Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 85
PART ll}
Division-Level Reviews
Part I of this report presents the overall assessment of the NIST Measurement and Standards
Laboratories. Part II provides a laboratory-level assessment of each individual laboratory. This part
presents a technical review at the division level for each laboratory.
Chapter 9
Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory: Division Reviews
Chapter 10
Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory: Division Reviews
Chapter 1 1
Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory: Division Reviews
Chapter 12
Physics Laboratory: Division Reviews
Chapter 13
Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory: Division Reviews
Chapter 14
Building and Fire Research Laboratory: Division Reviews
Chapter 15
Information Technology Laboratory: Division Reviews
85
OCR for page 86
OCR for page 87
9
Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory
Division Reviews
ELECTRICITY DIVISION
Technical Merit
.
The Electricity Division's work encompasses the development and maintenance of national electri-
cal standards. It aims to identify needs related to electrical standards that have the highest economic
impact, require support to industry, and meet the deliverables appropriate to the overall division mis-
sion. Six fields of technology are affected by the work of the division: national electrical standards, low-
frequency systems, electric power, display metrology, electronic data exchange, and semiconductors.
There is some concern within the panel that important elements of the division's efforts, while
clearly of value to the broadly stated goals of its mission and supported by its management, are
inadequately reflected in the division's mission statement. These elements include standards and metrics
for flat panel displays, standardized systems for the digital transfer of electrical and mechanical manu-
facturing data, and the maintenance of a sound database of information pertinent to NIST through the
organized, electronic capture of data.
As in the past, the division conducts its business in a manner that supports its stated mission. In
accord with the division' s strategic planning, its three groups were reorganized this past year into four
groups: the Electronic Instruments and Metrology, Fundamental Electrical Measurements, Electrical
Systems, and Electronic Information Technologies Groups. Eleven major projects (see the subsections
below) are supported by the work of these groups.
The panel commends the Electricity Division of the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Labora-
tory (KEEL) for its management approach. Last year's reorganization of the division's efforts was aimed
at better allocation of available resources, which resulted in some redirection. This process was conducted
NOTE: Chapter 2, "Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory," which presents the laboratory-level review, includes a
chart showing the laboratory's organizational structure (Figure 2.~) and a table indicating its sources of funding (Table 2.~.
87
OCR for page 88
88
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003
in a manner that effectively utilized staff input, and it continues to be perceived by the staff as a positive
exercise. Management is currently building on these efforts with review and planning activities that will
maximize the adaptability of the division while retaining its ability to meet its traditional and established
responsibilities. The balance that has been achieved between these two occasionally conflicting objec-
tives appears to be well considered and effective. The status of client services continues to evolve. The
panel observed services that were in the process of elimination as well as new services that had been
developed in response to clients' requests. In both cases there was clear evidence that clients were being
consulted throughout the process.
In the opinion of the panel, the strategic decisions of the division's management and staff have
considerably improved the division's ability to meet its goals and objectives while maintaining its
overall level of technical merit. An example of the division's overall approach can be seen in its yearly
pamphlet, which describes each project and enumerates a number of specific short- and long-term
objectives. In its consultations with staff, the panel found that these objectives represent realistic goals
and plans and are considered seriously. Although there may be occasional questions by staff about the
value of the time spent producing these documents, such questions are to be expected from a committed
staff determined to maximize the level of its efforts. The effort put into this planning and documentation,
however, is of considerable value and should be recognized.
In the following subsections, details of major projects in the division are discussed in order to
illustrate the high quality and technical merit of its work.
Electronic Kilogram
The objectives of the Electronic Kilogram project are the realization of the electrical unit of voltage
and an investigation of an alternative definition of the unit of mass that is based on measured quantities
determined by the fundamental physical constants of nature. The unit of mass is currently based on a
physical artifact, whose copies differ by non-negligible amounts. Numerous national bureaus of stan-
dards are making efforts to replace these artifacts. The program at NIST is at the forefront of such efforts
and retains U.S. leadership in the field of standards.
The level of both technical skill and design creativity for this project is exceptionally high. The
experimental setup is an exceedingly difficult apparatus to develop and refine. The project combines the
use of a number of existing electrical standards (the volt and the ohm) in order to generate a known force
through means of a complex, yet fundamentally deterministic, magnetic system. The instrumentation
has recently undergone a series of technical improvements, including the redesign of various elements.
The benefits of these changes are expected to be established through testing that will occur shortly. The
level of technical skill and expertise brought to the project is clearly evident in the identification and
subsequent elimination of a number of design elements that contribute to systematic errors in the
system. This is the sort of measurement system that NIST can be proud of, for the system is clearly a
leader among the various efforts in the world.
Voltage Metrology
The Voltage Metrology project maintains the U.S. legal volt and disseminates the unit as an interna-
tionally consistent, accurate, reproducible, and traceable voltage standard that is readily and continu-
ously available for the national scientific and industrial base. NIST has historically been one of the
world leaders in the determination of the volt and has led the way in the development of hysteretic
Josephson arrays, which are in use in most technologically developed countries around the world.
OCR for page 89
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY: DIVISION REVIEWS
89
Besides simply maintaining and disseminating the volt, this project has continued to refine the Joseph-
son array device and to reduce its size and complexity so that it can be used as a portable device. It is
now clear that interlaboratory comparisons based on traveling Zeners are limited primarily by the
instability and noise of the Zener diode transfer devices. The project has developed and tested a portable
Josephson array standard. Recent publication of these results indicates an improvement of about a factor
of 10 over conventional traveling Zeners and provides this improvement directly to NIST's most
important clients. Interesting studies about the spectral analysis of typical Zener devices are under way.
This work promises to help optimize the measurement conditions but also serves as a valuable educa-
tional tool for clients of the Voltage Metrology project.
The project is utilizing a programmable array for the voltage calibration services provided to its
customers. KEEL enjoys a steady demand from its customers for calibration of saturated cell voltage
standards. At one time it was hoped that the evolution of the Zener diode reference standards might
improve the state of the art and make high-level voltage calibrations much easier. However, over the
years the Zener-based devices have shown unpredictable noise characteristics, which diminish their
value as a highly stable voltage standard. The development and testing of the programmable Josephson
array have uncovered a number of minor technological problems, most of which are now solved,
illustrating improved collaborations with the NIST Boulder campus.
Single Electron Tunneling
The goal of the Single Electron Tunneling project is to develop applications for single-electron
tunneling (SET) technologies, which are relevant to high-precision electrical metrology. A recent col-
laboration with the capacitive standard effort in Gaithersburg has resulted in advances in the state of the
art for determination of frequency dependencies inherent in capacitance measurements; these advances
are fundamental to this project. The limited level of staffing available for this work makes it essential to
secure and maintain strong networks. Effective collaboration with NIST Boulder as well as work with a
group in Japan and with investigators at the University of Maryland have all proven effective.
