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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 1 3 a region of interest in the sample. As obtained, the data sets are 4D because they consist of 2D diffraction patterns from each probe location in a 2D scan- ning area. According to the researchers, this project gives materials scientists and engineers new tools for evaluating structures, defects, and interfaces in functional materials and nanodevices. In addition, they say it may soon be possible to conduct high-throughput mapping of the charge density of mate- rials and molecules to add to the data- base of properties used in the Materials Genome Initiative. uci.edu . NIST DEVELOPS NEW ATOMIC CAMERA A new camera developed by sci- entists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Md., may help detect dark matter and extraterrestrial life. The researchers built one of the highest-per- formance cameras ever—composed of more than 1000 sensors made of superconducting nanowires enabling the detection of individual photons. Superconducting nanowires are among the best photon counters in terms of speed, efficiency, and range of color sensitivity. They also have the lowest dark count rates of any type of photon sensor, meaning they don’t count false signals caused by noise rather than photons. This feature is especially use- ful for dark matter searches and space- based astronomy. NIST’s camera is small in size, a square measuring just 1.6 mm on a side, but packed with 1024 sensors— 32 columns by 32 rows—to make high-resolution images. The main chal- lenge was to find a way to collate and obtain results from so many detectors without overheating. The researchers extended a “readout” architecture that adds up data from the rows and col- umns, a step toward meeting require- ments set forth by NASA. The team achieved high fabrication success with 99.5% of the sensors working prop- erly, although detector efficiency at the desired wavelength is low. Boosting efficiency is the next challenge. The sci- entists also hope to make bigger cam- eras, perhaps with around a million sensors. nist.gov. Micrograph of NIST’s high-resolution camera made of 1024 sensors that count single photons. Courtesy of V. Verma/NIST.