-based optical radiometry in the EUV 

regime; 

• The integration of EUV optical measurements with surface analytical 

capabilities; and 

• The high-rate testbed for secure quantum encryption key distribution (in free 

space). 

Adequacy of Infrastructure 

 Supported by funding under the America COMPETES Act, the SURF III 

upgrades have been very successful and useful, and the development of the quantum 

telecommunications laboratory has been very productive. The building is old and lacks 

optimal environmental controls; although this is probably not a large impediment to most 

existing programs, it clearly affects program efficiency and, to a lesser extent, the morale 

of personnel. 

Achievement of Objectives and Impact 

The division supports an active and very useful service activity, combined with 

several application-driven research programs that will prove useful in facilitating future 

developments. The service activities amount to about 30 percent of the aggregate effort. 

Each year, about 40 external users use the SURF III mostly for instrument calibration, 

23 
about 30 photodiode calibrations are performed, the reflectivities of between 100 and 200 

EUV optics are measured, and the radiation damage testing of EUV optics is done for 

about 2,000 hours per year. The last three of these activities are performed on a costrecovery basis and are supported by vendors, mostly in the developing EUV sector—

which offers good evidence of the value of the SURF III EUV programs. These service 

activities appear to be valued within the division. The division has a robust record of 

publication and presentations. Several workshops in the EUV technology area have been 

organized. 

Programs Funded Under the America COMPETES Act 

 The Electron and Optical Physics Division participated in two projects, discussed 

above, that received funding under the America COMPETES Act. The SURF III 

upgrade and EUV activities benefited from $475,000 of funding; the results have been 

positive. The quantum telecommunications project received $100,000, which has been 

very useful in continuing the development of this laboratory. 

CONCLUSIONS 

 The Electron and Optical Physics Division integrates a valuable—in several cases 

essential—service component with cutting-edge, application-driven research and 

development (R&D). Funds under the America COMPETES Act have been put to good 

use, assisting in high-value service and R&D activities. 

The transfer of division staff to the newly formed NIST Center for Nanoscale 

Science and Technology resulted in a narrowed research portfolio for the division, which 

is probably good. Even after the reorganization, there remains a fairly diverse and 

seemingly somewhat disconnected research portfolio. There is a need for strategic 

planning. The division should consider what it wants to look like in 5 and 10 years and 

should address the following issues: 

• There will probably be increased EUV activity in the near term, but what 

happens as the technology is deployed? Does it make sense to complement 

the division’s EUV activities and expertise with laboratory-based sources like 

extreme ultraviolet (XUV) lasers and/or plasma sources? How does the 

division move from what is now a very valuable but largely support role in the 

EUV community into a role of intellectual leadership? 

• Is there broad support for a compact x-ray source at NIST, and would the 

division want to operate this as a user facility? If not, does the division have 

the resources and research program to run such a source independently? In 

the face of a multitude of x-ray beam lines in the United States and around the 

world, what would be the unique intellectual focus inside the division if such a 

facility were developed? How would these programs compare with others 

around the country and the world? How important are the coherence 

properties of a compact x-ray source to the proposed activities? Are there 

competing compact x-ray technologies on the horizon that need to be 

considered and evaluated? 

24 
• What role will the division play in the coming convergence of quantum 

communications and cryptography? Will the division house the primary 

resource in experimental quantum optics at NIST? How can the quantum 

telecommunications laboratory serve the greater research community beyond 

NIST? 

25 
Ionizing Radiation Division 

DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVISION 

 The mission of the Ionizing Radiation Division is to develop, maintain, and 

disseminate the national standards for ionizing radiation and radioactivity in order to 

meet the needs related to health care and the environment and those of academia, U.S. 

industry, and homeland security, and to conduct underlying basic research in these areas. 

The division maintains the national measurement standards for the Système International 

(SI) derived units for radiation dosimetry (the gray) and activity (the becquerel). This 

division is composed of three groups—Radiation Interactions and Dosimetry, 

Radioactivity, and Neutron Interactions and Dosimetry. 

Radiation Interactions and Dosimetry Group 

The mission of the Radiation Interactions and Dosimetry Group is to advance the 

accurate and significant measurement of dosimetric quantities important in the 

radiological sciences through programs in the dosimetry of x-rays, gamma rays, 

electrons, and other charged particles. 

The projects in the group are classified in five areas: theoretical dosimetry, 

quantum metrology, medical dosimetry, homeland security applications, industrial 

applications, and protection and accident dosimetry. A special focus on homeland 

security continued in FY 2007. Experimental and calculational support was provided for 

the performance standards and the testing and evaluation protocols developed for 

explosives and nuclear detection used for homeland security. This work included 

participation in several working groups writing American National Standards Institute 

(ANSI) standards. Significant progress, including the following, was made in a number 

of the group’s measurement standards and calibration services: 

• Progress in developing a unique type of signal analysis related to water 

calorimetry; 

• Reference dosimetry calibrations for photon-emitting 125I, 103Pd, and 141Cs 

radioactive seeds used for prostrate cancer treatment; 

• The use of the group’s clinical electron accelerator to develop a secondgeneration water calorimeter to serve as a standard for accelerator-produced 

high-energy x-ray beams used in cancer treatment; 

• The completion of the software for the first Internet-based e-certification 

service for radiation processing dosimetry; and 

• Prototype testing of equipment for detecting radiation sources in cargo 

containers. 

The overall staffing level of the group is acceptable for accomplishing current 

projects. Several members of the staff are approaching retirement age, but a succession 

plan is in place. The group relies on guest researchers, students, and contractors to do a 

significant portion of the work. This use of outside personnel seems to be acceptable, but 

26 
there is a concern if funding for these outside employees decreases. 

Most of the major equipment used by the group is old and in need of replacement. 

A serious problem arises from the fact that newer equipment would have to be housed in 

heavily radiation shielded bunkers, whereas the group is housed in an older building 

whose shielded facilities do not meet current needs. This is a major issue which may 

require that a new building be constructed. 

Radioactivity Group 

The mission of the Radioactivity Group is to develop new technologies for the 

accurate measurement of radioactivity for various applications. This mission includes the 

development of standards for research, for the determination of very low levels of 

radioactivity, and for biological medical applications. The group develops methodology 

for all the applications given in the mission statement and the application of these 

techniques to service projects in which the NIST staff coordinate with the scientific 

community. 

The range of projects is very broad and includes the development of accurate 

counting techniques (an automated ion chamber, an anti-coincident system, a gamma 

spectroscopy system, and various low-level counting techniques). Cutting-edge 

techniques for radionuclide metrology are being developed and applied to the 

quantification of standard reference materials. A final area is in the field of nuclear 

medicine. In this rapidly expanding field, various applications particularly applied to 

positron emission tomography (PET) and positron emission tomography/computed 

tomography (PET/CT) are being developed. 

A significant fraction of the effort of this group is working with outside users in a 

service mode. 

In several areas, extra staffing is required because several key scientists are 

approaching retirement age. Extra staffing is needed particularly in the nuclear medicine 

area. 

In order for the Radioactivity Group to work at the forefront of the various areas, 

leading-edge equipment, including a PET/CT facility, should be available. Future 

research might be done using an animal scanner, although justifications and protocols 

should be reviewed and approved by the appropriate committees before the acquisition of 

such a system is initiated. 

Neutron Interactions and Dosimetry Group 

 The mission of the Neutron Interactions and Dosimetry Group includes both 

fundamental research and service activities. The research is anchored in precision 

measurements with neutrons of fundamental physical constants and data that address 

issues such as the neutron lifetime, the strength of underlying weak couplings, and tests 

of symmetry violation such as parity and time reversal. The applications range from 

neutron tomography and imaging to neutron calibrations. The balance between 

fundamental research and service activities is approximately equal. While the research 

makes use of a variety of NIST instruments, the key facility used is the seven neutron 

beam lines that the group operates at the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) 

27 
reactor, which is a leading center for neutron research in the United States. It is a 

successful users’ facility, drawing researchers from commerce, universities, industry, and 

various national laboratories. 

The fundamental science program includes some very challenging projects with 

high potential payoffs. Examples include the following: 

• Measurements of the neutron lifetime and beta decay correlations that, in the 

context of the standard model, will determine the strengths of the vector and 

axial-vector coupling constants. These measurements also place important 

bounds on beyond-the-standard model interactions. One of the group’s 

lifetime measurements employed ultracold neutrons confined by a threedimensional magnetic trap. 

• Measurements of the spin precession of polarized cold neutrons passing 

through 4

He, an effect arising from parity violation associated with the 

hadronic weak interaction. (The parity violation allows one to separate tiny 

weak effects from the dominant strong interaction.) This experiment is 

important to a 30-year effort to understand the isospin structure of the weak 

interaction between nucleons. 

• Measurements of fundamental properties on the neutron, including the 

neutron charge radius and the n-3

He scattering length. The neutron charge 

radius measurement exploits an interferometer developed by the group, an 

instrument important to both fundamental research and service activities. The 

neutron, while electrically neutral, has nonzero charge radius, through which 

it can interact electromagnetically with charged particles. This interaction in 

turn produces a phase shift as a neutron beam passes through a silicon crystal, 

near the Bragg angle. Such a measurement would complement nuclear 

physics measurements made at flagship nuclear physics facilities such as the 

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The n-3He measurements are 

possible because of dramatic improvements in the lifetime of cells containing 

highly polarized 3

He—a major technical achievement by the group. 

