NIST Technicalendar January 29 to February 2, 2007 The NIST Technicalendar is issued each Friday. All items MUST be submitted electronically from this web page by 12:00 NOON each Wednesday unless otherwise stated in the NIST Technicalendar. The address for online weekly editions of the NIST Technicalendar and NIST Administrative Calendar is: http://www.nist.gov/tcal/.
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In this Issue: Meetings at NIST Meetings Elsewhere Announcements Talks by NIST Personnel NIST Web Site Announcements NIST Administrative Calendar (current)   NIST Vacancy Announcements (current)

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10:30 AM - Elastic and Inelastic Deformation Properties of Free Standing Ceramic EB -PVD Coatings
10:45 AM - Terahertz Time Domain Spectroscopy and Design of Terahertz Detector

10:30 AM - Mechanics of Flexible Macroelectronics
1:30 PM - Small-scale, Six-axis Nanopositioners: New Concepts and Performance Limits for Nanomanufacturing Equipment/Instrumentation
3:00 PM - Anomalous Length-Dependent Optical Effects in Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

No Scheduled Events

No Scheduled Events

No Scheduled Events

1/29 -- MONDAY

10:30 AM - CERAMICS DIVISION SEMINAR: Elastic and Inelastic Deformation Properties of Free Standing Ceramic EB -PVD Coatings
Marion Bartsch , German Aerospace Center (DLR).
Materials Building, Rm. A250. (NIST Contact: Edwin Fuller, 301-975-5795, edwin.fuller@nist.gov)

10:45 AM - QUANTUM ELECTRICAL METROLOGY DIVISION SEMINAR: Terahertz Time Domain Spectroscopy and Design of Terahertz Detector
There has recently been a surge in interest in exploiting the terahertz (THz) frequency range (1012 – 1013 Hz) in a diverse range of applications, from package monitoring to short-link secure wireless communications, with significant technological impact expected particularly in the defense and health arenas. Broad application of THz imaging systems should allow for rapid initial inspection, without the health and cost disadvantages; this has already made its mark in biomedical applications. The realization and broad application of THz-related technologies requires compact sources and detectors, and compatibility of these with conventional semiconductor microfabrication techniques is highly desired. Standard THz detection schemes include cryogenically-cooled (< 4.2 K) bolometric detectors, low sensitivity Schottky-diode detectors and pyroelectric detectors, all of which have specific disadvantages. More importantly, none of these methods provide frequency resolution for rapid spectroscopic determination of information. In order to overcome these issues, we are working to develop a tunable THz detector with high sensitivity and frequency resolution that is based on the unique properties of nanoelectronic quantum point contacts (QPCs). QPCs are basically nanoscale constrictions that may be realized using state-of-the-art microfabrication to form a pair of metal gates, separated by a nanoscale gap, on the surface of an ultra-high-quality semiconductor.
Nafees Aminul Kabir , Department of Electrical Engineering, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY.
Metrology Building, Room B321. (NIST Contact: Neil Zimmerman, 301-975-5887, neil.zimmerman@nist.gov)


1/30 -- TUESDAY

10:30 AM - POLYMERS DIVISION SEMINAR: Mechanics of Flexible Macroelectronics
The advent of flat-panel displays has opened the era of macroelectronics. Currently, macroelectronics is being developed as a platform for many technologies, such as paper-like displays, printable solar cells, and electronic skins, indicating further desirable attributes for macroelectronic systems, including flexibility, portability and low-cost. Such flexible macroelectronic devices will have diverse architectures, hybrid materials, and small features. The mechanical behavior of these large scale structures with micro/nano scale features poses significant challenges to the creation of the new technologies. For example, thin films of most electronic materials, such as metals, dielectrics and semiconductors, fracture at small strains (less than ~1%). How to use these materials to make electronic devices with reliable deformability under cyclic loading remains uncertain.

This talk describes the ongoing work in the emerging field of research -mechanics of flexible macroelectronics. Particular focus is placed on how to make nanoscale thin films of various electronic materials mechanically deformable and electronically functional when the whole device is subject to large, cyclic stretching, bending or twisting, a key challenge confronted by this nascent technology. We first focus on understanding the tensile behavior of thin metal films on polymer substrates, gaining insight into the rupture mechanisms of such a representative architecture in flexible macroelectronics. We then identify and quantify the physical parameters governing the film rupture strains, shedding light on the materials optimization to achieve better device deformability. Next we broaden the focus onto general electronic materials and explore possible ways to enhance their deformability on polymer substrates. We identify the mechanisms of large, reversible deformability of thin metal films on elastomeric substrates, and then propose a general principle of making thin films of stiff materials deformable by suitably patterning. Such patterned films can serve as general platforms for flexible macroelectronics.
Teng Li , Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland.
224 Bldg, Rm. A312. (NIST Contact: Dean DeLongchamp, 301-975-5599, deand@nist.gov)

