Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and their collaborators conducted experiments with gold to learn more about the unexpected structures and properties it would adopt under high pressure. The results, which show gold switching structure at 10 million times the Earth’s atmospheric pressure, are essential for planetary modeling and fusion science.
Continue reading
New research shows that diamond—although known for being the best natural heat conductor on Earth—at the atomic scale it can briefly trap heat in unexpected ways. The findings could influence how scientists design diamond-based quantum technologies, including ultra-precise sensors and future quantum computers.
Continue reading
A research team led by National Institute for Materials Science, Japan, has, for the first time, produced nanoscale images of two key features in an ultra-thin material: twist domains (areas where one atomic layer is slightly rotated relative to another) and polarities (differences in atomic orientation) by combining scanning transmission electron microscopy with artificial intelligence.
Continue reading
A research team from Tokyo University of Science, Japan, has developed an automated artificial intelligence-based approach for analyzing X-ray absorption spectroscopy data to establish a clear and objective link between a material’s spectral data and its underlying material properties.
Continue reading
Materials scientists at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have found a way to create and control tiny internal “flaws” inside ultra-thin materials known as extended defects, that could give next-generation nanomaterials entirely new properties, opening the door to advances in nanotechnology.
Continue reading
Hitachi High-Tech Corporation, Japan, has launched the Ultrahigh-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope SU9600, which allows for highly accurate and precise observation of substances down to the sub-nano level.
Continue reading
Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif., released stRAMos, a next-generation Raman microscope based on photothermal detection of Stimulated Raman scattering that delivers unmatched speed, sensitivity, spatial resolution, and multimodal imaging capabilities for life science and materials research.
Continue reading
Microscopy images are indispensable in nanomaterials science. Yet scientists now fear that generative AI is diluting the significance of these images by polluting the pool with fake, AI-generated photos that are indistinguishable from the real ones. Even seasoned researchers find it increasingly difficult to distinguish between real microscopy images of nanomaterials and those created by AI as shown in a new study.
Continue reading
Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a new way to produce high-entropy alloys (HEAs), at near-room temperatures. Their technique gives users much more control of the alloy’s crystal structure and overall morphology compared with existing methods, opening the door for a new paradigm of custom-made HEAs.
Continue reading
Shimadzu Corporation, Japan, launched the inspeXio 7000 microfocus X-ray CT system, a high-end industrial model that builds on the high-resolution, high-contrast imaging capabilities of its predecessor while offering improved image quality through new scanning modes and a larger maximum sample capacity.
Continue reading
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, have developed a new way to probe inside an atom’s nucleus, using the atom’s own electrons as “messengers” within a molecule.
Continue reading
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) now have a new technique in their toolkit for nuclear forensics examinations, which is the art and science of extracting information about the provenance and history of nuclear materials.
Continue reading
A team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and George Washington University have confirmed that atoms in semiconductors will arrange themselves in distinctive localized patterns that change the material’s electronic behavior.
Continue reading
Oxford Instruments’ Raman imaging team in England announced a refreshed core microscope line and a groundbreaking new spectrometer, Hexalight, which together with the witec360 microscope constitute the most advanced confocal Raman imaging system yet devised.
Continue reading
Imagic Bildverarbeitung AG and the Materials Engineering Center Saarland (MECS) of Zürich and Saarbrücken, respectively, entered into a strategic partnership in September. The collaboration combines MECS’s expertise in materials science, which bridges the gap between research and industry, with Imagic’s leading software expertise in microscopy, image analysis, and image data management.
Continue reading
Researchers from University of Oxford and Brookhaven National Laboratory have uncovered how exposure to hydrogen atoms dynamically alters the internal structure of stainless steel. Their findings reveal that hydrogen allows internal defects in steel to move in ways not normally possible, which can lead to unexpected failure.
Continue reading
Researchers at the University of Arizona in Tucson have developed a laser-based microscope that snaps images at attosecond — or a billionth of a billionth of a second — speed.
Continue reading
A team of international researchers have discovered a novel photothermal coherence tomography technique—frequency-multiplexed photothermal correlation tomography (FM-PCT)—that brings infrared thermography (IRT) from limited 2D imaging to 3D tomography.
Continue reading
NASA has tapped a lunar rover built at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, to advance our understanding of water on the moon as it autonomously explores near the lunar south pole. MoonRanger will be among the payloads aboard a 2029 mission to the moon. The rover will carry a neutron spectrometer to study the lunar soil for traces of hydrogen, a good indicator of the presence of water, and demonstrate new levels of autonomous navigation on the moon.
Continue reading
Dragonfly, a brand of Comet Group, Switzerland, applied high-resolution 3D X-ray imaging to inspect 20 µm micro-bumps in HBM stacks, where sub-micron voids and cracks can critically affect performance and yield.
Continue reading
Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH, Germany, has acquired all equity shares of the Swiss company Pi Imaging Technology SA, developer of single-photon avalanche diode arrays and image sensors.
Continue reading
A team of scientists from Fraunhofer IZFP, Germany, has developed a new measuring system for the aluminum industry to detect contamination in molten metal—an important tool during the production process.
Continue reading
Researchers at the Max Planck Society, Munich, have been exploring how atoms and molecules diffuse and react on metallic surfaces in a variety of technological applications related to chemical energy generation and storage. Their ability to simulate and predict this motion is crucial to understanding material degradation, chemical selectivity, and to optimizing the conditions of catalytic reactions.
Continue reading
Against the backdrop of towering smokestacks and steel-laden history, the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, Birmingham, Ala., became a portal into the inner workings of modern metallurgy with the opening of the Symphony of Elements: Art and Science of Metals exhibition on May 23. This innovative showcase, running through August 2025, offers a rare and compelling fusion of technical achievements, advanced materials science, and visual art.
Continue reading
An international team of scientists headed by Prof. Marco Salvalaglio from TUD–Dresden University of Technology in Germany discovered that internal stresses—not just interface energy—play a key role in shaping the microstructure of crystalline materials. These findings challenge classical theories and may improve how we design materials for engineering and technology.
Continue reading
Chirality, or “handedness,” is a fundamental property where an object differs from its mirror image, seen across nature from molecules to DNA. In a breakthrough, Princeton University researchers have discovered a hidden chiral quantum state in a material previously believed to be non-chiral. This finding not only challenges existing assumptions in physics but also deepens our understanding of quantum phenomena, potentially opening new avenues in quantum research.
Continue reading
University of Cincinnati co-op student Addie Salvador is quietly reshaping the future of materials science, bringing autonomy to a transmission electron microscope in the cutting-edge laboratories of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.
Continue reading
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy found two competing mechanisms that contribute to the deformation of nanosheet materials used in cutting-edge computer components.
Continue reading
Scientists at the University of California, Irvine, recently expanded on a longstanding model governing the mechanics behind slip banding, a process that produces strain marks in metals under compression, gaining a new understanding of the behavior of advanced materials critical to energy systems, space exploration, and nuclear applications.
Continue reading
Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, introduce a novel powerful tool—the cryogenic quantum twisting microscope—to explore quantum phenomena.
Continue reading