Some of the important applications include the following: 

• The construction of the advanced Neutron Imaging Facility and its use in 

probing the performance of hydrogen fuel cells. This method of radiographic 

imaging of the water production and movement within the fuel cell, not 

possible previously, is very effective because of the large neutron capture 

cross section on protons in the water. The neutron imaging program has 

achieved unprecedented resolution and provided unique and invaluable data to 

industry. 

• The development of techniques for high-efficiency neutron detection in liquid 

scintillator. The long-term goal is inexpensive, fast-neutron detection that can 

operate in real time to identify fissile material in cargo or other shipping 

containers. The group is also involved with the development of performance 

standards from neutron detectors designed for homeland security applications. 

• The calibration of neutron sources for clients such as DOE laboratories. The 

28 
workhorse facility for this calibration is a manganese sulfate bath system that 

uses a long-lived (and therefore stable) calibration source to normalize 

measurements. 

• The development of more precise tools for measuring neutron fluxes. Two 

methods under development are based on (n,α) on boron, in which a gamma 

ray from the final 7

Li nucleus is also detected; and on detecting repeated 

Lyman α transitions produced as the recoil ion, generated in 3

He(n,p)3H, 

passes through the gas. These tools will, in turn, help the group to improve its 

neutron lifetime and other fundamental measurements. 

The Neutron Interactions and Dosimetry Group has just nine staff members and is 

thus remarkably lean, given the variety of fundamental and service work being done and 

its task of maintaining and operating seven beam lines. The group’s successes derive in 

part from the successful collaborations established with external users. Two of the 

group’s beam lines are now operated as a user facility, with an informal external 

advisory/review committee providing advice on priorities and scheduling. 

A major upgrade of the reactor facility will take place between now and 2010, 

providing the group with four new beam lines. This development is potentially of great 

significance: with modern focusing, it is expected that the flux available in fundamental 

experiments could increase by a factor of 10, making the NIST facility comparable to the 

world’s best, Grenoble’s Institut Laue-Langevin. While this is a very positive step 

forward, it will also require the group to shoulder major new responsibilities. It will be 

important to increase the level of staffing in the group substantially, both to exploit new 

capabilities and to manage the heavier load of users that would be expected. 

There appears to be no funding currently in place to instrument the new beam 

lines, although apparently some may become available. It is important that the Physics 

Laboratory address this need. The group has some outside support (from NSF and DOE), 

but the levels are low. It is not clear whether to expect success in increasing the level of 

outside support: the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), a major new DOE facility for 

pulsed neutrons, has begun operations at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. For many 

applications, NIST, with its continuous flux, will remain the best facility. However, DOE 

users might be expected to focus their research at the DOE facility. The Physics 

Laboratory should explore interagency agreements that would provide neutron 

experimenters with the broadest choice of facilities while lowering barriers to interagency 

funding and cooperation. This is scientifically sensible: some experiments developed at 

NIST may, as second-generation efforts, migrate to the SNS. 

ASSESSMENT OF THE DIVISION 

The following is a partial list of recently completed and ongoing major projects of 

the Ionizing Radiation Division: 

• Dosimetric support for a local company developing a malaria vaccine, 

• The establishment of a dose assurance program for the irradiation of mangos 

in India, 

29 
• X-ray spectral measurements, 

• High-energy computed tomography (CT) for homeland security, 

• Neutron tomography and imaging, 

• Wide-angle polarization analysis, 

• Therapeutic alpha emitters, 

• Radionuclidic metrology, 

• Quantitative imaging, and 

• The development of a transportable, personal PET phantom for patients. 

Examples of the significant accomplishments of this division include the 

following: 

• Substantial progress has been made in the development of high-energy CT as 

a result of a collaboration with the Savannah River National Laboratory; 

• The first observation was made of the irradiative decay mode of the neutron; 

and 

• The NIST triple-to-double coincidence ratio spectrometer has been rebuilt and 

improved. 

The Ionizing Radiation Division is actively participating in a new NIST initiative 

in biomedical imaging; $380,000 of new funding has been allocated to the division for 

this purpose. Collaborative projects related to PET and PET/CT have been initiated with 

other NIST divisions and laboratories and a university. 

With respect to resources, the division is currently staffed with 52 permanent 

NIST employees and a number of postdoctoral fellows, guest researchers, and summer 

undergraduate research fellowship students, bringing the total staff number to 98. 

Funding for FY 2007 was approximately $10 million, with over 50 percent coming from 

the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other outside organizations. This high 

dependence of funding on one outside customer is of concern. 

 The quality and direction of the projects in the Ionizing Radiation Division are in 

line with expectations for superior returns on the investment being made. There are 

issues with respect to facilities and funding. The issues with respect to facilities include 

the condition of the physical plant that houses the Radiation Interactions and Dosimetry 

Group and the Radioactivity Group and the need for modernizing or replacing much of 

the radiation-producing equipment used by the division. Extension of the Experimental 

Hall coupled with the development of new beam lines at the NCNR will result in the 

Neutron Interactions and Dosimetry Group’s obtaining four new beam lines. It is 

essential that funding for the experimental equipment and staff needed to use these new 

beam lines efficiently be made available. 

Technical Merit Relative to State of the Art 

 The Ionizing Radiation Division’s programs are, overall, as good as or better than 

those in other national and international standards laboratories. Examples include 

brachytherapy seed and mammography equipment calibrations and fundamental neutron 

30 
research. 

Adequacy of Infrastructure

The division’s aging Building 245 needs a major upgrade or replacement; in 

particular, new radiation-shielded facilities are required to house new accelerator 

equipment, high-dose-rate brachytherapy calibrations, and a medical imaging facility. 

Some equipment needs upgrading or replacement, including the instrumentation for a 

new neutron beam line, the aging accelerator and a need for spare parts, and the new 

nuclear imaging equipment. Funding is adequate but very heavily dependent on the 

Department of Homeland Security. Several retirements are expected in the next few 

years in the division, but succession planning is in place. The work of the division relies 

heavily on postdoctoral fellows and students. 

Achievement of Objectives and Impact 

The projects being carried out support the division’s mission. The division works 

collaboratively with other divisions in the Physics Laboratory, with other NIST 

laboratory divisions, and with numerous other organizations. The technology 

development and scientific research are at a very high level of technical merit. The 

objectives of the Ionizing Radiation Division are to develop, maintain, and disseminate 

the national standards for ionizing radiation and radioactivity in order to meet the needs 

related to health care and the environment, and those of academia, industry, and 

homeland security, and to conduct underlying basic research in these areas. The Ionizing 

Radiation Division develops dosimetric standards based on the SI unit gray; develops 

neutron standards; develops and provides standards for radioactivity based on the SI unit, 

the becquerel; and works through strategic alliances, external funding (largely from the 

DHS), and links with other national and international metrology institutions. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The vast majority of the projects in the Ionizing Radiation Division are well 

thought out and relevant to the mission of the division and to the needs of those who use 

the calibrations, standards, and research results produced. There are three major areas of 

concern: the heavy dependence of the division on DHS funding, the condition of the 

physical plant that houses the Radiation Interactions and Dosimetry Group and the 

Radioactivity Group, and the need for modernizing and replacing much of the radiationproducing equipment used by the division. 

The extension of the Experimental Hall coupled with the development of new 

beam lines at the NCNR will result in the Neutron Interactions and Dosimetry Group’s 

obtaining four new beam lines. It is essential that funding be made available for the 

experimental equipment, its operation, and staff needed to use these new beam lines 

efficiently. 

The overall quality of the Radioactivity Group’s work is among the best in its 

field. Major input on potential projects comes from the Council on Ionizing Radiation 

31 
Measurements and Standards, which generates a list of recommended projects; however, 

CIRMS does not prioritize the items on that list. An external advisory committee should 

be appointed to help the Radioactivity Group select and prioritize both new research 

projects and the specific areas of service collaboration. 

Funding for a major renovation to the existing building or, preferably, a new 

building, should be established for the Ionizing Radiation Division. Shielded radiation 

cells should be constructed to house the needed modern radiation equipment and highdose-rate calibration equipment required for industrial-scale dosimetry and medical 

imaging and calibrations. Careful attention should be given to the current sources of 

funding for the division. The heavy dependence on DHS funds may lead to a future 

problem when this funding goes away. An external advisory committee should be 

established to assist in prioritizing research and service-related projects. Staff and 

funding in the Neutron Interactions and Dosimetry Group should be increased to allow 

the efficient use of the new facilities at the NCNR, and staffing in the Radioactivity 

Group should be increased to meet the growing needs in medical imaging and nuclear 

medicine. 

32 
Optical Technology Division

DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVISION 

Mission 

 The Optical Technology Division’s mission is to provide the foundation for 

optical radiation measurements for the nation. In particular, this division is charged with 

maintaining two primary standards: the candela, and the kelvin above 1234.96 K, the 

freezing point of silver. The division’s strategy is to develop and disseminate national 

measurement standards and services to advance optical technologies spanning the 

terahertz through the ultraviolet (UV) spectral regions. The division’s approach to 

implementing this strategy has three main elements. The first is to develop and provide 

optical radiation standards based on the Système International (SI units). The second is 

to develop novel measurement methods for solving problems in critical and emerging 

technology areas. The third is to disseminate optical radiation measurements and 

standards to commerce, industry, government, and academia. 

Scope 

The division activities fall into three main categories—the development and 

refinement of optical radiation standards, optical measurement methods, and optical 

measurement services. 