Metrology of the Ohm
The Metrology of the Ohm project maintains the U.S. legal ohm through distribution of an interna-
tionally consistent, accurate, reproducible, and traceable resistance standard that is readily and continu-
ously available for the U.S. scientific and industrial base. NIST continues to be a world leader in the
realization of the ohm through state-of-the-art technology such as the quantum Hall (QH) resistance
device. The QH devices are manufactured by NIST. However, these current devices degrade over time,
so NIST has had to work diligently to ensure that there is an adequate supply of them. The level of signal
produced by the QH devices is very small and difficult to use. In addition, the system to realize the ohm
through the device is expensive and difficult to use. The Metrology of the Ohm team has taken on the
task of trying to develop a QH device that will be less expensive and easier to use. If successful, this
project may make it possible to do QH resistance work in the field.
Over the whole range of resistance measurements, NIST has always had a world-respected reputa-
tion. If NIST could be faulted, it would be related to its slowness to utilize cryogenic current compara-
tors and other developments in resistance metrology. It is pleasing to see that this situation is changing.
This project's recent focus on high resistance is beginning to reap dividends. Improved scaling to 1
megaohm using a new cryogenic current comparator, stable resistance standards with much-improved
temperature coefficients, higher-value Hamon transfer standards, and the active-arm high-resistance
OCR for page 90
9o
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003
bridge are all significant developments. Taken together, they redefine NIST preeminence in high-
resistance metrology.
AC-DC Difference Standards and Measurement Techniques
The AC-DC Difference Standards and Measurement Techniques project exists to provide U.S.
industry with a link between direct current (DC) and corresponding alternating current (AC) electrical
standards and to maintain and improve national standards for measuring DC and AC differences. The
project team has undertaken a number of innovative development projects designed to utilize state-of-
the-art thin-film approaches and technologies in order to facilitate the production of standards. This is a
very challenging technical task, and there has been significant progress in a number of directions. Based
on the achievements of this group, it is clear that the technical skill and commitment of its personnel are
of the highest caliber.
Impedance and AC Ratio Standards
The Impedance and AC Ratio Standards project maintains and disseminates the U.S. legal farad and
relates that unit to the International System (SI) of units. It provides the U.S. industrial base with
consistent, reproducible, reliable, and traceable electrical calibrations in these areas. Recent work on
improving the accuracy of frequency dependence measurements of capacitors is a significant advance
not only for U.S. manufacturers but also for the metrology community as a whole. Many other countries
trying to solve similar problems will welcome these results.
The calculable capacitor continues to be the focus and foundation of this project. It is important not
just as the fundamental capacitance standard but also in its role in the "quantum triangle," linking the
single-electron tunneling, watt-balance, Josephson, and quantum Hall experiments. Other advances,
such as the new straddle bridge for measuring voltage ratio, augment and improve the measurement and
scaling of the AC impedance units and emphasize the high motivation, originality, and competence of
the staff.
The initiation of an AC quantum Hall resistance experiment places NIST in the company of only
four other laboratories in the world, demonstrating that NIST is seriously addressing these measurement
challenges and is committed to moving beyond its past successes.
Electric Power Metrology
The Electric Power Metrology project exists to maintain and disseminate precise electrical measure-
ments for the nation's electric power transmission and distribution systems and various industrial high-
energy power applications such as welding. It maintains standards for power and energy and provides
calibration services for AC and DC, electric power and energy, and other electrical purposes.
The panel commends the project team for maintaining close ties with industry and other standards
organizations and for its leadership in these relationships. The project shows a management commit-
ment to satisfying both its major clients and overall NIST objectives. Its technical achievements are
significant and are respected nationally and internationally. Developments such as the distorted power
test are not just technically innovative but also tailored to be of immediate service to NIST's clientele.
The project's calibration services continue to be in demand and without any significant complaints. In
general, this project seems to have struck a good balance between ever better identification of uncertain-
ties and satisfaction of clients' needs.
OCR for page 91
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY: DIVISION REVIEWS
Time Domain Measurements
91
The Time Domain Measurements project exists to expand and improve present NIST time domain
waveform measurement services to support high-performance samplers and digitizers, as well as fast
pulse and impulse sources, operating at frequencies from DC to 50 GHz. The work of this project team
clearly lies at the limit of what is achievable with current instrumentation. The personnel in the project
team have been able to develop methods permitting the calibration of a commercially available instru-
ment to such a degree that the instrument can then be used as a tool for the calibration of other
instruments. The expertise and technical capability demonstrated in this work are exemplary. This
project' s efforts in support of NIST' s homeland security work have been extremely valuable, leading to
the development of guides and published standards for metal detectors.
Flat Panel Display Metrology
The objective of the Flat Panel Display Metrology project is to develop robust, reproducible, and
unambiguous metrology methods to characterize electronic displays, particularly flat panel displays
(FPDs) to support the domestic industry of display users. The project involves the development of
patterns for display measurement and the revision of International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) visual-display ergonomic standards.
Other current work has a focus on homeland security. These efforts involve the development of
measurement techniques dealing with reflectivity and with a liquid lens that can distinguish features in
shadow in a high-contrast field of light and dark.
The Flat Panel Display Metrology project is creating standard approaches to measuring display
characteristics. Despite the long time that displays have been in existence, the technology is in its
infancy. Expensive techniques are used in industry to measure display characteristics; the results from
manufacturer to manufacturer are ambiguous in many cases. The NIST team has found inexpensive
ways to make the same measurements and has developed standards for metric measurement methods (as
opposed to metric standards). The expectation is that through standardization of measurement methods
that produce unambiguous results, standard sets of metrics will evolve.
It is noteworthy that this project team is applying creative techniques to the needed development of
low-cost and effective metrics. Industry is responding positively to this work. NIST should continue this
project, which has such high leverage in terms of output versus manpower. The aims of the project
should be embodied in the division mission statement.
Infrastructure for Integrated Electronic Design and Manufacturing
The objective of the Infrastructure for Integrated Electronic Design and Manufacturing project is to
actively contribute to the technical development of neutral product data exchange specifications, manu-
facturing specifications, and component information infrastructure for the electronics industry. The
project focuses its efforts on two areas: Electronic Commerce of Component Information (ECCI) and
Internet Commerce for Manufacturing (ICM). The skill base for this project requires knowledge of
digital systems and software development.
As technology advances in ways that permit the digital transfer of electrical and mechanical manu-
facturing data, the need for standardized ways to represent the data becomes an imperative. To let these
techniques develop in a random manner puts the United States at a competitive disadvantage. The panel
commends NIST for recognizing the need for this project.
OCR for page 92
92
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003
The project is at a critical stage of development requiring high skill levels of professionals. The state
of the art for electronic design and manufacturing does not have standards for representing electrical and
mechanical manufacturing data to create the much-needed infrastructure. The infrastructure depends on
such standard representations and libraries of component parts, which contain the detailed data. There
are at present many such libraries and data representations, with no single standard. The industry may
never be able to reach agreement on such standards, but NIST as a neutral body with the integrity and
knowledge to minimize the disarray can be a positive, industry-wide force. An alternative approach to
reaching industry-wide agreement would be to make known the various infrastructures and data repre-
sentations and then to create a basis for transformations among the data representations. The NIST
project is attempting to address many aspects of this problem area. The NIST participants have the
knowledge base to contribute solutions.
