Dear CNM User Community,

I am happy to report that the traditional in-person APS/CNM Users Meeting resumed this May with an exciting week of activities highlighting and promoting user science at the CNM and Advanced Photon Source (APS). The combined APS/CNM plenary session kicked off the meeting with Linda Horton, Associate Director of Science for Basic Energy Sciences in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science, presenting valuable insights on DOE’s perspective concerning its user facilities.

During the CNM plenary session, E. Charles Sykes, John Wade Professor of Chemistry at Tufts University, gave the keynote address, “Single-Atom Alloy Catalysts: Born in a Vacuum, Tested in Reactors, and Understood In Silico.” Also at this session, the new members of our User Executive Committee (UEC) were announced. They are

• Mikhail Kats, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Anupama Kaul, PACCAR Professor of Engineering, University of North Texas
• Qunfei Zhou, Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas

I look forward to working with the UEC on improving the CNM user experience, promoting user science and more.

The APS/CNM Users Meeting also featured recent scientific developments on hot topics like advanced characterizations for critical materials innovation and sustainability, and advances in data analysis for X-ray diffraction/X-ray computed tomography. It was an engaging and informative week and has reinvigorated all of us here at CNM to continue supporting innovative and impactful user science.

Sincerely,

Ilke Arslan

Director
Center for Nanoscale Materials
Argonne National Laboratory

PHYSICAL PROPERTY MEASUREMENT SYSTEM (PPMS) DYNACOOL CRYOSTAT 

A new PPMS DynaCool cryostat (Quantum Design) has been installed. Its superconducting magnet has a field range of ±14 T, which extends the ±9 T range over the previous PPMS tool. The system is capable of sample chamber temperatures from 1.8 to 400 K in a vacuum of 10^-4 torr. It has two electrical transport options installed. The AC resistance option can measure resistances from 10 mW to 10 MW via currents from 10 nA to 100 mA. The DC resistance option can measure resistances from 10 mW to 5 MW with currents from 2 nA to 8 mA. Both options can be used with a horizontal rotator, which can rotate the sample 360° with field in plane or out of plane.

There are also two magnetic moment options available. The Vibrating Sample Magnetometer option can measure magnetic moments in the 10^-6 emu range. The AC measurement (ACMS II) option can measure AC susceptibility into the 10^-7 emu range with frequencies from 10 Hz to 10 kHz.

NEW X-RAY MICROSCOPY METHOD FOR DATA ANALYSIS "ON THE FLY"

Aided by CNM resources, researchers developed a new streaming ptychography technique that allows users to tweak experiments based on real-time data.

READ MORE

NEW CODE MINES MICROSCOPY IMAGES

A team led by CNM researchers developed pioneering software that automatically searches for and summarizes content of microscopy images from scientific literature.

READ MORE

SCIENTISTS USE NOVEL TECHNIQUE TO CREATE ENERGY-EFFICIENT MICROELECTRIC DEVICE

Researchers used CNM resources, in part, to pioneer ​“redox gating” — a new way to precisely modulate electron flow.

READ MORE

ARSLAN NAMED FELLOW OF MICROSCOPY SOCIETY OF AMERICA

CNM Director Ilke Arslan has been selected as a fellow by the Microscopy Society of America. The award recognizes Arslan’s important contributions to the field, particularly advances in technique development. This includes her contributions to increasing resolution in 3D electron tilt tomography and reducing artifacts in 3D by using atom probe tomography, as well as liquid stage development for imaging liquid samples.

READ MORE

SOHAM SAHA SELECTED FOR PSE EARLY INVESTIGATOR NAMED AWARD

Soham Saha, an Argonne scholar at CNM, is one of four winners of a 2024 Argonne Physical Sciences and Engineering Early Investigator Named Award. The program is designed to support exceptional early career researchers at Argonne as they break into their fields. Awardees receive funding, mentorship and additional support to conduct ground-breaking research aligned with Argonne’s strategic mission. Saha will be studying “Time Reflection and Photonic Time Crystal Demonstration in the Terahertz Domain.”

READ MORE

CNM WELCOMES NEW STAFF SCIENTIST KATERINA VRIZA

Katerina Vriza holds a B.S. in aviation electronics engineering from the Hellenic Airforce Academy and a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Patras. After serving five years as an aviation engineer with the Hellenic Airforce, she pursued an M.S. in green chemistry and sustainable industrial technology and a Ph.D. in materials science and machine learning from the University of Liverpool. She then completed postdoctoral research at CNM, focusing on the development of machine learning (ML) tools and computational simulations for polymer electronics experimentation within the CNM’s self-driving laboratory, Polybot. Now continuing with CNM as a staff scientist, her research will concentrate on conducting autonomous experiments, developing data mining workflows and employing AI/ML techniques to explore and understand material structure-property relationships.

CNM WELCOMES NEW STAFF SCIENTIST RUI LIU

Rui Liu received his B.S. in physics from Nanjing University and his Ph.D. in physics from Stony Brook University. He then pursued postdoctoral studies at the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, specializing in nanoengineered oxide thin films for electrical and optical applications. Before his appointment at the CNM, he focused on exploring nanoscale stress-induced phenomena in electronic, magnetic and ferroic materials, contributing advancements in the field of quantum materials through his work with in-situ synchrotron X-ray and nanoprobe techniques. At the CNM, Rui will leverage the upgraded X-ray nanoprobe capabilities at APS to advance research in nanoscale ferroic materials and defect-based materials for quantum information, driving forward the development of materials critical for quantum computing and advanced microelectronics.

MESSAGE FROM JIM YOUNG, CNM ENVIRONMENT, SAFETY AND HEALTH COORDINATOR

Safety starts with speaking up. During training and experiments, ask questions. Users have the right and responsibility to speak up when they do not fully understand the work being performed, or when they observe incorrect/unsafe work being performed in CNM spaces. Asking questions can promote better understanding and prevent safety incidents.

CNM ACKNOWLEDGMENT

A friendly reminder: the CNM acknowledgment statement must be included in all published reports of work conducted here. Using the full acknowledgement is critical to our sponsor and vital to our sustainability. Guidance on best practices and standard acknowledgment statements is available online.

READ MORE