The division provides the optical radiation measurement science and standards to 

aid the advancement and application of optical technology. Its accomplishments include 

new spectral irradiance standards from the SURF III facility; the development of total 

spectral radiant flux standards; and the development of the Low Background Infrared 

(LBIR) Facility for missile defense sensors. 

The division strives to improve the accuracy, quality, and utility of optical 

measurements in burgeoning technology areas. Its accomplishments include spectral and 

spatial stray light correction in optical systems, satellite instrument calibration, bacteria 

identification with a variation of the quantum dot method, assembling magnetic 

nanoparticles into long chains, and construction of an efficient two-photon source. The 

delivery and refinement of core radiometric calibrations to external customers, including 

other government agencies, have been ongoing accomplishments. 

The division builds and maintains state-of-the-art optical radiation measurement 

facilities to meet the continued need for standards and specialized measurements by 

government and industry. Its accomplishments include the development of a 

hyperspectral image projector for the calibration of remote sensing instruments; research 

in the area of tackling translucence and other color challenges with the goniospectrometer, an instrument for precisely measuring the intensity of light reflected from the 

surface of a sample; and the study of perceived and measured colors of retroreflective 

materials in traffic signs. 

33 
Projects 

The Optical Thermometry and Spectral Methods Group maintains, improves, and 

disseminates the national scales for the spectroradiometric measurement of radiation 

sources and temperatures. This group is also engaged in basic research aimed at applying 

new techniques in quantum optics to revolutionize future radiometry standards. 

The Optical Properties and Infrared Technology Group establishes and 

disseminates primary measurement scales for the transmittance and reflectance of 

materials in the infrared (IR) spectral region; studies optical properties of materials in the 

near-, mid-, and far-infrared spectral regions; provides blackbody calibrations; performs 

research and development work to achieve accurate, high-precision radiometric 

measurements at low and ambient thermal background environments; and develops and 

calibrates transfer standard radiometers to be used for on-site NIST-traceable 

measurements of missile defense sensor test chambers. 

The Optical Sensor Group establishes the national measurement scale for the SI 

unit the candela and provides measurements of the absolute spectral responsivity of 

optical detectors in the spectral region from 200 nm through the IR using a high-accuracy 

absolute cryogenic radiometer. 

The Laser Applications Group advances laser and synchrotron radiation 

technology for applications in optical radiation and measurements of optical properties of 

materials. 

 The Biophysics Group develops advanced spectroscopic and microscopic 

measurement methods, nano-optical probes, and imaging technologies and associated 

theoretical models to solve important science problems in biophysics and 

bionanotechnology. 

Staffing 

 The division has 35 permanent technical staff members and 6 permanent support 

staff members across its groups—the Optical Thermometry and Spectral Methods Group, 

the Optical Properties and Infrared Technology Group, the Optical Sensor Group, the 

Laser Applications Group, and the Biophysics Group. 

Major Equipment, Facilities, Ancillary Support, and Resources 

The facilities of the Optical Technology Division associated with maintaining 

national standards include the following: 

• The National Standard for Optical Power: the Primary Optical Watt 

Radiometer (POWR) provides the optical power standard to 0.01 percent; 

• The LBIR Facility maintains the NIST infrared radiometric standard for 

instruments that need to be calibrated in background environments that are 20 

K and below; 

• SIRCUS (Spectral Irradiance and Radiance Responsivity Calibrations using 

Uniform Sources) is a tunable laser-based facility for the absolute calibration 

of optical instruments; the companion Traveling SIRCUS is used at external 

34 
sites; 

• FASCAL 2 (Facility for Automated Spectroradiometric Calibrations) provides 

the NIST spectral irradiance scale, covering the 200 nm to 2,500 nm 

wavelength range; 

• The Spectral Tri-function Automated Reference Reflectometer Facility 

maintains the national scale of reflectance, including bidirectional reflectance 

distribution function; and 

• SURF III is used for detector power response calibration, and for irradiance 

calibration from 130 nm to 600 nm applications in materials characterization 

and semiconductor physics and technology. 

These facilities are at the core of the division’s mission. At present these are 

mature facilities, although incremental improvements continue to be made. Research on 

new methods is also being carried out, with the possibility that new approaches (e.g., 

single-photon source and photon-counting detection) may supplement or substitute for 

certain of the current facilities. 

ASSESSMENT OF THE DIVISION 

 The mission of the Optical Technology Division is to provide the foundation for 

optical radiation measurements for the United States. Its approach is to develop and 

disseminate national measurement standards and services to advance optical technologies 

spanning the terahertz through the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet spectral regions. The 

division’s main responsibility is to advance, maintain, and disseminate standards for the 

candela and kelvin base SI units and related radiometric quantities. Its core competency 

in this area is evident through its execution of several high-profile projects, including 

SIRCUS, Traveling SIRCUS, SURF III, and the LBIR Facility. The Optical Technology 

Division’s major accomplishment is the continued refinement of core radiometric 

calibrations at the LBIR Facility and SIRCUS and their delivery to external customers, 

including other government sponsors through the Missile Defense Agency program. 

 The division’s highly qualified and productive staff executes a diverse program of 

applied research and calibration services. The facilities and equipment are of the highest 

caliber and appear to be well maintained. The division appears to be delivering on its 

stated mission as witnessed by its external sponsor base, which includes other U.S. 

government agencies, foreign national metrology organizations, and prestigious U.S. 

industry and academic institutions. Additionally, the division’s leadership and 

participation in international standards organizations and conferences, its capture of a 

relatively large number of competed NRC postdoctoral fellows, and its overall 

publication record also indicate the high quality of its delivered products, services, and 

research accomplishments. 

 The calibration and sensor facilities and expertise of the division have two or 

three peers worldwide and clearly no domestic equivalents. Their advanced research 

effort in the area of quantum information science is also of high quality, comparable to 

major academic programs throughout the country, and their research into the radiometric 

applications of correlated photon states is unique. 

35 
 Concerns include the level to which the division relies on nonpermanent staff to 

achieve its core mission, the apparent divergence of the new (and very impressive) 

Biophysics Group from the division’s core mission, the future prospects for the terahertz 

research effort, the distraction of staff effort in order to address administrative issues 

(namely, the IT burden and other unfunded mandates), and the potential disruption in 

service that will potentially accompany the planned laboratory relocations. 

Technical Merit Relative to State of the Art 

The Optical Technology Division maintains a long-term core commitment to 

high-accuracy measurements in radiometry, photometry, and spectroradiometry. The 

division continues its successful efforts to develop new approaches to calibration over a 

wide spectral range, from the far infrared through the UV. The division has invested 

significant resources in these areas and justifiably places emphasis on maintaining the 

laboratory investments as well as careful measurement methodologies as tools for 

external customers in the private and government sectors. 

The division has the institutional responsibility for maintaining two base SI units: 

the unit of temperature, the kelvin, above 1234.96 K, and the unit of luminous intensity, 

the candela. The division also maintains the national scales for other optical radiation 

measurements and ensures their relationship to the SI units. These measurement 

responsibilities include derived photometric and radiometric units, the radiance 

temperature scale, spectral source and detector scales, and optical properties of materials 

such as reflectance and transmittance. 

A core activity of the division is the development of technical standards for 

industries relying on optical technologies. The division also has research programs for 

developing optical and spectroscopic tools for the improved understanding of processes 

required to support evolving technologies in, for example, the semiconductor, solid-state 

lighting, and biotechnology and health science industries. 

Within the area of optical standards, the activities within the division are clearly 

distinctive within the United States. The facilities for maintaining standards that have 

been developed within the division do not exist elsewhere in the nation. The natural 

technical point of comparison for the optical standards lies in the research carried out in 

national laboratories in Europe. The staff in the division is well aware of comparable 

research and engages in international comparisons and cross calibration. Many of the 

other activities in optical technology, while not involving specific international optical 

standards, rely on highly refined measurement capabilities. Here the uniqueness of the 

division’s activities results from the choice of the problems addressed as well as from the 

distinctiveness of the measurement capabilities themselves. The division’s overall 

activities constitute forefront research in areas that are relevant to the NIST mission. 

Adequacy of Infrastructure 

Laboratory space has been much improved. Five years ago, some of the 

division’s laboratories were severely cramped to the point of being borderline 

dangerous—that is, laboratory safety was an issue in laboratories that housed major 

radiometric instrumentation resources. Now several laboratories are in new locations in 

36 
the AML, and in general the overall increase in floor space offers much more flexibility 

and a much improved environment for the researchers to work in with their equipment. 

Unfortunately the occupants of the AML, many of whom are in the new Biophysics 

Group, will have to move in order to create space for a new NIST Center for Nanoscale 

Science and Technology. Laboratory moves are always disruptive. Although the 

affected staff is facing this with a positive attitude, it will slow the progress of their 

research for a time. It is important that a plan be in place to prepare their destination 

laboratories adequately prior to the move and to minimize the disruption. 

The equipment and instrumentation of the division are of high quality. There is 

evidence of healthy equipment spending over the past few years. The equipment budget 

appears to be adequate, and the staff appears to be making insightful decisions in the 

vendor selection process. 

