microfluidic

The 2014 chemistry Nobel Prize recognized important microscopy research that enabled greatly improved spatial resolution. This innovation, resulting in nanometer resolution, was made possible by making the source (the emitter) of the illumination  quite small and by moving it quite close to the object being imaged.   One problem with this approach is that in such proximity, the emitter and object can interact with each other, blurring the resulting image.   Now, a new JQI study has shown how to sharpen nanoscale microscopy (nanoscopy) even more by better locating the exact position of the light source.

Measuring faint magnetic fields is a trillion-dollar business.  Gigabytes of data, stored and quickly retrieved from chips the size of a coin, are at the heart of consumer electronics.   Even higher data densities can be achieved by enhancing magnetic detection sensitivity---perhaps down to nano-tesla levels.
Greater magnetic sensitivity is also useful in many scientific areas, such as the identification of biomolecules such as DNA or viruses.  This research must often take place in a warm, wet environment, where clean conditions or low temperatures are not possible.  JQI scientists address this concern by developing a diamond sensor that operates in a fluid environment.