The NIST ECCI and ICM focus areas within this project are recognized as extremely important by
the electronics industry. The fact that numerous standards groups meet frequently to reach agreement in
these areas exemplifies the importance of the work. Standards group meetings sponsored by the Elec-
tronics Industry Association (EIA) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) as
well as many industry ad hoc standards groups are well attended by industry representatives. Because of
the technical skills and neutrality brought to standardization efforts by NIST scientists in this area, they
are welcomed and encouraged by industry. Within some standards organizations, the NIST personnel
assume a leadership role.
Knowledge Facilitation
The Knowledge Facilitation project provides a formalization to achieve secure and cost-effective
means of data collection and dissemination. The three stated objectives of this project are as follows:
· To eliminate paper-intensive and manual operations by automating tasks, decreasing the admin-
istrative requirements of the technical and support staff, increasing responsiveness to customers, and
implementing a secure NIST paperless environment.
· To provide information technology security policies, procedures, guidelines, and baselines and
ensure compliance with Government Information Security Reform Act (GISRA) requirements.
· To develop and refine a workflow application to enable the automatic tracking of technical and
administrative calibration information.
The first objective is actually a mission statement encompassing the other two objectives; the second
objective relates to homeland security; the Information System to Support Calibrations (ISSC) satisfies
the third objective, by reducing the percentage of time that NIST scientists and support staff spend
producing the necessary calibration forms and associated reports. The Knowledge Facilitation project
addresses a key need in the complex world of NIST and has to be shown explicitly as part of the NIST
mission. The skill base for this project requires knowledge of digital systems and software development.
Progress in this project significantly improves the ability to manage calibration data, to report
calibration work, and to interact with NIST customers with respect to calibration data. An outgrowth of
this work is its logical extension to capturing technical report references in a consistent database to
greatly simplify browsing and access. The concepts embodied by this project should be captured in the
division mission statement. NIST is to be commended for formalizing this critical project.
The Knowledge Facilitation project has been developed nearly to the point that one of its deliverables,
the ISSC, will be moved to another NIST area, Technology Services, which has the ability to call on
experts should problems arise. ISSC capabilities are now accessible throughout the division and KEEL.
OCR for page 93
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY: DIVISION REVIEWS
Program Relevance and Effectiveness
93
A major activity of the Electricity Division is the maintenance of highly accurate and reliable
electricity standards. These standards enable robust measurements of the entire range of electrical
quantities that are needed to support commercial infrastructures and technology development as well as
advanced investigations at academic institutions. Representations of the volt and ohm are the practical
means through which NIST's electrical units are maintained. Participation in international comparisons
and linkage to national traceability systems are also key to NIST' s fulfillment of metrology obligations
and to the preservation of the prestige and respect it receives from other countries and metrology
organizations. The maintenance of the legal unit of the volt and its dissemination are at the heart of the
charter of NIST. The development and implementation of a reliable current standard are also clearly
consistent with the division's central mission. This effort combines project work with efforts necessary
to implement the use of the current standard: the development of a stable capacitive standard. While this
project involves significant technical risk, success would essentially be revolutionary in the field of
electrical standards. Other important projects within NIST are also dependent upon the Josephson
junction array voltage standard work carried on by the Voltage Metrology project. For example, the
watt-kilogram experiments in both the United States and France are using Josephson array devices built
by the NIST Voltage Metrology team.
Metrology of the ohm and resistance calibration services likewise are part of NIST' s core business
and are key to U.S. industry. Realizing the value of the ohm is an essential component in the foundation
of international trade. While stark numbers may often misinterpret relevance, the large number of
resistance calibrations is surely a positive indicator that NIST's Metrology of the Ohm project is
extremely relevant to U.S. industry.
The work of the AC-DC Difference Standards and Measurement Techniques project is fundamental
to the use of electric power. Nearly every type of industry using electric power or electronics in any form
has some need for accurate measurement based on thermal converters and AC current shunts. These
needs vary widely in terms of both the frequencies and the amounts of current involved and create a
critical need for standards and calibration services covering a wide range of both frequency and current
domains.
The perpetuation of a dependable, consistent, and traceable standard for the farad will continue to be
a core priority for the Electricity Division. There are only about five calculable capacitors in routine
operation in the entire world; the NIST system claims to be the best and so far has been able to
substantiate those claims. This unique situation enhances NIST's international reputation but also im-
plies additional responsibility for maintaining the current level of accuracy. The division is currently
engaged in extending the range and accuracy of capacitance measurements. Generally, NIST's capabili-
ties meet industry needs but do not exceed them by a large margin. The Impedance and AC Ratio
Standards project's recent studies into the frequency dependence of standard capacitors illustrate that
the project is responsive to U.S. clients' needs and demands.
Conventional power measurements and their dissemination are handled competently and profes-
sionally by the division. Power and energy metering has undergone several improvements. The power
calibration facilities have been upgraded with more modern equipment. Tests of distorted power to the
50th harmonic have been developed to answer demands for traceability and calibration. Two projects,
those on power quality and high voltage, are under consideration for discontinuation because they no
longer appear to be of interest to the division's clients.
Of particular note in the area of conventional power measurements is a small project focused on
communication security within the power distribution grid. The approach undertaken was to develop a
tool characterizing the varying real-time latency timings of control communications primarily of remote
OCR for page 94
94
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003
power-producing facilities. This tool should help the industry assess the impact of such things as denial
of service within control loops that stabilize and equilibrate the national grid of electrical power.
Recently increased attention to counterterrorism has focused on this vulnerability to our electrical
energy distribution system, and its impacts on homeland security are direct and potentially enormous.
The Time Domain Measurements project focuses on electrical measurements at timescales at the
limit of present instrumentation. This work currently supports a very large industry dependent on the
special need to interface electrical components and instruments with high-bandwidth optical communi-
cations.
The metrology for flat panel displays is still in the infant stage. NIST is providing a much needed
function by bringing industry and consumers together to work on the problem while contributing
positive steps in the evolution of that metrology. NIST experts have developed a set of measurement
techniques that will ultimately lead to metrology standards for flat panel display. While industry is
willing to accept the techniques, it is not yet ready to accept certain standards. Nonetheless, the value of
this work is recognized, given that a NIST-supplied, complete set of patterns for display measurements
and the setup for all pixel-array formats currently in use (approximately 40,000 patterns) have been
accepted by the Video Electronics Standards Association. The Flat Panel Display Metrology team has
1 ~ 1 ~ Of
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . a... . .
also developed a unique approach to photographing high-contrast scenes, using a llquld-lllled lens, so
that the features of a face in shadow can be seen even when the background is very bright (a normal
camera does not "see" the face in shadow, showing just a silhouette). This approach is being applied to
homeland security measures.