1:30 PM - CNST SEMINAR SERIES: Small-scale, Six-axis Nanopositioners: New Concepts and Performance Limits for Nanomanufacturing Equipment/Instrumentation
*Special joint seminar with the NIST Intelligent Systems Division* Six-axis nanopositioners are important because they set many of the limits on our ability to measure/understand and control/affect nano-scale geometries/phenomena. They are relevant to (a) instruments that enable the measurement/understanding of small-scale geometries/phenomena and (b) equipment that enables the fabrication of parts that rely upon small-scale geometries/phenomena. Advances in nanopositioning technology make it possible to (a) increase the type/pace of scientific discoveries (via instruments) and (b) improve the pace/quality with which these discoveries are put into practice (via equipment). We find a growing number of applications within nanomanufacturing that require small-scale nanopositioners in order to achieve viable speed (kHz), resolution (nanometers- Angstroms), cost ($10s/device) and stability ( Angstroms/min) levels. These levels of performance are usually impossible to obtain with macro-scale nanopositioners. It is also impractical to obtain these levels by miniaturizing macro-scale nanopositioner designs. New concepts, fabrication processes and performance models are required to realize small-scale nanopositioners that have inherent benefits with respect to the aforementioned performance requirements. The purpose of my work is to generate new concepts and the corresponding knowledge that enables the design/fabrication/implementation of small-scale, six-axis nanopositioning systems. In this talk, we will discuss the utility of smaller-scale nanopositioners and their performance limits. We will examine several new machine elements (silicon-based elements and nascent designs for carbon nanotube-based elements) and the nanopositioners that have been created using these elements. We will also discuss the high-level aspects of case studies where these devices are being created for probe-based nanofabrication processes. The case studies are the result of collaborations wherein we have partnered with process researchers in order to co-develop process-equipment pairs for future nanofabrication processes.
Martin Culpepper , Rockwell International Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
215 Bldg, Rm. C103-C106. (NIST Contact: Jabez McClelland, 301-975-3721, jabez.mcclelland@nist.gov)

3:00 PM - POLYMERS DIVISION SEMINAR: Anomalous Length-Dependent Optical Effects in Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes
Among the novel physical attributes of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), the unique optical properties are perhaps the most compelling, as they create a wealth of opportunities in the realm of single-particle optical sensing. Although the environmental sensitivity of the single-wall carbon nanotube optical response is widely appreciated, very little is known about how such characteristics depend on contour length, the most obvious and fundamental of nanotube properties. Classically, optical extinction is - at most - weakly dependent on the length of a nanoscale absorbing rod. We show here that the intrinsic optical response of semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes has a length dependence orders-of-magnitude stronger than classical expectations, and we offer a physical model that relates this anomaly to the interaction of optical excitons with large structural defects along the backbone of the nanotube.
Erik Hobbie , NIST, Polymers Division.
224 Bldg, Rm. A312 CR. (NIST Contact: Jan Obrzut, 301-975-6845, jano@nist.gov)


1/31 -- WEDNESDAY

No Scheduled Events

2/1 -- THURSDAY

No Scheduled Events

2/2 -- FRIDAY

No Scheduled Events

ADVANCE NOTICE

2/9/07 1:00 PM - NIST COLLOQUIUM SERIES : The Quantum Optics Circus: Flying Photons, Acrobatic Atoms and Entangled Ensembles
NOTE: DIFFERENT TIME AND LOCATION (VTC from Boulder) Since its inception more than 40 years ago, Quantum Optics has made remarkable advances in the exploration of the quantum character of light, including the microscopic control of single atoms and photons. Indeed, laser operation has been pushed to the conceptual limit with the realization of a laser that operates with one acrobatic atom. Single, flying photons can now be generated deterministically at the push of a button. Ensembles of atoms can be projected into an entangled quantum state by the "click" of a photodetector. Beyond their fundamental significance, such advances are helping to lay the foundations for the new science of Quantum Information, including the realization of complex quantum networks.
Jeff Kimble , Department of Physics, California Institute of Technology.
Administration Building, Lecture Room A . (NIST Contact: Kum Ham, 301-975-4203, kham@nist.gov)
Special Assistance Available

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MEETINGS ELSEWHERE


1/29 -- MONDAY

No Scheduled Events

1/30 -- TUESDAY

No Scheduled Events

1/31 -- WEDNESDAY

No Scheduled Events

2/1 -- THURSDAY

No Scheduled Events

2/2 -- FRIDAY

No Scheduled Events

ADVANCE NOTICE

No Scheduled Events

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TALKS BY NIST PERSONNEL

No Scheduled Events

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

VISITOR REGISTRATION FOR NIST EVENTS
Because of heightened security at the NIST Gaithersburg site, members of the public who wish to attend meetings, seminars, lectures, etc. must first register in advance. For more information please call or e-mail the "NIST Contact" for the particular event you would like to attend.
NIST Contact: . ., ., .

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NIST WEB SITE ANNOUNCEMENTS

No Web Site announcements this week.

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For more information, contact Ms. Sharon Hallman, Editor, Stop 2500, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg MD 20899-2500; Telephone: 301-975-TCAL (3570); Fax: 301-926-4431; or Email: tcal@nist.gov.

All lectures and meetings are open unless otherwise stated.

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