The permanent staff is capable, experienced, and motivated. Their results attest to 

their commitment to high-quality research and products. The percentage of the 

researchers who are permanent staff is low—less than 50 percent. This percentage is 

uneven from group to group, with one notable group having only four permanent staff 

and more than a dozen short-term or contract personnel. The permanent staff are the 

leaders of the division. There are many tasks and responsibilities of an institutional 

nature that they alone are capable of assuming. They also direct and mentor the other 

technical staff. Obviously the smaller the number of permanent staff, the greater the 

proportion of time required to fulfill these responsibilities. The risk is high that in the 

event of the loss of one or two permanent staff, a multiple-month disruption in progress 

will occur in related research. Most groups depend on external customers for a portion of 

their funding support, with deliverables to these customers being a central aspect of these 

task plans. Customer satisfaction would likely be put at risk in the event of a staff loss 

because of the shallow bench strength. It takes continuity and flexibility to maintain a 

laboratory of outstanding quality and to be able to respond to new needs and new 

opportunities. Both capabilities are threatened by the staffing trends of the past few 

years. 

Visiting researchers are major contributors to the quality of a laboratory, bringing 

in new ideas, establishing close working relationships that continue after the individuals 

have returned to their own institutions, and filling gaps in expertise in particular projects. 

There is an impressively large number of NRC postdoctoral fellows in this division. This 

is evidence of the attractiveness of the division’s activities to early-career scientists, as 

well as of the commitment of the division’s staff in making the effort to attract and 

mentor these young scientists. 

The relatively low permanent staff population appears to be partially related to the 

NIST overhead structure, which places the preponderant portion of the overhead on the 

permanent staff with little or no overhead being attached to the other technical personnel 

or the office or laboratory space usage. A NIST committee is addressing the NIST 

overhead structure. The panel looks forward to seeing that committee’s report. Another 

related factor appears to be the extent to which support depends on external funding 

sources, which can create a mood of conservatism regarding hiring. The Optical 

Technology Division and the Physics Laboratory should be more aggressive in hiring 

early-career talent. 

37 
Achievement of Objectives and Impact 

 The research program in the Optical Technology Division reflects careful 

technical strategic planning aimed at responding to NIST and to national priorities. The 

existence of a vibrant and dynamic technical strategic planning process can be seen in the 

realignment of many of the activities that were in the Laser Applications Group. 

Whereas several years ago there was no work related to biological sciences, staff and 

projects are now in place (with extensive external collaborations) to address this strategic 

thrust. Also, in a related vein, the frontier of optical spectroscopy of nano- and 

molecular-scale objects has been impressively extended. 

The issue of customer focus is particularly relevant within the standards area. In 

this respect, a special role is filled by the Council for Optical Radiation Measurements, 

which periodically evaluates national needs in optical metrology and provides feedback 

on the services and standards supplied by the division. CORM is a body originally 

instituted by NIST to provide guidance and prioritization on technical needs in industry 

and research. The laboratory’s colorimetry facility, for example, was developed in 

response to CORM recommendations. The impressive level of customer satisfaction with 

the division can be gauged by the high level of other-agency research support. A 

continued high level of such external support is the ultimate test of attention to the 

customer. 

The Optical Technology Division makes use of a variety of effective means for 

delivering its technical output. For long-term research, the means are primarily the 

traditional methods of publication in the technical literature and presentations at 

conferences. For standards work, the division’s output takes the form of calibrations of 

customer sources and detectors and making available transfer standards. Several 

additional forms of disseminating the technical capabilities of the division have also been 

implemented. Notable among these are holding specialized courses and tutorials and 

making available specialized software. The latter has been implemented very effectively 

with respect to the analysis of optical scattering data. A flexible analysis program 

developed in the division has been very popular, with more than 1,000 downloads. The 

division evidently places a healthy emphasis on publicizing and disseminating much of 

its technical output. 

The division has an excellent balance with respect to meeting immediate needs 

and at the same time developing new long-term programs. This approach will keep the 

division at the technical forefront and will ensure significant long-term impact. The 

standards work has an impact through a widespread chain of technology, since calibration 

is essential for a wide spectrum of applications. Similarly, fundamental advances in the 

optical characterization of materials have broad impact beyond the immediate field of 

optical science. 

NIST has identified biosciences as a strategic area of emphasis. Excellent work in 

this field is already underway in a number of NIST’s laboratories, including the Physics 

Laboratory, where the new, impressive Biophysics Group has been formed in this 

division. Although currently small in number, the research personnel are a very capable 

group, enthusiastic about their research. The overall group objectives appear to be in line 

with the NIST mission. The bioscience thrust in the division relies heavily on 

multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research. The collaborations with the National 

38 
Institutes of Health and the appointments of several NIST personnel as participants at the 

Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology (CARB) are consistent with strategic 

goals.8 As pointed out in the previous NRC assessment, there is an increasing need for 

interdisciplinary approaches in the biosciences.9

Although this group fits into the Optical Technology Division (which seems 

appropriate), several other divisions include the activities of this group in their portfolios. 

This brings up questions about the present and future ownership of this promising group. 

It would be helpful to address this issue and articulate the understanding of the extent of 

the sharing of the objectives and products of this group among the various divisions. 

Addressing this issue would help to alleviate the perception of a lack of coordination of 

efforts in this research area. The level of coordination or overlap among these divisions 

should be clarified. The Physics Laboratory has the potential to play an increasingly 

important role in collaborating with other external organizations to exploit the new 

technologies and methods in many facets of the biosciences. However, it will be 

necessary for the Physics Laboratory to elucidate a comprehensive plan for organizing 

and staffing its expanded role in this area if it is to optimize its effectiveness. 

The division has outstanding measurement capabilities in the terahertz spectral 

region, originally based on traditional Fourier-transform techniques, and more recently it 

has been developing forefront capabilities for measurements using laser sources including 

both frequency-domain and time-domain approaches. The suite of measurement 

capabilities is outstanding. A significant investment has been made in the terahertz laser 

source technology resident in this division, and it is attracting a number of outstanding 

postdoctoral fellows. 

The terahertz research appears, however, to be at a crossroads. There are 

questions about the future applications: Who are the customers of the future? What 

biological problems do the principals on the permanent staff who are now associated with 

the new Biophysics Group plan to address in the future? The problem associated with the 

application of terahertz tools to biological research is the very strong water absorption 

throughout the terahertz region of the spectrum. It is timely for the terahertz technical 

leads and the division management to enunciate applications areas for their unusual 

capabilities in which they will have desirable impact. Particularly interesting would be 

the application of such a tunable terahertz source to microscopic apertures. High pressure 

physics is one such area. The small aperture associated with the highest pressure 

diamond anvil cells could make tunable terahertz the ideal probe for exploring the 

appearance of pressure-induced insulator-metal transitions in front-line materials like 

solid hydrogen. There is an effort in the division to explore such new applications areas. 

 8

 CARB is located at the University of Maryland Shady Grove campus near NIST. CARB was 

initially a joint collaboration of the NIST Biochemical Science Division, within the NIST Chemical 

Science and Technology Laboratory, and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. 9

 National Research Council, 2005, An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology Measurements and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Years 2004-2005, Washington, D.C.: The 

National Academies Press. 

39 
CONCLUSIONS 

The Optical Technology Division is successfully maintaining its long-term core 

commitment to high-accuracy measurements in radiometry, photometry, and 

spectroradiometry. This commitment is in line with the NIST mission. Core facilities 

continue to be operational, and new methods and techniques are continuing to be 

developed. The division has engaged in strategic planning that involves new areas of 

emphasis. One notable example is biophysics. A new Biophysics Group has been 

formed, collaborations with external organizations have been put in place, and the future 

looks bright. The staff are capable and motivated; however, the mix between permanent 

staff and temporary and contract personnel appears suboptimal for long-term health and 

consistency in meeting strategic objectives. 

 The Optical Technology Division and the Physics Laboratory should be more 

aggressive in hiring early-career talent. The Physics Laboratory should elucidate a 

comprehensive plan for organizing and staffing its expanded role in the biophysics area if 

it is to optimize its effectiveness. The terahertz technical leads and the division 

management should enunciate the applications areas for the unusual capabilities of 

terahertz tools in which they will have desirable impact. The Optical Technology 

Division should adequately prepare the destination laboratories prior to the move of the 

Biophysics Group personnel and minimize the disruption from the move.

40 
Quantum Physics Division 

DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVISION 

Mission 

As stated in the NIST Physics Laboratory report for 2008, the mission of the 

Quantum Physics Division is as follows : “[The division’s goal is] to make 

transformational advances at the frontiers of science, in partnership with the University of 

Colorado at JILA. . . . The strategy of the Quantum Physics Division is to help produce 

the next generation of scientists and to investigate new ways of precisely directing and 

controlling light, atoms and molecules; measuring electronic, chemical and biological 

processes at the nanoscale; and manipulating ultrashort light pulses.”10

Scope 

The strategic elements of this division are as follows: 

• To develop measurement science tools and their applications to technology; 

• To exploit Bose-Einstein condensation, quantum degenerate Fermi gases, and 

cold molecules for metrology and ultralow-temperature physics; 

• To advance ultrafast science and apply it to physics and biophysics; 

• To apply cutting-edge measurement science to biological systems; 

• To apply laser spectroscopy to important problems in chemical physics and 

biophysics; and 

• To educate a supply of top-quality scientists for NIST and elsewhere. 