The work being done by the Infrastructure for Integrated Electronic Design and Manufacturing team
is very significant and of great importance to the electronics industry. Standards for the description of
electronics data are imperative in order for the United States to maintain and enhance its position
worldwide in the electronics industry. The team consists of both experienced and relatively young
researchers. As they develop the infrastructure, their enthusiasm for the task leads to rapid learning and
understanding of the issues involved and the types of solutions needed. As the electronics industry is
evolving rapidly, the problems are not "solved" instead, researchers are hard-pressed to keep up with
solutions for the evolving problem set. As the team's understanding of a problem grows, the recognition
of solutions that need work in order to be implemented also grows. Thus, an adequate staff of research-
ers is essential. In the present NIST climate, maintaining an adequate research staff for this project is
difficult.
The Knowledge Facilitation project members continue to remain involved with industry standards
organizations. Their industry colleagues recognize the work of these individuals at NIST. The team has
developed software tools to manipulate the data contained in an IPC (an industry standards organiza-
tion) standard format. The project members interact with such industry standards groups as the Interna-
tional Electrotechnical Commission TC93, the Electronic Design Automation Standards Technical
Commission, IPC, and the IEEE Computer Society Design Automation Standards Committee. The work
performed by NIST covers an important, yet small, part of the total problem space. One of the key
efforts under way concerns an experiment: international interoperability testing of electronic compo-
nent information and dictionary harmonization. An electronic component information dictionary is key
to the ability of semiconductor and electronic parts producers and users to communicate what is available
and what is needed in future products. At present, there are many such dictionaries, and harmonization
is crucial. Other tasks concern manufacturing information chain management and Web infrastructures to
enhance B2B and e-manufacturing processes.
The ISSC has already demonstrated its significance and cost-effectiveness, as exemplified by its
widespread acceptance and use throughout NIST. A Web-based bibliographic database, which is a
OCR for page 95
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY: DIVISION REVIEWS
95
natural follow-on to the ISSC, is now being developed. This database will provide a consistent and
efficient method for searches of papers published within KEEL. The security of data and access to data
also constitute a major focus of the project. This focus relates strongly to the topic of homeland security.
Division Resources
The funding level of the division has been relatively constant over the past 7 years, but since the cost
per employee has risen, it is difficult to keep the same number of technical staff. The overhead has also
increased. This situation has led to manpower shortages in several important areas.
Funding and the loss of two key professionals are having a negative impact on the ability of the
sparse crew in the Infrastructure for Integrated Electronic Design and Manufacturing project to cover
the territory. Morale is also being affected. Though the members of the project team are dedicated and
highly enthusiastic, they feel that they are lacking the critical mass to do their job well.
The Voltage Metrology project has had a steady workload fully occupying the small staff of two
people. The panel continues to have some concern that there is insufficient other staff having the
required capabilities to act as backup for the existing staff. Cross-training is still being considered, but
an additional half-person in technical support is sought. There is no extra capacity on this team should
any new projects need to be addressed.
The less-than-optimal progress in the Single Electron Tunneling project can be linked to staffing
shortages. A significant impediment to the project resulted when leaks in an essential piece of equip-
ment occurred and it was necessary to divert the research of a central investigator to do repairs. Efforts
have been made to add staff; however, staffing levels throughout the division are stretched dangerously
thin, making it difficult to provide additional staffing for any project. It is expected that more staff would
help to alleviate some of the difficulties facing this project.
Both the Metrology of the Ohm and the Voltage Metrology projects are funded and staffed at
minimal levels, but the addition of new technical support has brought renewed optimism and direction
into this work.
The Voltage Metrology project continues to have inadequate clean electric power, which is essential
for the services it provides. Although a reliable backup power generator is now available, the harmonic
distortion of the regular power still needs to be addressed.
While the present resources seem just adequate to maintain the calculable capacitor for the Imped-
ance and AC Ratio Standards project's work, further advances of this instrument, AC quantum Hall
resistance measurements, and automated systems, as well as the upcoming move to the Advanced
Measurement Laboratory, will severely tax the project's manpower and financial resources for a couple
of years. This project has generally sufficient resources, both in equipment and personnel, to perform its
routine maintenance and requested calibration services. The adaptation to the AML and to NIST's
internal quality system will be a heavy, but temporary, strain for perhaps the next 24 months. The panel
is concerned about the small number of permanent staff within the project and about the ability of the
project to maintain a knowledge base sufficient for the smooth continuation of project objectives. Some
additional technical assistance was requested for one subproject.
Perhaps the biggest concern with respect to the electric power work was the inability to be respon-
sive to the rapidly changing electric power industry an industry that is drawing considerable public
and government attention. The challenges for a deregulated electric power industry, and in turn for
NIST, are not yet fully understood, but NIST's ability to meet these needs as they arise, let alone to
provide leadership within the industry. is very limited.
~ ,, ,
Although current levels of staffing and equipment in the Time Domain Measurements project are
OCR for page 116
116
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003
highlights of division work and supports publication downloads. The division continues to participate in
standards bodies and literally to set the standard for quality in the optoelectronics industry.
Overall, the division has made great progress over the past year, met the milestones highlighted in
its overview document, and made significant progress toward its longer-term goals. The Optoelectronics
Division has been extremely responsive to the recommendations from the FY 2002 assessment. Some
examples include the increased calibration services for higher-power fiber-coupled power meters. The
panel had recommended extending the capability to 0.5 W to support the developing industry sector for
Raman amplifiers and Raman pump lasers. The division now supports this high-power calibration. In
addition, the panel had recommended that the high-speed photodetector calibration services be extended
from 65 GHz to 1 10 GHz. The division has extended its calibration services to 1 10 GHz and in addition
supports both amplitude and phase measurements. The panel had recommended increased research and
outreach in the area of polarization mode dispersion measurement and emulation. Researchers from the
division have greatly increased their visibility into and reputation in the field by attending special
symposia and leading industry workshops in this important field of study. The panel had encouraged a
wider dissemination of results, and a Web site has been set up to serve this purpose.
Highlights indicating the technical merit of the division's accomplishments during the 2003 assess-
ment period are presented by group in the following discussions.
Optoelectronic Manufacturing
The Optoelectronic Manufacturing Group develops measurement methods and provides data to
support the efficient manufacture of optoelectronic devices and for fabricating advanced devices to
support metrology research. Maintaining the level of excellence in the U.S. optoelectronics industry is
critical during this economic downturn; the entity that maintains its capability, history has shown, will
benefit most when the upturn comes. Partially owing to consistent government support, including that
from NIST, the United States remains the world's leading manufacturer of optical communications
components and systems for the large and still growing fiber optic communications industry. This
unfortunately is not true for the semiconductor and wireless communications industries.
