Electrons map nanoparticle structure

Nanotechnology is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, and a significant hurdle to development is imagine difficulties encountered on these small scales. To image structures on the nanoscale, researchers have previously relied on high-energy sources such as x-rays from synchrotrons, but synchrotrons are hard to find and expensive to build. A recent Brookhaven/Columbia collaboration developed a new technique for imaging at these small scales using equipment that is already ubiquitous in many laboratories around the world. "It's rather like moving nanocrystallography from being available only with a prescription to being available over the counter," said Simon Billinge, a professor of Materials Science and Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia Engineering.