Projects 

JILA excels in the area of neutral atom cooling and trapping, and the Nobel Prize 

for physics was shared by two JILA Fellows and an MIT professor for realizing BoseEinstein condensation in 2001. Work continues at the frontier of fundamental 

understanding of the condensed state as well as in applications of BEC. One example is 

the study of fundamental elementary excitations of BEC such as vortices. By confining 

ultracold atoms in an optical lattice, a phase-coherent quasi-two-dimensional array of 

Bose-Einstein condensed atoms has been produced. In two dimensions, an exotic phase 

transition known as the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition is expected, and 

this has been observed for the first time in BEC as vortex excitations appear with 

increasing temperature. Another example is the use of a BEC of rubidium atoms for a 

new sensitive measure of the Casimir-Polder force due to quantum interactions between 

the condensed atoms and a nearby surface of fused silica. 

Ultracold clouds of Fermi atoms are also studied. In this system correlated pairs 

of atoms form, and the pairs could Bose condense similar to the formation of Cooper 

 10 National Institute of Standards and Technology Physics Laboratory, 2008, Physics Laboratory,

Gaithersburg, Maryland: National Institute of Standards and Technology, p. 44. 

41 
pairs in a superconductor. The interactions between pairs are mediated by the so-called 

Feshbach resonance, in which the relative translational motion of the pairs is strongly 

coupled to a bound state with a different total spin. Because of the difference in spin, the 

strength of this interaction can be tuned with an external magnetic field, while the cold 

atoms are held in an optical dipole trap. The ability to tune the pair interaction has led to 

a wealth of phenomena. In one experiment, a sudden pulse of magnetic field puts pairs of 

atoms into a novel quantum superposition that oscillates in time between bound and 

unbound states. 

Another study explores the variation from the BEC regime, where localized pairs 

could form a Bose condensate to the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) regime, where 

pair formation is mediated by the surrounding condensate atoms and the size of the pair 

could become very large. This BEC-BCS crossover is important theoretically, and its 

understanding could impact the theory of High-Tc superconductivity. This work has been 

enabled by novel techniques developed for extracting information on the pair correlations 

from noise in absorption images of the cold atomic cloud. 

A third line of experimentation seeks to convert the highly interacting pair states 

into real bound states by removing the appropriate energy from the pairs with an optical 

Raman process. This has recently succeeded in producing bound diatomic molecules 

(though still highly excited relative to the molecular ground state) from these interacting 

cold Fermi pairs. 

Techniques for cooling small molecules are also being developed, with the goal of 

placing the molecules into a single chosen quantum state in order to study the 

fundamental quantum physics of cold molecules and their chemical interactions in single 

quantum states. To this end, OH molecules have been cooled with a novel Stark 

deceleration method and trapped in a magnetic trap. 

Work also continues on the development of new systems and techniques in 

frequency measurement. JILA has long been renowned as a center of excellence for laser 

frequency stabilization and for the development of methods for precision frequency 

measurement. One of the most important tools in recent years is the stabilized laser 

frequency comb, a technique that was brought from conception to fruition at JILA and for 

which a retired NIST JILA Fellow (now NIST Scientist Emeritus and JILA Fellow 

Adjoint) shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 2005. The laser frequency comb has 

produced a revolution in optical frequency measurement and is key to the development of 

optical atomic clocks. Current work in this division applies the frequency comb 

technique to a new atomic clock system composed of an optical lattice of laser-cooled 

strontium atoms. Scientists in this division realized that the energy states of strontium 

had characteristics that should lead to extremely small systematic frequency uncertainty 

and thus to potential clock accuracy and repeatability comparable with or better than the 

best previously identified clock systems. In a tour de force of atom cooling, trapping in 

an optical lattice and optical clock technology, this novel optical clock features a large 

number of atoms responding identically, thus providing the precision of a single atom 

with vastly enhanced signal-to-noise ratio. Fractional frequency instability of 3 × 10-15

has already been achieved, with the expectation that this can be improved by a factor of 

three. A cooperative effort with the NIST Time and Frequency Division in Boulder has 

compared the accuracy of this clock with the calcium optical clock at Time and 

Frequency. This was achieved using the capability for coherent optical phase transfer 

42 
over a 3 km optical fiber with instability of 10-17 in 1 s, which allowed the overall 

systematic uncertainty of the strontium lattice clock to be evaluated as 1.5 × 10-16 in 1 s. 

The ability to transfer a stable optical frequency over considerable distance 

through optical fiber has broad potential applicability to precision metrology in the 

context of synchronized telescope arrays and long-distance interferometry, for example. 

The current performance represents a factor-of-100 improvement over previous 

techniques at 10s-of-kilometer distances. 

Further development of the optical frequency comb and extension of comb 

techniques to new applications are also underway. These include the Arbitrary Optical 

Waveform Generator, which is a joint competency program with the Time and Frequency 

Division, and the use of optical frequency combs for trace molecule detection and 

molecular fingerprinting. 

Another area of endeavor involves approaching quantum-limited nanoscale 

mechanical and electronic measurement. Studies of novel mesoscopic and 

nanoelectronic devices aim to explore the ultimate quantum limits of mechanical and 

microwave electronic measurements. Areas of application include quantum information, 

noiseless microwave amplification, and high-bandwidth detector arrays. Precision 

measurements on microfabricated mechanical oscillators explore the onset of quantum 

behavior as the dimensions approach the nanometer scale and low temperatures remove 

most of the thermal excitation. A sensitive scheme for the detection of the amplitude of a 

nanomechanical gold beam uses an atomic point contact and can detect motion at the 

quantum level as well as the effect on the oscillator of the quantum measurement noise 

imposed by the measurement of its position. 

The quantum limits to microwave measurement, amplification, and interferometry 

are tested in a series of elegant experiments that use novel microwave interferometers and 

nonlinear Josephson devices to explore the concept of microwave quantum optics. A 

microwave Fabry-Perot interferometer has been fabricated containing the microwave 

equivalent of a nonlinear Kerr medium composed of a metamaterial built from a series of 

400 Josephson junctions. This device is a phase-sensitive parametric amplifier, capable 

of near-noiseless amplification of one quadrature of a microwave signal. It can also be 

used to generate squeezed states of the microwave field, and as much as 85 percent 

phase-dependent noise suppression has been observed. 

Using related technology, a low-noise superconducting quantum interference 

device multiplexer has been developed for the readout of arrays of low-temperature 

astronomical sensors. These have the potential to read out an array of thousands of 

detectors in a single channel with gigahertz bandwidth and could have application to 

novel detector arrays used in nuclear and particle physics, materials science, and 

astronomy. 

A group is also studying ultrashort, femtosecond laser pulse interactions with 

matter. There is significant overlap in work between this group with work on the 

dynamics of chromophores in proteins. This area is divided into three subareas: 

interactions between alkali atoms in the gas phase, condensed-matter systems, and 

spintronics dynamics. 

In the gas dynamics work, the effort is primarily on the study of the collision 

dynamics of potassium atoms. Potassium atoms are illuminated with a sequence of two 

pulses. The first excites the atom to a specific state, and the second has a frequency that is 

43 
absorbed only by the excited atoms and thus induces emission, as long as the excited 

atoms have not lost their energy by collision. The intensity variation as a function of 

delay provides a measure of collision dynamics. 

The condensed-phase work involves cross-correlation two-dimensional near-IR 

spectroscopy of excitons in semiconductors using three femtosecond, near-IR pulses to 

generate excitons in semiconductors such as gallium arsenide (GaAs). The correlation 

between absorption and emission was determined in a plot of wave patterns and 

frequency. This two-dimensional spectroscopy method is capable of determining the 

correlated oscillation of two groups in a molecule or lattice. Using this rather new twodimensional spectroscopic method, the structure of large biological molecules and also 

the electronic properties of semiconductors may be revealed, phenomena impossible to 

observe when only the normal one-dimensional spectroscopic methods are used. The 

knowledge obtained on GaAs and other semiconductors by this method may lead to 

better electronic devices. 

The spintronics work involves developing the capability of maintaining spin 

direction for several nanoseconds while being transported micron distances; it is of 

paramount importance for high-capacity storage and other devices. Researchers at JILA 

have determined that the spin direction is more stable when confined in the defects of 

semiconductors and that it loses alignment fast when embedded in a perfect single-crystal 

environment. It was determined that the place of highest spin stability is located in a 

crossover magic point somewhere between perfect crystal and defect. 

This research group confined electrons in quantum wells. An IR light pulse 

induces spin on the electron while the light of a second polarized pulse reflected by the 

quantum wells is rotated by the electrons. The magnitude of the rotation gives a measure 

of the number of electrons with the same spin. With the application of a magnetic field 

the spins are flipped, and consequently the reflected polarized light oscillates. From these 

oscillation patterns the spin disorder and spin stability-retardation time are calculated. 

Spintronic materials, where the spins of electrons can be manipulated, and their 

properties provide a wealth of basic scientific knowledge in addition to holding the 

promise of wide use in electronic devices and other areas of industry. 

In summation, the femtosecond laser work involves elegant research in several 

cutting-edge scientific areas that also have strong industrial applications. 

Another group is examining laser spectroscopy kinetics and dynamics of organic 

molecular and nanoparticle systems. As is true of the ultrashort, femtosecond laser pulse 

interactions with matter, there is a connection with biological physics, which is described 

below. 

This group determines basic chemical-reaction dynamics by means of laser 

spectroscopy of jet-cooled molecular ions, intermolecular energy surfaces, and lowtemperature radical and ion kinetics. In addition, a large effort is made in the study of 

single-molecule kinetics and microscopy. The systems that have been studied in this area 

include single quantum dot emission kinetics of cadmium sulfide (CdS) and silver (Ag) 

nanoparticle lithography. 

