The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has established the Precision Imaging Facility (PIF) in Boulder, Colorado, to advance measurement science through advanced imaging techniques. The facility houses three state-of-the-art instruments: an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope (TEM), a focused ion beam/scanning electron beam microscope (FIB/SEM), and a local electrode atom probe (LEAP). These tools enable researchers to manipulate and characterize matter from the microscopic level down to the atomic scale, supporting various projects such as optimizing superconducting devices, fabricating quantum sensors, and investigating laser-welded metals.
The FIB/SEM tool allows researchers to selectively mill devices and materials to reveal internal structure, while the TEM provides sub-angstrom resolution imaging and compositional analysis. The atom probe technique enables atomic-scale tomography, revealing local chemical composition. These capabilities, along with associated sample preparation and inspection tools, provide a powerful shared resource for NIST researchers, promoting collaboration and innovation in microscopy and microanalysis.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/laboratories/tools-instruments/precision-imaging-facility
Keywords: Nanoscale, Imaging, Metrology, Microscopy, Characterization