In the area of measurement methodology, impressive capabilities to determine source gas purity
have been demonstrated. This work on gas purity is very relevant, and the extremely sensitive in situ
measurements, down to 20 ppb for oxygen, will be helpful to both the semiconductor and optoelectron-
ics industries. Improved control of impurities in source gases is expected to increase wafer yields and to
allow better control of semiconductor device characteristics. The Optoelectronic Manufacturing Group
has been able to correlate phosphine purity with incorporated oxygen in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)
growth. Future work will highlight correlating gas purity with device performance and will also focus on
determining concentrations of additional impurities in additional source gases. The base ringdown
optical sensing technology developed for these MBE source gas characterizations should also have
application in sensing poison gas and biohazards in the areas of homeland security and defense.
There are a number of excellent advances in the area of device development for new metrology
applications. Recent results highlighted measurements of ensembles of quantum dots as well as the
demonstration of a single-photon turnstile. The ability to generate a single photon, on demand, should
allow for new and fundamental advances in optical metrology and in secure communications applica-
tions such as quantum cryptography. In addition to the single-photon turnstile, photonic crystal devices
are being developed to help control or capture the single photons generated by the turnstile. These
photonic crystals will also be used to understand metrology issues associated with photonic band gap
OCR for page 117
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY: DIVISION REVIEWS
117
materials and devices. The work on nanotechnology should be expanded because of both its relevance to
the new technology thrusts of the fiber communications industry and its importance to fundamental
advances in metrology.
Advances in the area of nanotechnology have been supported by a competence award and should
continue to be supported at a high funding level.
Sources and Detectors
The Sources and Detectors Group develops standards and measurement methods for characterizing
optoelectronic sources and detectors. This group has three subgroups focusing on (1) continuous wave
laser radiometry (2) oulsed-laser radiometry and (3) hich-sneed measurements. The Proud continues to
__ _ of, ____ ~ ~ O
· . . . . . -. . - · . . .. .. · . . . .. . . · . - · · . -
provlcle valuable calibration services tor both the semiconductor and the telecommunications 1nclustrles.
Since fees for calibration services are now allowed, these services provide an important funding base in
a climate of fixed STRS/OMP funding levels.
Over the past year, the Sources and Detectors Group has improved its laboratory facilities, forged
stronger ties with industry (as evidenced by the increase in calibration services of 11 percent), and
developed measurement and calibration services that are the world's best and NIST-traceable. Owing to
the growth in the electronics industry, this group could potentially continue to increase its interaction
with industry by performing calibration services for foreign industries. In addition, as the semiconductor
industry continues to evolve, the group should consider the possibility of adding more wavelength
capability focusing on moving toward even shorter wavelengths.
The strong interaction of the Sources and Detectors Group with the optical fiber communications
industry should be continued; it is clearly supporting the industry well. The source work has primarily
focused on telecommunications wavelengths, providing measurement capability for "relative intensity
noise," and recently improved the maximum absolute optical power calibration at the 0.5-W level for
semiconductor diode pumps for erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, Raman amplifiers, and distributed Raman
amplification pump diodes. The panel believes that the 0.5-W level should be increased owing to the
ndustry~s use of novel types of fiber amplifiers that require even higher-power pump lasers. At a
minimum, the group should aim for the 1.0-W level for next year.
Detector measurements in the optical fiber communications area have focused on measuring the
impulse response of ultrahigh-speed photo detectors. Over the past year, the group has extended the
measurable bandwidth from 65 GHz to 110 GHz and also added the vector response to its measurement
capability. This capability provides both the magnitude and phase of the frequency response of high-
sneed detectors. The activity in this area could notentiallv expand to address new anolication areas of
1 ~ 1 ~ 1 1 1
. . . · . · . - · . . · . . . · . . . .
Importance, SUCh as wireless commumcatlons, microwave photomcs, and test equipment development
and calibration. Perhaps an industry tie-in could use NIST expertise to develop standards for the use of
electro-optic sampling procedures and measurement methods for contactless wafer-scale testing for the
wireless and broadband RF industries.
The Sources and Detectors Group has also worked on developing better trap detectors. New tech-
nology is currently under consideration for commercialization by ILX, a manufacturer of semiconductor
laser-related products. Finally, the group's work in low-level pulsed radiometry will be critical for the
future development of optical methods for homeland security and target identification.
Panel's Recommendations. The panel supports and acknowledges the excellent work performed by the
Sources and Detectors Group and makes the following recommendations for the next assessment period:
OCR for page 118
118
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003
1. Continue advances in high-speed photodiode calibrations, maintaining magnitude and phase
capabilities and expanding the application areas for these high-speed devices and measurement tech-
niques;
2. Expand the dynamic range of existing calibration services, including higher fiber-coupled power
measurements; and
3. Develop new wavelength calibration services, especially those at shorter wavelengths, as needed
by the lithography community.
Optical Fiber and Components
The Optical Fiber and Components Group seeks to develop measurement methods and to help
industry and government laboratories with measurement and calibration needs in the areas of optical
fiber and component properties. In particular, this group supports the optical fiber (light wave) commu-
nications industry. Despite the depressed state of this industry over the past 2 years, it is widely
acknowledged that, looking forward, information technologies and systems will play a major role in
driving the economy, improving work efficiencies, and indeed, enabling hitherto unimagined functions
and applications. A mainstay of the information era is light-wave communications technology, which
enables cost-effective transport and distribution of massive amounts of information. When the economy
regains its vigor, light-wave technologies and systems will be in great demand, and innovations and new
applications will require ever-more sophisticated measurement techniques and standards. In addition to
supporting the optical fiber communications industry, expertise in light-wave technologies developed in
this group have immediate and direct application in the area of homeland security.
Polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) is a critical property of optical fibers and components and has
been an important area of contributions and accomplishments by the Optical Fiber and Components
Group. This group has developed SRMs, providing traceability for first-order PMD measurements,
which are now available. Present and future activities on PMD emulation and compensation, narrowband
capability for PMD measurement, multiple-reflection effects, and second-order PMD measurement are
all important for the development of future optical networks. Equally important is the work on chro-
matic dispersion. The panel continues to encourage joint endeavors and alliances with the industry and
academia in these areas of advancement. For example, a novel technique for measuring modulator chirp
developed by this group is potentially the most accurate technique developed to date, and industry input
on the necessary accuracy for chirp measurements should be solicited and supported.
The work on wavelength standards has been outstanding and has served well the critical needs of the
industry. Various SRMs are now available, and new standards are being developed for example, the
novel hybrid fiber Bragg-grating/molecular-absorption wavelength reference transfer standard. The
work on high-accuracy frequency comb and super-continuum noise measurement is in the arena of
leading-edge techniques; the panel looks forward to interesting results and encourages collaboration
with local expert groups.
Optical performance monitoring without the traditional optoelectronic digital conversion and mea-
surement is an area of intense endeavor in industry. The panel encourages the group to investigate how
NIST can contribute to meeting the requirements and to stimulating innovation in this area.