This group has been very active and successful in the design of new equipment 

and devices and the improvement of standard equipment for utilization in specific 

experiments. For example, this group has developed, designed, and built a novel, nearfield apertureless scanning optical microscope capable of less than 10 nm resolution that 

44 
finds use in many areas of physics, chemistry, and biology. This group has sufficient 

space, equipment, and funding to continue to generate a large quantity of excellent 

theoretical and experimental research data in diverse, yet very fruitful fields of chemistry, 

physics, and biology. 

Biological physics is a growing area of expertise at JILA, and increasing 

collaborations are developing among the various groups there. It is very encouraging to 

see the application of techniques coming out of seemingly esoteric areas such as 

frequency combs to very applied biological problems. Several groups of this division 

have some biological projects, but that is not the core of their efforts. There are two 

primary biological physics principal investigators. 

An outstanding example of the cross-fertilization of technologies developed at 

JILA for the core mission of the development of measurement science tools is the 

extension of the Nobel Prize-winning work on optical combs to the application of this 

technology to biomolecule detection. The latter group invented cavity-enhanced direct 

frequency comb spectroscopy and has shown that it can perform ultrasensitive detection 

of unknown chemicals. This group has recently developed a more sensitive, smaller, and 

less costly fiber laser for this system, which can make ultrasensitive and fast detection of 

organic molecules using a simple charge-coupled device camera, opening the door for 

using this technique for medical and homeland security applications. 

Another group has built on its expertise in single-molecule optical detection to 

elucidate the conformational kinetics of single ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules and 

single deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules in electrophoresis. This group has used 

fluorescence energy transfer techniques at the single molecule level to measure distances 

of 2 to 8 nm between specifically labeled sites on the RNA. This information is crucial to 

understanding RNA-based enzymes, or ribozymes. In the future, these techniques should 

make it possible to probe the folding and unfolding of biomolecules in chemically active 

states. 

The two main biological physics groups have quite different areas of expertise 

and interact with different groups within JILA and at the University of Colorado. One 

group studies single molecules as does the other, but while one uses fluorescence energy 

transfer techniques the other is a renowned expert in the use of optical tweezers and lately 

atomic force microscopes in the incredibly precise measurements of subnanometer 

motions of biological molecules. This work on the molecular motor RecBCD (also 

known as Exonuclease V, a protein of the Escherichia coli bacterium) is an example of 

how much there is to learn about how nanomotors move along biological polymers. The 

questions of the step sizes of these motors, the role of thermal noise, and the basic 

physics of very small displacement measurements all come into play here. 

This group is working to improve the resolution of optical tweezers by increasing 

sensitivity while reducing system noise, which is clearly connected to the JILA tradition 

of precision measurements. This group has explored the use of a more stable optical 

design (with improved laser-pointing stability and reduced microscope-stage drift), active 

sample stabilization, and the introduction of a grid of nanofabricated fiducial marks. 

Some work overlaps with the work on protein dynamics. The researchers here are 

interested in performing experiments that provide data for the understanding of the 

motion and thermodynamics of proteins and the influence that motion has in the 

chemistry of these and other large biological molecules. This group is also exerting an 

45 
effort to measure accurately the motion of proteins, and from this motion data to calculate 

several of the important thermodynamic values including entropy. This group employs 

several cutting-edge techniques and equipment such as femtosecond lasers for the study 

of ultrafast spectroscopy and kinetics of these molecules, and because the laser pulse 

duration is much shorter than the protein motion, a sequence of such pulses separated by 

a pre-selected period of time may freeze motion and thus record snapshots of the protein 

at a given time. When a train of snapshots is put together in a movie format, a histogram 

of the protein motion will be obtained, from which the thermodynamic values may be 

calculated as a function of time and process such as coiling. 

 A time-resolved extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) system that is 

aimed at revealing the transient structure of proteins in motion is under consideration for 

being constructed in collaboration with a high-power-laser JILA group. Another active 

area is microfluidics where chemical concentrations have been mapped in threedimensional form inside a microfluidic cell. This has been achieved by employing twophoton fluorescence imaging techniques. Some of these projects are still in the 

development stage; therefore, this group has not yet had the number of publications and 

impact that other established research groups of the Quantum Physics Division have had. 

The research, however, is of good quality, and it is expected that the group will grow in 

size and generate a high research output of excellent quality. 

Staffing 

 The Quantum Physics Division consists of nine principal investigators who are 

NIST employees, in addition to three administrative staff members. Recent years have 

seen the retirement of two senior JILA Fellows and the hiring of a new principal 

investigator in the areas of atom cooling, spin squeezing, measurement science; and 

theory of ultracold atoms and optical lattices, respectively. The supporting research staff, 

technicians, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students are of high quality and are 

sufficient in numbers. 

Major Equipment, Facilities, Ancillary Support, and Resources 

The Quantum Physics Division is housed in the JILA building on the campus of 

the University of Colorado. Laboratory and office space continues to be insufficient to 

house current programs adequately. The lack of space is detrimental to productivity, 

creates potentially unsafe working conditions, and could affect the ability to attract and 

hire top-class scientists in the future. This should be considered a top-priority item for 

this division. Funding to build additional space is now in the current proposed federal 

budget; it is important that this funding be provided so that expansion can proceed in a 

timely fashion. The Quantum Physics Division has access to a very good pool of 

graduate students by virtue of its association in JILA with the University of Colorado. 

The excellence of the scientific work at JILA attracts some of the very best of these 

students, and a large number of JILA graduates have gone on to employment within 

NIST. JILA also has top-notch mechanical and electronic shops, and this infrastructure is 

vital to the productivity and success of the division. The JILA Fellows were uniformly 

enthusiastic about the excellent quality of the mechanical and electronic shops; it is 

46 
critical that this valuable resource be maintained at its present level of first-rate quality. 

ASSESSMENT OF THE DIVISION 

 The major accomplishments of the Quantum Physics Division include the 

following: 

• Nobel Prizes in Bose-Einstein condensates and femtosecond laser frequency 

combs, continued excellence in extending work in ultracold Bose and Fermi 

atoms and molecules, and applications of optical frequency combs; 

• State-of-the-art measurement of piconewton forces at subnanometer length 

scales with optical tweezers; 

• The development of an innovative strontium optical lattice clock with high 

signal-to-noise ratio; 

• Ultrafast two-dimensional Fourier transform spectroscopy that reveals new 

insight into many-body effects in semiconductor charge and spin dynamics; 

• Pioneering work in microwave quantum optics; and 

• Conformational dynamics of single RNA and DNA molecules studied with 

fluorescence resonant energy transfer. 

 The standard of technical research in the Quantum Physics Division is very high. 

The research is very productive and explores the frontiers of the areas that are 

investigated. In areas of its traditional core competencies—that is, laser stabilization, 

spectroscopy and precision frequency measurement, and trapping of ultracold atoms and 

molecules—the work of the division ranks among the best. The division has also 

attracted top applicants in areas identified for expansion such as biophysics and nanoscale 

physics. 

It is critical that funding for the new JILA building be put in place and that the 

plans for design and construction move forward, both to relieve the space crunch at JILA 

and to maintain the high morale and productivity that are key in making JILA an 

attractive place to continue to work for highly talented staff members who are actively 

recruited by other institutions. The increased emphasis on nanotechnology needs to be 

supported by upgrades to some instrumentation, especially an improved scanning 

electron microscope with a state-of-the-art field emission source. 

The impact of the Quantum Physics Division is outstanding, as measured against 

its stated mission of making important advances at the frontiers of science that enable 

future precision measurement technology and in producing graduates that form a talented 

pool of scientists who are now spread through the NIST laboratories and elsewhere. 

Collaborations between the Quantum Physics Division and the nearby Time and 

Frequency Division are strong, particularly in the further development of frequency 

combs and their use in high-precision remote frequency comparisons over an optical fiber 

connecting the two sites. They are also having significant impact through applications of 

their technology outside NIST, for example in sensitive high-resolution frequency comb 

spectroscopy for trace detection and molecular fingerprinting, and the development of 

technology for multiplexed low-temperature detector arrays for astronomy. 

47 
The America COMPETES Act of 2007 has provided support ($100,000) to the 

area of mesoscopic physics, bridging the gap between quantum and classical physics, and 

electronic measurement work under the umbrella of quantum information. The funding 

aided in the development of the pioneering field of microwave quantum optics, in 

particular the noiseless amplification of microwave signals with innovative phasesensitive amplifiers. 

Technical Merit Relative to State of the Art 

The standard of technical research in the Quantum Physics Division is very high. 

Without exception, the research reviewed is very productive and explores the frontiers of 

the areas that are being investigated. The association of the division with the faculty of 

the University of Colorado through JILA has resulted in a very collaborative and open 

environment, leading to a free exchange of ideas and a great deal of cross-fertilization 

between the research groups. The scientific work at JILA has resulted in many awards, 

including a sharing of Nobel Prizes in physics for Bose-Einstein condensation of cold 

neutral atoms in 2001 and for the development of the stabilized laser frequency comb in 

2005. Work in both of these areas continues to be advanced and remains among the best. 

Other work that has earned notable awards includes the production of ultracold 

degenerate Fermi gases and quantum-limited electromechanical measurements. Four of 

the 30 NIST Fellows are in this division. 

