8 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | JULY 2026 without carrying so much protective weight. gatech.edu. ATOMIC SCALE MATERIALS ANALYSIS A new x-ray diffraction (XRD) instrument was recently added to MIT.nano’s characterization toolset, enhancing researchers’ ability to analyze materials at the nanoscale. While many XRD systems are available across MIT’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Bruker D8 Discover Plus is ideal for measuring small areas of thin film samples using a large area detector. The new system is located within Characterization.nano’s x-ray diffraction and imaging shared experimental facility. Scientists can examine surfaces, layers, and internal structure without damaging the material and then create detailed 3D images to map composition and organization. The TESTING | CHARACTERIZATION POLYMER TESTING IN SPACE Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), along with scientists at Georgia Tech and other institutions, are sending experimental lightweight polymers to the International Space Station (ISS) for several months of in-orbit exposure. The materials will soon launch as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 22 (MISSE-22), a testbed attached to the outside of the station. Mounted on the forward-facing side of the ISS to ensure exposure to highly corrosive atomic oxygen, the samples will spend several months enduring the extreme temperatures, radiation, and reactive environment of low Earth orbit. To travel on the MISSE-22, a sample must be transparent or translucent, so light can pass through it and researchers can examine how its optical properties change in orbit. The materials also must be tough enough to withstand intense atomic oxygen exposure without fragmenting and creating debris near the ISS. Instead of standard illumination, the team constructed a custom on-orbit polariscope: LEDs beneath each sample shine polarized light through the material. A small camera system then slides over the top to capture the optical changes on a set schedule over the course of several months. Using polarized light and machine learning to analyze color patterns in the images, the team can track how stress inside each sample changes over time. When the mission ends and samples return to Earth, researchers will compare those in-orbit measurements with detailed tests on the actual pieces that traveled. By testing these same samples in the lab, the team can check the accuracy of the remote measurements and refine their methods. The results could help engineers design satellites that last longer in orbit Close-up of a sample like those being sent to the ISS to study their durability in harsh space conditions. Courtesy of Sean McNeil/GTRI. New York University’s NYU Nanofabrication Cleanroom installed an Oxford Instruments PlasmaPro ASP atomic layer deposition system, becoming the first in the United States to use this technology for superconducting quantum applications. oxinst.com. Researchers from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and University of Tsukuba, Japan, developed a lightweight superconducting chip, which they say could unlock the full potential of terahertz imaging technologies and enable more powerful and portable devices. www.gla.ac.uk. BRIEFS A researcher uses the Bruker D8 Discover Plus at Characterization.nano’s x-ray diffraction and imaging facility. Courtesy of Amanda Stoll DiCristofar/MIT.nano.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTYyMzk3NQ==