Program Relevance and Effectiveness
The Optoelectronics Division has continued to support the industry through unparalleled calibration
services, improving and expanding on the base of services supported. During the past year, the division
OCR for page 119
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY: DIVISION REVIEWS
119
performed more than 312 calibrations for almost 50 entities, developed a new polarization-dependent
loss measurement assurance program, developed the first-ever vector frequency response detector cali-
bration at 110 GHz, and improved existing calibration techniques. Improvements to the division's
calibration services included an increased Q-series calorimeter range, linearity measurements for 193-
nm detectors, 157-nm calorimeters, increased accuracy of measurements of relative group delay, and
higher-power fiber detector calibrations. New material calibrations and measurements include deter-
mining the refractive index and birefringence of AlGaN materials, characterizing the optical properties
of single self-assembled quantum dots, and using cavity ringdown spectroscopy to measure water
concentrations in phosphine.
The quality and direction of the current work in the Optical Fiber and Components Group are world-
class, and its accomplishments are critical to the development of the light-wave industry and future
optical networks. Its well-noted outreach to the light-wave community (e.g., participation in standards
groups, symposia, and conferences) has gained for the members of the group well-earned recognition as
leaders in the field. The provision of various SRMs has served the industry well, and continuing work in
this area is essential. The panel wonders if innovative means for recovering the development cost of the
SRMs could be found in order to support this work. Perhaps the measurement assurance program is a
good step in this direction.
In the area of materials characterization, the Optoelectronic Manufacturing Group continues to set
the standards for higher-purity materials and better-defined compositions. This work is extremely im-
portant in supporting technology developments such as solid-state lasers for lighting, biological agent
detection, and data storage. Many industry and academic customers rely on this group not only to
perform the most accurate measurements, but also to provide accurate correlations between material
parameters such as refractive index and birefringence, for example. In addition, the group helps main-
tain industry-wide measurement consistency by sponsoring measurement round-robins and by support-
ing semiconductor composition standards development. The panel is pleased to see the first SRMs for
AlGaAs composition becoming available and looks forward to such continuing efforts on InGaN. The
panel wonders if measurements of strain and injection-induced refractive index measurements on active
components such as VCSELs (vertical cavity surface emitting lasers) might not be better done by
industry or academia, since the results are highly dependent on fabrication process and structure.
Finally, the Optoelectronics Division has done an excellent job of expanding its measurement
techniques and calibration services to include the support of homeland defense. For example, the cavity
ringdown spectroscopy techniques used to measure water concentrations in phosphine may be applied to
lethal gas and explosives detection. The single-photon turnstile is expected to support work in the fields
of secure communications and computing, most notably, quantum key distribution and quantum com-
puting. Also, the low-level pulsed-laser radiometry services supply the armed services with calibrated
systems for military applications.
Division Resources
The Optoelectronics Division stands out as unique when compared with other divisions within
KEEL, because it is tasked with supporting the most rapidly developing and most highly diversified
industrial base, the optical networking and telecommunications industry. This task offers great opportu-
nities for excellent work, but it also presents challenges for balancing research and services. Supporting
a growing number of evolving services while generating the new measurement techniques and standards
that this dynamic industry demands is difficult, especially in an environment of flat or shrinking bud-
gets. However, the panel believes that the team within the division is up to the task. The panel encour-
OCR for page 120
120
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003
ages KEEL to provide as much additional support to the Optoelectronics Division as possible, so that
riskier and newer research projects may be pursued alongside continued innovations in more traditional
research projects and services.
Funding limitations will restrict the scope of the programs that can be supported by the division. As
a result, an aggressive review of priorities and mission areas must be regularly undertaken. The division
has been proactive in supplementing its budget with outside funds, but the panel believes that more base
funding could be directed to this division, especially for supporting the newer and higher-risk research
areas that may develop into important industry standards on a relatively short timescale. It seems
reasonable that some of these new topic areas could be supported by nonbase funding, but it is also
necessary for some base funding to be available for shorter-term, discretionary project development.
W. bile some progress has been made tow. ard improving facilities. deficiencies continue to hamper
~ O ~ O , ~
work in the division. Upgrades and consolidation of division research areas are long overdue and should
be further implemented. A highlight of the past year was the establishment of a newly renovated laser
calibration laboratory. By simply moving to a new laboratory space, measurement noise was reduced by
a factor of two, and calibration accuracy was therefore increased.
The panel is also concerned that travel restrictions might sever the division's ties with industry. The
panel is highly supportive of the outreach that the division achieves by attending conferences, giving
presentations and tutorials, and organizing and attending workshops and standards meetings. The suc-
cess and the impact of the work in this division on the optoelectronics industry depend on travel to
industry events, and every effort should be made to ensure that these activities are supported at some
level.
Despite the funding challenges, the Optoelectronics Division is providing relevant and high-quality
support of measurement techniques, services, and standards to the optoelectronics industry. The panel
commends the division for delivering on the priorities and goals set out last year and for leveraging
expertise throughout the laboratory to produce the highest-quality results. The division has done an
excellent job of balancing research and services, and the staff has been proactive in applying its knowl-
edge and techniques to the concerns of homeland security and defense. The panel encourages the
division to be as nimble as possible in supporting new research and measurement areas in order to try to
keen ahead of the auicklv developing industry. At the same time. it encourages the division to maintain
1 1 ~ 1 0 ~ O
its reputation for technical excellence and to continue to support the services relied upon by the opto-
electronics industry. It will continue to be difficult to set priorities relating to this diverse and ever-
growing industry, but the panel believes that the division has the leadership and staff necessary to
support this dynamic industry, whose recovery is so important to the future economic success of the
country.
MAGNETIC TECHNOLOGY DIVISION
Technical Merit
The Magnetic Technology Division's (MTD's) mission statement remains unchanged from last
year: "To strengthen the U.S. economy and improve the quality of life by providing measurement
science and technology primarily for the magnetic technology and superconductor industries." In last
year's assessment, the panel recommended that the mission statement be changed to reflect the division's
commitment to standards. This recommendation stands, for the panel believes that although reference to
standards is contained in the expressions of the vision and goals of the division, the mission statement
has a higher visibility and gives a unifying direction to standards activity. Once again, this panel
OCR for page 121
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY: DIVISION REVIEWS
12
recommends modification of the division's mission statement to include the word and concept of
"standards" explicitly.
The MTD consists of two groups Superconductivity and Magnetics which are divided, respec-
tively, into two projects (Standards for Superconductor Characterization and Superconductor Electro-
magnetic Measurements) and four projects (Nanoprobe Imaging, Magnetic Recording Measurements,
Magnetodynamics, and Magnetic Thin Films and Devices). The MTD leadership has undertaken a
review of current work and potential areas for growth in the division and is developing a strategic plan
that could include reorganization of staff. To this end, a dialogue between management and staff
members has produced a list of areas worthy of consideration for future projects. The challenge is to
select from this list the areas within the capabilities and charter of the MTD that are most relevant to the
needs of the customers and are consistent with the available resources. Discussions with the leadership
suggest a vision for making these decisions, although details of new program emphasis and direction are
still in flux.