In the areas of their core competencies—laser stabilization, spectroscopy and 

precision frequency measurement, atom cooling and trapping, and Bose-Einstein 

condensation—the work of this division is outstanding and ranks with that of the top 

research groups in the field. When the research scope has been expanded with new hires 

in biophysics, mesoscopic physics, and nanotechnology, the strong scientific reputation 

of JILA has attracted top-notch applicants, and these new areas of research have kept 

pace with the overall level of excellence exhibited by this division as a whole. 

Adequacy of Infrastructure 

As noted above, it is critical that funding for the new JILA building be provided 

and that the plans for design and construction move forward, both to relieve the space 

crunch at JILA and to maintain the high morale and productivity of the highly talented 

JILA staff members. 

The division’s very impressive work could have broad applications on 

astrophysics detection capabilities. JILA would benefit from the hiring of an 

astrophysicist/instrumentalist to complement the division’s ongoing work. 

There is a strong emphasis in many of the projects on nanotechnology—for which 

JILA needs in-house a very high quality scanning electron microscope for the imaging of 

the nanostructures and to do nanolithography. The present SEM is not state of the art, 

and a newer-generation, higher-resolution SEM is necessary to support this growing area. 

Achievement of Objectives and Impact 

The work of the Quantum Physics Division is outstanding, as measured against 

48 
the strategy that it has put forth. The division has been very successful at educating new 

generations of measurement scientists who have gone on to find employment within 

NIST as well as elsewhere and thus have a large impact on the field of precision 

measurement and metrology. The division’s scientific contributions in its traditionally 

core areas of emphasis continue to have significant impact in the overall physics 

community. This division has successfully expanded its expertise into new areas 

identified as being of importance to the future NIST mission. These include 

nanotechnology, mesoscopic physics, and biophysics. 

This division is the NIST part of JILA, a joint institute at the University of 

Colorado made up of principal investigators (called JILA Fellows) who are NIST staff 

members or university faculty and who manage groups of graduate students and 

postdoctoral fellows in an academic environment. They serve a key role in educating 

graduate students, thus creating a pool of talent in areas of measurement science of 

importance to NIST. Their stated mission is to do new science that will form the 

foundation for future advancements in the overall NIST mission, including developing 

new ways of controlling light, atoms, and molecules and their interactions, measuring 

nanoscale processes, and manipulating ultrashort light pulses. 

The relationship between NIST and the University of Colorado has a history of 

producing groundbreaking and excellent, high-impact scientific research that is being 

successfully continued today, resulting in two Nobel Prizes in recent history. Previous 

difficulties related to the NIST-university relationship appear to have been successfully 

solved or mitigated; the current relationship appears to be running smoothly. NIST plays 

a vital role in fostering a NIST-university collaborative environment with a free exchange 

of ideas; this panel had no opportunity to review or interview research groups in the 

university half of JILA, and this report reflects a NIST-centric view of this joint institute. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The research performed by the scientists in the Quantum Physics Division is 

outstanding. The output is significant in numbers and excellent in quality, and the 

research topics selected are at the forefront of related science and technology. 

The scientific equipment and technical support, such as electronic and machine 

shops, are sufficient for the high performance that has been demonstrated and is expected 

from this division. The supporting research staff, technicians, postdoctoral fellows, and 

graduate students are of high quality and sufficient in numbers. The purchase of a 

modern, high-resolution scanning electron microscope is needed to support the increasing 

efforts in nanotechnology. 

The interaction with the astrophysics group at the University of Colorado is of 

some concern; it should be enhanced, and the number of researchers of this group should 

be increased. Space, which is of concern, is expected to be increased by the construction 

of the new building, a project that is essential to the continued productivity of the 

division. 

The work of the division is of high caliber. There is a high and collegial spirit 

among the scientists and staff; productivity is high, and the quality of the basic science 

and its application to industry are outstanding. 

The Quantum Physics Division and JILA are national assets, and every effort 

49 
should be exerted to sustain and, if possible, increase their support and funding. The 

most critical items that need to be addressed are funding for the JILA building expansion 

and funding for improvements in instrumentation relevant to nanotechnology research. 

50 
Time and Frequency Division 

DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVISION 

Mission 

The mission of the Time and Frequency Division is to develop the highestaccuracy time and frequency measurements in support of commerce, research, and the 

general public. 

Scope 

The NIST 3-year plan (FY 2009-FY 2011) includes the following elements 

directly applicable to the mission of the Time and Frequency Division:11

• Develop an all-optical clock for more precise time and frequency 

measurement; 

• Develop quantum logic clocks capable of providing improved time and 

frequency for the next generation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and 

for tests of fundamental physics theories; 

• Improve environmental conditions within NIST’s Boulder, Colorado, research 

laboratories to enable production of the extremely accurate data needed by 

industry and academia and to support further progress in measurements 

related to high-frequency electronics, advanced materials characterized at the 

atomic level, subcellular forces, timing accuracy, and other areas; and 

• Make precision frequency measurements above 100 GHz (100 billion cycles 

per second), which are required for advanced commercial electronics, military 

systems, and homeland security. 

Projects 

The Time and Frequency Division is responsible for the realization and 

dissemination of the SI unit of time in the United States. The division provides a broad 

range of advanced measurement services and performs research and development for the 

future generations of time and frequency standards. In addition, the division is a key U.S. 

resource advancing quantum information processing. 

This division has one of the most complete ranges of time and frequency research 

and metrology tools that can be combined for unique research and metrology. The 

division operates the following: 

• The most accurate primary standard (NIST-F1), the NIST time scale; 

• Femtosecond laser frequency comb systems to mediate the comparison across 

 11 National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2008, Three-year Programmatic Plan for the 

National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce: Fiscal Years 2009-2011, 

Gaithersburg, Maryland: National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

51 
a factor-of-100,000 frequency range; 

• The narrowest linewidth laser for precision frequency measurement; 

• The unique mercury ion and logic clocks; and 

• The best capability for the phase noise measurement of microwave and 

millimeter-wave sources. 

This range of assets and experiments leads to unique scientific by-products, such 

as improvements by a factor of 10 in setting limits on the possible time variations in 

fundamental constants, and the most accurate tests of special and general relativity. 

NIST provides an array of services to a very broad user community in the United 

States: the NIST Internet Time Service is used more than 2.5 billion times every day; 

NIST radio station WWVB is widely used to synchronize commercial timekeeping 

devices to NIST time; the NIST Automated Computer Time Service helps industry meet 

Securities and Exchange Commission requirements to synchronize the time-stamping of 

hundreds of billions of dollars of electronic financial transactions to NIST time. 

The following international projects are noted as excellent examples of building 

goodwill for the United States: 

• The NIST-led project of developing an international network of commonview GPS receivers will enable time and frequency comparisons throughout 

the Inter-American Metrology System (SIM), which covers North, South, and 

Central America. Eventually, continuous comparisons will be enabled 

between the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, 

Jamaica, Panama, Uruguay, and perhaps several other SIM member nations 

(already operational for the countries identified). This project was funded by 

the Department of State. 

• The NIST-developed Satellite Time Service for the North African and Middle 

Eastern region in a joint venture with the National Institute of Standards of 

Egypt. This project is sponsored by the U.S.-Egypt Joint Board on Scientific 

and Technological Cooperation. 

Staffing 

 The division has done an excellent job of anticipating staffing needs by 

supporting students and postdoctoral researchers to participate in its projects. This 

approach provides a pool of trained talent, from which a large number of researchers 

continue employment at NIST. The work in this division is highly specialized, because 

time and frequency is a niche technology. Thus, specially trained staff are required to 

carry out the needed research. This need is generally met by a competent staff and a 

large contingent of visiting researchers, students, and postdoctoral fellows. The latter 

group typically is a major pool for the future staffing of the division. 

 There has been notable improvement in the ability of the division to use guest 

scientists. A highly effective program in Boulder enables both foreign and domestic 

scientists to work at NIST Boulder on contract through a new scientific services 

company. Programs through several universities in Colorado enable collaborative work 

by foreign and domestic scientists with the division. 

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Major Equipment, Facilities, Ancillary Support, and Resources 

The division has developed dedicated laboratories that support the National Time 

Standard (F1), the Next-Generation Standard (F2), the ion trapping laboratory, which has 

the special facility to achieve low-line-width lasers, and the phase metrology laboratory. 

The division is pursuing an East Coast-based low-frequency broadcast facility to 

augment the continuously broadcast standard time and frequency coverage of the 

continental United States. Several potential sites of decommissioned radio stations on the 

East Coast have been identified as possible sites for a second NIST low-frequency 

broadcast station, but no decision has been made on the most likely location. The cost of 

adapting such an existing facility for this project would be on the order of $9 million, 

compared with a new facility cost of $80 million. This is an excellent example of the 

intelligent use of a surplus facility to solve an important need at tremendous cost savings 

(equal to that of the new construction at Boulder). 

ASSESSMENT OF THE DIVISION 

The division programs focus on four principal thrusts: 

• The realization of national and international time and frequency standards 

with the greatest accuracy and precision; 

• The dissemination of time and frequency through a wide variety of 

measurement services directed to customers at all levels, from industrial and 

research customers with the most stringent needs to the general public with 

less exacting needs; 

• Research on future time and frequency standards and dissemination methods; 

and 

• Quantum computing with trapped ions, which evolved directly from research 

on new atomic clocks and which has become a major NIST-wide focus area. 

