60,000 Leagues under the Microscopic Sea - Nanometer Innovations at IBM
IBM (NYSE: IBM) is one of the top 20 innovators of The Innovation Index.
Innovation:
IBM announced that the IBM researchers at its Almaden Research Center in San Jose, CA have demonstrated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to visualize nanoscale objects. According to IBM, "this technique brings MRI capability to the nanoscale level for the first time and represents a major milestone in the quest to build a microscope that could "see" individual atoms in three dimensions."
Key Technology:
Using Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM), IBM researchers have demonstrated two-dimensional imaging of objects as small as 90 nanometers, a key advancement on the path of 3D imaging at the atomic scale.
MRFM offers imaging sensitivity that is 60,000 times better than current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. MRFM uses what is known as force detection to overcome the sensitivity limitations of conventional MRI to view structures that would otherwise be too small to be detected.
How did they innovate?
To achieve this, the research team represented by H. J. Mamin, M. Poggio, C. L. Degen and D. Rugar at IBM Research Division, Almaden Research Center, and the Center for Probing the Nanoscale, Stanford University, developed specialized magnetic tips for their microscope, optimizing their ability to manipulate and detect the very weak magnetism of atomic nuclei.
Comparison:
Conventional medical MRI typically operates on a scale at least 1,000 times coarser; even the most specialized MRI microscopy is limited to about 3 micrometers, or 3,000 nanometers. Compare this to IBM's advancement to 90 nanometers, through imaging sensitivity that is 60,000 times better than current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology.
With this latest achievement, the team is now able to make images with as few as 10(3) atoms as opposed to the 10(8) atoms required to make an image with today's MRI technology. This improved sensitivity extends MRI into the nanometer realm.
Applications:
"Our ultimate goal is to perform three-dimensional imaging of complex structures such as molecules with atomic resolution," said Dan Rugar, manager, Nanoscale Studies, IBM Research. "This would allow scientists to study the atomic structures of molecules -- such as proteins -- which would represent a huge breakthrough in structural molecular biology."
According to IBM, this achievement could eventually have major impact on the study of materials -- ranging from proteins and pharmaceuticals to integrated circuits -- for which a detailed understanding of the atomic structure is essential. Knowing the exact location of specific atoms within tiny nanoelectronic structures, for example, would enhance designers' insight into manufacture and performance. The ability to directly image the detailed atomic structure of proteins would aid the development of new drugs.
Background:
IBM Research has a distinguished history in developing microscopes for nanoscale imaging and science. Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer of IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics for their invention of the scanning tunneling microscope, which can image individual atoms on electrically conducting surfaces.
The report on this work, "Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging with 90-nm resolution," by H. J. Mamin(1), M. Poggio(1)(2), C. L. Degen(1) and D. Rugar(1) at IBM Research Division(1), Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California and the Center for Probing the Nanoscale, Stanford University(2) will appear in the April 22 issue of Nature Nanotechnology.
Bottomline:
IBM Research has created a factory that creates potential game changing innovations such as this particular Nanometer Innovation. The applications of such technology are far and wide, and the success of this endeavor will lie in the commercialization of these applications in the coming years. IBM has quite possibly hit a home run with this technology marvel.
Source: http://www.research.ibm.com/ .
(The nanometer realm is typically considered to be at dimensions below 100 nanometers; a nanometer is a billionth of a meter, the length spanned by about 5-10 atoms.)
Innovation:
IBM announced that the IBM researchers at its Almaden Research Center in San Jose, CA have demonstrated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to visualize nanoscale objects. According to IBM, "this technique brings MRI capability to the nanoscale level for the first time and represents a major milestone in the quest to build a microscope that could "see" individual atoms in three dimensions."
Key Technology:
Using Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM), IBM researchers have demonstrated two-dimensional imaging of objects as small as 90 nanometers, a key advancement on the path of 3D imaging at the atomic scale.
MRFM offers imaging sensitivity that is 60,000 times better than current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. MRFM uses what is known as force detection to overcome the sensitivity limitations of conventional MRI to view structures that would otherwise be too small to be detected.
How did they innovate?
To achieve this, the research team represented by H. J. Mamin, M. Poggio, C. L. Degen and D. Rugar at IBM Research Division, Almaden Research Center, and the Center for Probing the Nanoscale, Stanford University, developed specialized magnetic tips for their microscope, optimizing their ability to manipulate and detect the very weak magnetism of atomic nuclei.
Comparison:
Conventional medical MRI typically operates on a scale at least 1,000 times coarser; even the most specialized MRI microscopy is limited to about 3 micrometers, or 3,000 nanometers. Compare this to IBM's advancement to 90 nanometers, through imaging sensitivity that is 60,000 times better than current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology.
With this latest achievement, the team is now able to make images with as few as 10(3) atoms as opposed to the 10(8) atoms required to make an image with today's MRI technology. This improved sensitivity extends MRI into the nanometer realm.
Applications:
"Our ultimate goal is to perform three-dimensional imaging of complex structures such as molecules with atomic resolution," said Dan Rugar, manager, Nanoscale Studies, IBM Research. "This would allow scientists to study the atomic structures of molecules -- such as proteins -- which would represent a huge breakthrough in structural molecular biology."
According to IBM, this achievement could eventually have major impact on the study of materials -- ranging from proteins and pharmaceuticals to integrated circuits -- for which a detailed understanding of the atomic structure is essential. Knowing the exact location of specific atoms within tiny nanoelectronic structures, for example, would enhance designers' insight into manufacture and performance. The ability to directly image the detailed atomic structure of proteins would aid the development of new drugs.
Background:
IBM Research has a distinguished history in developing microscopes for nanoscale imaging and science. Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer of IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics for their invention of the scanning tunneling microscope, which can image individual atoms on electrically conducting surfaces.
The report on this work, "Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging with 90-nm resolution," by H. J. Mamin(1), M. Poggio(1)(2), C. L. Degen(1) and D. Rugar(1) at IBM Research Division(1), Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California and the Center for Probing the Nanoscale, Stanford University(2) will appear in the April 22 issue of Nature Nanotechnology.
Bottomline:
IBM Research has created a factory that creates potential game changing innovations such as this particular Nanometer Innovation. The applications of such technology are far and wide, and the success of this endeavor will lie in the commercialization of these applications in the coming years. IBM has quite possibly hit a home run with this technology marvel.
Source: http://www.research.ibm.com/ .
(The nanometer realm is typically considered to be at dimensions below 100 nanometers; a nanometer is a billionth of a meter, the length spanned by about 5-10 atoms.)
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