In addition, MTD leadership has looked into a strategic plan for the division, which includes a
possible restructuring of the groups along different programmatic lines. The need for additional group
leadership is recognized. The panel supports the concept that projects be organized more flexibly, not
just with each permanent staff member being a project leader. Giving people the chance to work on
several projects as team members and leaders will facilitate the growth and broadening of the staff's
skills, will help lessen the feeling that one's future is tied to just one project, and will allow for flexibility
in staffing new projects and winding down existing projects. The panel supports a restructuring with
these objectives.
It also appears that the Superconductivity and the Magnetics Groups are growing farther apart.
Some attempt to build bridges between them is desirable. The proposed changes mentioned above
should help facilitate this interaction. Additionally, the panel has identified several specific areas of
potential collaboration between the two groups, including ballistic magnetoresistance (already identi-
fied within the division), miniaturized mechanical testing of superconductors using MEMS, the apply-
ing of the mechanical expertise in the superconductivity area to look into magnetostrictive materials,
and standards for magnetostrictive materials.
Overall, the panel finds the division to be a very enthusiastic unit with high morale and some good
examples of collaboration. Notwithstanding, there are many opportunities for even greater synergy
among areas of expertise, such as those mentioned above. The panel also observes that the technical
quality and merit of the division's work are very good. In the following subsections, selected projects
that exemplify the high technical quality and merit of the division's work are discussed, and the panel's
comments are presented.
Standards for Superconductor Characterization
The Standards for Superconductor Characterization project has made considerable progress in the
past year on issues important to the superconductor industry. The importance of the project's work and
its high performance are well recognized in the community. The project team has acted as a needed
measurement arbiter in ways that are valuable for industry. In the case of the need for reliable measure-
ments of residual resistance ratios exceeding 500 a vital need for large-scale superconducting RF
cavities much has been at stake, since only one or two companies worldwide have been able to make
sufficiently pure Nb. Last year it was necessary to develop new and more reliable procedures, and the
vital arbiter of these tests was NIST. Additionally, the project has helped the small superconducting
industry with complex measurements (e.g., AC loss and marginally unstable, high current density
OCR for page 122
22
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003
wires), as well as providing unique, higher-temperature critical current, voltage-current characteristics
that are needed for the very high field, high-stress coils that large fusion projects such as the Interna-
tional Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) require. Finally, the project was able to resolve
exaggerated claims of conductor performance that were being made under a Small Business Innovation
Research award that others, too, thought were bogus. Excellent leadership and representation have been
maintained on International Electrotechnical Commission committees. The project leader is nationally
recognized as the right person for this position.
Superconductor Electromagnetic Measurements
The Superconductor Electromagnetic Measurements project has unique electromechanical capabili-
t~es and is performing strain-related work that others in the United States are not equipped to do. The
work done in this project has a worldwide reputation and is important to the Department of Energy's
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program and its High Energy Physics program. Additionally,
the staff is working on a new book on cryogenic techniques that will be extremely valuable to the
research community.
Nanoprobe Imaging
The Nanoprobe Imaging project has continued its work on in situ measurements of ferromagnetic
films using MEMS magnetometers. The MEMS magnetometer is currently being tested in an in-house
magnetic deposition system. Submonolayer sensitivity has been demonstrated. Results were presented
at the Magnetism and Magnetic Materials Conference in November 2002, and there are plans for testing
the magnetometer in an industrial setting in FY 2003. This technology is valuable to the entire magnetic
industry, including the areas of magnetic storage (disk, tape, MRAM Magnetic random access memory])
sensors, and inductors (communications), and it offers improved capability for process monitoring over
traditional methods such as crystal quartz microbalances, resistivity, and others.
The development in conjunction with the RF Technology and Optoelectonics Divisions of the NIST
high-frequency "drop in" MEMS probe testbed to test high-frequency probes is needed in this metrol-
ogy area. The SM3 program has made substantial progress with the construction and testing of a
micromachined magnetic trap fluid cell. The ability to sort and store molecules should have wide-
ranging applications in chemical and biological industries. This represents an area for dramatic growth,
particularly in OA funding, and can leverage the existing MEMS and microfabrication expertise. The
role of this area as a strategic growth area for the division should be evaluated during the restructuring
of the division. Synergy with the Semiconductor Electronics Division's MEMS activities presents an
opportunity to leverage resources.
The MEMS Cs vapor cell for the chip-scale atomic clock is a very neat application of MEMS
technology for miniaturizing precise time measurements. This clock should be very useful in the near
term for homeland and military security and for wider industrial applications in which small, relatively
inexpensive time standards are needed.
Magnetic Recording Measurements
The panel was gratified to see that magnetoresistive arrays for field mapping had been designed and
built for nondestructive current measurement and forensic analysis. This application has been used in
failure analysis and on-chip metrology in the semiconductor industry, as well as in areas such as relay
OCR for page 123
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY: DIVISION REVIEWS
123
aging and fault detection. These areas promise increased speed and accuracy of on-chip failure analysis,
and this application is an important new direction for this division and its relevance to the semiconductor
industry. Furthermore, this work is recognized to have relevance to the area of homeland security as a
forensic tool.
Work on the integral superconducting flux-measurement loop for absolute calibration has been
dropped owing to fabrication difficulties. However, a new round-robin evaluation for remanent and
saturation moment with 20 participants is under way. The panel, however, recommends that the super-
conductivity flux standard be reexamined for feasibility and be pursued if this examination shows it to
be warranted. In situ surface magnetometry is of great interest for characterizing the surfaces of thin
magnetic layers, which are very common in data storage and other applications.
Good work was done this year on spin electronics, and this activity continues to grow within the
division. Of particular note are the fabrication and characterization of AglFelAglGaAs structures. This
work has led to the building of a spin metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor. The panel
eagerly awaits further results of this work. It is an emerging field with great potential.
Magnetodynamics
The Magnetodynamics project has built a CryoPIMM (pulsed inductive microwave magnetometer)
for operation down to 20 K. Measurements have been made of anisotropy and damping at temperatures
between 20 K and 325 K on NiFe films. A vectorized Bloch-Bloembergen (BB) equation has been used
to extract parameters such as the time constant in the Arrhenius-Neel equation. This continues in the
same vein as the last few Years' work. explaining and fitting the results on primarily NiFe films to
1 1 '
phenomenological equations such as Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) and BB.
While the work in this area is authoritative and shows leadership, the panel believes that some new
approaches are needed, both in theory and experiment. Along the theory lines, the panel recommends
collaborating with theorists who can put the theory on a sound quantum mechanical basis and thus get
a better physical interpretation of the results. In particular, it would be useful to examine the role of
conduction electron scattering of magnons as the intrinsic damping mechanism in metals and to com-
pare it to established theory. The CryoPIMM should present an opportunity here. Also of interest would
be a comparison with micromagnetic models, with a focus on the correct value of alpha to use in
micromagnetic calculations.
On the experimental side, the panel has in the past recommended the examination of other materials.