The division has established itself as a leader in these areas, providing a level of 

organizational performance (e.g., through demonstrated frequency accuracy and stability, 

scope and quantity of time-dissemination services, publication of scientific results) that 

exceeds that of any scientific laboratory in its field. The overall quality of the division’s 

work is very high (as demonstrated, for example, by the realization of a logic clock, the 

realization of the lowest uncertainty in a primary clock, and the demonstrated ability to 

disseminate time over the Internet on the widest basis); its staff is very talented and its 

technical approaches are effective. The division’s accomplishments, in the context of the 

criteria requested by the Director of NIST in his charge to the panel, are of high quality 

and directly relevant. The division’s inability to repair and maintain the facility in a 

timely manner and to an acceptable standard is a significant concern. This facility 

shortcoming creates gross inefficiencies and has the potential, through staff 

dissatisfaction and resulting attrition, to erode the present excellence. 

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Technical Merit Relative to State of the Art 

With respect to NIST’s realization of the SI second, the division’s primary 

frequency standards have the best accuracy in the world, with a fractional frequency 

uncertainty of 4 × 10-16, and its time scale is one of the two best in terms of accuracy and 

stability as reflected by the NIST time scale contributions to the international time scale. 

In the area of measurement services, the division excels in a number of areas. Its 

remote time and frequency calibrations are the best with respect to accuracy and 

usability. NIST’s network time services are outstanding as well. For example, its 

Internet Time Service is the most heavily used network time protocol service in the 

world, logging 2.5 billion hits per day. The NIST radio stations also enjoy heavy use, 

and their accuracy and stability are the best. In addition, NIST’s time measurement and 

analysis service offers real-time, 15 ns uncertainty. With funding from the Department of 

State, NIST has expanded to SIM-time scale coordination in North, Central, and South 

America, generating international goodwill. 

In the area of phase noise metrology, NIST has unique capabilities, and its 

metrology is the leading edge. It is extending capability to 800 GHz, a capability that 

does not exist today. This extension is driven by advancing civilian and Department of 

Defense technology requirements. 

The division excels in several research and development activities: 

• For single-ion optical frequency standards, its mercury-ion standard is at the 

forefront, with a fractional frequency uncertainty of 1.6 × 10-17. 

• Its aluminum-ion logic clock is the second best, with a fractional frequency 

uncertainty of 2.4 × 10-17. 

• In the area of cold neutral atomic optical standards, calcium has excellent 

short-term stability and ytterbium lattice is among the best standards. The 

division’s research includes studies of these optical standards toward 

providing important high-stability reference clocks for intercomparison of the 

lowest-uncertainty clocks. 

• NIST’s femtosecond laser frequency combs have the most precise 

intercomparisons (1 × 10-19), and NIST has the top-performing octave-plus 

spanning combs. 

• In addition, NIST has demonstrated numerous firsts for chip-scale atomic 

sensors, including a chip-scale atomic clock and a chip magnetometer. 

In the area of quantum information processing: 

• NIST has the sole technology to demonstrate all seven DiVincenzo criteria for 

scalable quantum computing. 

• NIST has demonstrated the first of each of the following: single-atom 

quantum logic gate, deterministic entanglement, robust error correction, 

quantum teleportation of massive particles, and quantum Fourier transforms. 

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Adequacy of Infrastructure 

The infrastructure and facilities of the Time and Frequency Division have shown 

improvement since 2005. A central HVAC facility is being installed to provide improved 

environmental controls within the existing buildings. A power-conditioning unit is being 

installed to improve the reliability and quality of the alternating current power to the 

laboratories onsite. The room in which the new time standard (F2) is being assembled is 

a significant improvement over what housed the current F1 in 2005. 

A new laboratory building to support the entire NIST Boulder facility has been 

funded, and construction bids have been solicited. There remains, however, the problem 

of the inability to repair and maintain the facility in a timely manner and to an acceptable 

standard. This matter affects employee efficiency and morale. 

The division’s staff and management have noted that an increasingly unhealthy 

fraction of the time and energy of scientists is consumed with various administrative 

burdens related to information technology security, procurement, physical security, 

repeated inventories, required training on obscure administrative issues, and many other 

distractions. NIST should examine ways to comply with the governing laws, regulations, 

and mandates while minimizing the distraction of the scientists from their mission and 

fundamental enterprise and maintaining productivity and morale. 

Achievement of Objectives and Impact 

The stated objectives of the Time and Frequency Division are as follows: 

• Realize the SI second and UTC(NIST)12 with the greatest possible accuracy 

and precision as the basis of all division measurement services; 

• Provide time and frequency measurement services addressing a broad range of 

needs, from the most demanding industry and research customers to the 

general public, based on UTC(NIST); 

• Perform research and development for the future generations of time and 

frequency standards, measurement services, and distribution systems; and 

• Perform research on quantum information processing, in support of NISTwide goals and to improve time and frequency standards. 

The division shows a high level of achievement of these objectives, as 

demonstrated by the following: 

• The best realization in the world of the SI second; 

• Web clock supporting 2.5 billion hits per day; 

• Widely used radio station transmissions and time measurement and analysis 

services, extended to the international community; 

• Unique phase noise measurement capability, extending to 800 GHz; 

• Research in ion and cold atomic clocks with unprecedented precision and 

 12 UTC(NIST) is Coordinated Universal Time. 

55 
stability; 

• Research in laser frequency combs; and 

• Research in the chip-scale atomic sensor. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The technical work of the Time and Frequency Division is excellent and serves as 

a model for other laboratories in the field. The physical facilities in which this work is 

performed have received modest improvements over the past 3 years, but these facilities 

need further improvement. Initiatives to construct a new laboratory, appropriate for the 

work and technology of the division, are laudable; this construction should be completed 

as planned. 

In the meantime, NIST should ensure that projects to repair and improve electric 

power and other utilities at the NIST Boulder site are effectively prioritized and 

completed on time and to specification. 

The impacts of increasing administrative burdens, poor facilities, and other 

distractions are severe enough that highly productive and skilled scientists within the 

division are looking for opportunities outside NIST. The success of the division depends 

on the ability of the organization to attract and retain the best scientists; such individuals 

want to work in an environment where administrative issues, IT security, facilities, and 

other issues are sufficiently minimal distractions so as not to hinder their research and 

creativity. Repeated reports from staff have indicated that in recent years NIST has 

become substantially more encumbered by these burdens and distractions. Such reports 

introduce the significant concern that the long-term scientific leadership and productivity 

of the division will be compromised by the inability to attract and retain the best 

scientists, who will seek opportunities where they are not overly encumbered by such 

administrative issues. 

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Programs Funded Under the America COMPETES Act 

 The Physics Laboratory has used its existing resources and expertise to leverage 

funds provided under the America COMPETES Act of 2007 to rapidly develop programs 

that address the objectives of the act and of the American Competitiveness Initiative. 

The funding figures mentioned below were provided under the America COMPETES Act 

of 2007. 

• Atomic Physics Division: NIST received about $6 million for quantum 

information science. One-third (about $2 million) was combined with funding 

and support from the University of Maryland and the National Security 

Agency to support the new Joint Quantum Institute. Good progress is being 

made on advancing plans for a building to house the new center and on 

experiments to explore cold atoms held in a deformable lattice as a medium 

for quantum computation. This progress has allowed a new hire in this area. 

• Electron and Optical Physics Division: This division participated in two 

projects. The SURF III upgrade and EUV activities benefited from $475,000 

in funding; the results have been quite positive. The quantum telecommunications project received $100,000, which have been very useful for the 

development of this laboratory. 

• Ionizing Radiation Division: This division is using $380,000 of its funding for 

a new NIST initiative in biomedical imaging. 

• Quantum Physics Division: The division received funding of $100,000 in the 

area of mesoscopic physics, bridging the gap between quantum and classical 

physics, and electronic measurement work under the umbrella of quantum 

information. The funding aided in the development of the pioneering field of 

microwave quantum optics—in particular, the noiseless amplification of 

microwave signals with innovative phase-sensitive amplifiers.

• Time and Frequency Division: The division received funding in the amount 

of $1,280,000 for three areas in FY 2007: (1) quantum computing; (2) optical 

clocks, and (3) chip-scale devices. These areas are making excellent progress. 

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Overall Conclusions 

 The Physics Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is a 

unique and essential asset within an institute that is also unique and essential. The 

laboratory provides unduplicated services and technology to business, industry, medicine, 

academia, and other government agencies in areas of commerce, transportation, 

communication, defense, science, and research. In parallel with these responsibilities, it 

carries out a research program, in many instances the only such research in the United 

States or the world, designed to continually improve and expand its capabilities to 

maintain the leadership position of the laboratory, NIST, and the nation. 

The overall quality and productivity of the laboratory are comparable with or 

better than that of other peer institutions worldwide, an accomplishment achieved in a 

environment that is smaller in both size and funding than most national and agency 

laboratories. The success of the program, its relevance, and the quality of the work are 

highlighted by the Nobel Prizes in physics awarded to three of its staff during the past 

decade, an accomplishment not duplicated by much larger and more heavily funded 

government laboratories or academic research institutions. Such honors should be taken 

as an affirmation of the importance and success of the overall standards, services, and 

research being performed within this laboratory and provided nationwide and worldwide, 

as well as an acknowledgment of the unique and relevant accomplishments of the Nobel 

laureates themselves. It is worth noting that the research on which the three awards were 

based is directly related to improvements in measurements and standards. 

 The Physics Laboratory performed its duties in an outstanding manner at a time 

when international technologies and industries are becoming more and more competitive. 

The international climate warrants strong support of the laboratory to rapidly and 

effectively address major issues with regard to staffing, infrastructure, equipment, and 

information technology security. 

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