Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 28


Measuring microdroplets The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has found a new way for microscopes to measure the volumes of microdroplets. Using this technique, NIST has measured the volume of individual droplets smaller than 100 trillionths of a liter with an uncertainty of less than 1%. That represents a tenfold improvement compared to previous measurements, according ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: July 7


Silicon photonics prototyping A group of European and other research organizations have put the finishing touches on a project to help propel the development of silicon photonics into the commercial market. The project, dubbed ESSenTIAL, enables small- to mid-sized enterprises to develop prototypes and products based on silicon photonics. Funded by the European Commission, the project inclu... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 13


Telling a FIB The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has built the first low-energy focused ion beam (FIB) microscope that uses a lithium ion source. Still in the R&D stage, the FIB microscope from NIST could be used to examine adjacent materials that are chemically different and identify the elements that make them up. The FIB microscope uses an ion source based on p... » read more