TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES 1998 -
NISTIR 6268
MISSION
ORGANIZATION
CURRENT DIRECTIONS
TECHNICAL HIGHLIGHTS
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
CURRENT DIRECTIONS
The mission of the Electron and Optical Physics Division is to "apply its core
physics competence to solve the measurement problems encountered by electronic,
magnetic, and optical technologies at the atomic level." By developing
innovative instrumentation and techniques, it maintains world-class
capabilities for: determining magnetic microstructure; establishing the
physical and chemical basis of device fabrication on the atomic scale;
producing and characterizing artifacts with atomic-scale quality control;
developing physical and applied optics in the 10 nm to 100 nm
wavelength range; maintaining the National radiometric standard in the
2 nm to 250 nm wavelength range; and delivering quality measurement,
calibration, and secondary standards services in the 2 nm to 250 nm
wavelength range.
In carrying out this mission, the Electron and Optical Physics Division
operates major research facilities, performs measurement and calibration
services, and pursues basic research.
- Facilities Operation. The Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility
(SURF III) supports the measurement services and research efforts of the
Division, and those of other NIST organizational units and external customers.
As discussed below, a major upgrade of the SURF facility has been underway
during all of 1998. The key design goal of improving magnetic field uniformity
has been attained, and we hope to resume operations early in 1999.
- Measurement and Calibration Services. The Division's activities in
calibration and measurement services are centered around SURF II. These
activities have thus been performed at a reduced level in 1998 due to the
facility upgrade. For the past several years, we have maintained a dedicated
reflectometer system on BL-7 at SURF II, which is used primarily to
determine reflectivities of multilayer optics, and for related investigations
such as grating efficiencies and film dosimetry. In previous years, up to
200 calibrations/year have been performed at this facility, and as
interest in EUV optics continues to grow, we expect a rapid return to the
previous level of activity. Our spectrometer calibration service on BL-2,
carried out primarily in support of NASA programs in solar physics and XUV
astronomy, has been suspended during 1998. Our UV and EUV detector transfer
standards program usually uses a dedicated beamline (BL-9) and a dual-grating
monochromator mounted on BL-2 during calibration. This program performed about
20 calibrations during 1998, using conventional sources.
- Basic Research. The Division's basic research programs have been very
productive during the past year. We obtained the first three-dimensional images
of integrated-circuit interconnects using x-ray tomography. A new method of
patterning silicon was demonstrated: exposure of hydrogen-passivated silicon to
a beam of metastable rare gas atoms. Improved understanding of the mechanism of
exchange coupling in magnetic thin films was obtained by new measurements and
developments in theoretical models. New computational methods were developed to
treat degenerate quantum gases, and applied to coherent matter-wave optics. A
novel model of magnetization in ultrathin magnetic films on vicinal surfaces
was developed. Significant progress was made in the construction of the new
nanoscale physics facility.
Mission | Organization |
Current Directions | Technical Highlights | Future Directions
TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES 1998 -
Contents
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Online: April 1998