Some limited work has been done in this direction, but it should be expanded. Last year the panel asked
that the work be extended to smaller-patterned films and to high-coercivity films for media. In response,
the group has considered possible modifications to the system that would allow it to reproducibly apply
the necessary high fields. The panel urges action on this issue, as medium dynamics is a very difficult
measurement problem, with critical implications for the data storage industry. There may be an oppor-
tunity for interactions with the Superconductivity Group on the challenge of developing adequate fields.
On the smaller-patterned films, the higher sensitivity of the instrument is considered to be an advance.
However, to get to the submicron sizes of interest to industries (e.g., recording heads), a thousand-fold
increase in instrument sensitivity is likely to be needed. This may necessitate new measurement geom-
etry such as ensembles. The panel would like to know how the higher sensitivity will be used to address
the problem. The use of PIMM by several universities (the University of Alabama, University of
California, San Diego, and Stanford University) and industries (Nonvolatile Electronics, Seagate) offers
examples of important technology transfer.
OCR for page 124
24
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003
The new instrumentation and measurements of spin polarization in semiconductors by use of optical
pumping and the Kerr effect should prove a useful tool in the development of spin electronics. The work
on spin momentum transfer is also very useful to industries such as magnetic recording and MRAM.
The measurements of spin transfer efficiency in several useful metals and alloys are cited as very useful
to researchers and technologies.
Magnetic Thin Films and Devices
The work being done by the Magnetic Thin Films and Devices project concerning noise character-
ization in spin valves is very relevant to the sensor and magnetic recording industry. Although today's
preamplifiers filter out the hich-frecuencY components of noise. much insight into the physics of these
sensors can be gained from an examination of the high-frequency spectra. In addition, as data rates
increase, the high-frequency noise will be more important. The panel commends the work already done
and notes that real commercial recording heads were used, as suggested in last year's report. The panel
also supports the continuation of this work on current-perpendicular-to-the-plane multilayers where new
noise mechanisms can be studied. The new work on nanomagnets has potential use in nanoscale
memory and devices. Measurement of magnetic and transport properties will help assess the potential of
these materials. An aggressive effort to increase the blocking temperatures of these materials is recom-
mended.
~ ~ ___( ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ — —— — ——— — ———O—— —— — —1 —— — _ _ _ ~ _ _ ___( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~
Program Relevance and Effectiveness
The panel finds that the programs of the Magnetic Technology Division are relevant to the needs of
industry and various government agencies. Responses to comments in last year' s report have positively
addressed many of the issues raised by the reviewing panel. Items that will need more work and
clarification are reorganization, staffing, facilities, and earlier recommendations regarding examination
of high-coercivity materials and collaborations with theorists. The superconductor work is well aimed at
the U.S. superconductor industry and its big-project customers in the DOE laboratories. This success is
exemplified by the strong external funding that the mechanical property work attracts and the wide
approval given to the standards work that is being led in the United States from this division.
One of the main goals of the division is the dissemination of standards to industry. This goal is
particularly important in the data storage industry, but also with regard to other areas such as MRAM,
sensor technology, and so on. The panel was disappointed that the superconducting flux standard did not
prove to be technically feasible. It was, however, happy with the magnetic moment round-robin led by
the division. Standards are also needed for magnetostriction, magnetic imaging, and so on. Standards
based on quantum mechanics would be a good long-range focus for the group. Such standards would
enable a substantial increase in the accuracy of the fundamental magnetic standards. This staff has
members who participated on committees of ASTM, IEEE, and the National Electronics Manufacturing
Initiative (NEMI) (magnetics) and several working groups of IEC TC-90 (superconductivity).
The MTD has partnered or collaborated with, or had an impact on, several universities, government
laboratories and agencies, and organizations within the industrial sector. In 2002, the MTD Web site
was established, and new links were added. About 100 visits to this site are observed each month. The
division has published numerous, quality technical articles in refereed journals. Many good publications
with sizable impact on the technical community were produced in the MTD this year, including two
book chapters and several invited papers. Division members regularly chair sessions of conferences
such as the Magnetism and Magnetic Materials Conference and the Applied Superconductivity Confer-
OCR for page 125
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY: DIVISION REVIEWS
125
ence and serve on conference committees or act as session chairs of meetings of technical societies such
as the IEEE, the American Vacuum Society, and the American Physical Society.
In the area of advanced measurement methods, the division has done excellent work that is highly
relevant to industry, government, and the general scientific and engineering communities. Areas rel-
evant to industry include MEMS magnetometers, PIMM collaboration and measurements, probe mi-
croscopy, magnetic field mapping, standards, magnetic device dynamics and noise measurements,
molecular nanomagnets, measurement of spin polarization, residual resistivity ratio measurements, and
strain effects in superconductors. Many of these measurements and those under development can be
done in situ, with the added advantage of capturing what is happening in a process and responding
quickly to any changes. This capability will be very valuable in factories of the future. All of this work
features close collaboration between industrial and government partners. Areas of interest to the govern-
ment include high-speed nanoscale recording systems for forensic analysis of tapes, magnetic field
mapping, "spintronics" as a promising new technology, Cs vapor cell for the chip-scale atomic clock,
and molecular manipulation as part of the SM3 initiative.
The work under way on future research topics is very impressive. The work on spin-dependent
transport in MOSFETs, quantum surface phenomena, spin momentum transfer, atomic-scale transport,
and spins in semiconductors represents appropriate extensions of the core skills of the division.
Division Resources
This year the panel recommends further effort to consolidate the MTD's laboratories. They are now
spread out over five buildings, and some of the space is borrowed from other groups and may have to be
vacated. The division would benefit greatly in collaboration and interaction from being colocated. The
incipient renovation of one laboratory is applauded by the panel. The panel urges continued effort in this
area with respect to the other laboratories. An effort is being made to accelerate the repayment of the
"loans" for the existing equipment. The panel suggests significant upgrades of the division's equipment.
In particular, a new deposition system (MBE), an ion mill, and an upgrade of the e-beam facility in the
clean room are encouraged. Provisions for steady infrastructure improvements are essential in the
equipment budget. The panel recommends a discussion of alternatives to acquiring the needed capabili-
ties, such as buy, fee for service, share, and so on. There are significant challenges to getting large pieces
of equipment. Any strategic plan should include needed major equipment acquisitions projecting out for
a few years. The division cannot remain at the cutting edge without constant and systematic upgrading
of the experimental facilities.
The superconducting effort, though very strong, is also very narrowly focused and is being carried
out by two staff members who are both in the later stage of their careers. Transitioning to some younger
staff is needed. Restructuring of the division may offer an opportunity to blend and cross-fertilize the
Superconductivity and the Magnetics Groups more effectively.
The panel believes that it is important for the MTD to undertake work in spin imaging and spin
imaging standards as well as standards based on quantum mechanics. The MEMS area is an opportunity
for significant growth, not for the sake of doing MEMS, but as a tool for miniaturization and for
increases in the sensitivity of many of the measurements currently being done. More resources should be
applied in these areas as well as to the strategic thrusts of NIST in health care, nanotechnology, and
homeland security. More funding support is required for these initiatives.
OCR for page 126
Representative terms from entire chapter:
calibration services
