Scanning techniques are instrumental methodologies that acquire spatially resolved information from a specimen or environment by systematically interrogating it point-by-point or line-by-line, often using a focused probe such as photons, electrons, ions, or mechanical tips. These techniques include modalities like scanning electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopies, and various spectroscopic scanning methods, which map physical, chemical, or electronic properties across a surface or volume. Key parameters include spatial and temporal resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and contrast mechanisms determined by probe–sample interactions. Scanning techniques are fundamental for nanoscale characterization, metrology, and defect analysis in materials science, biology, and semiconductor research.
High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) is the only experimental technique to directly watch proteins in dynamic action. However, as a surface scanning technique with limited spatial resolution, HS-AFM will inevitably ...
Biotechnology
Oct 24, 2025
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When Darwin Quiroz first started working with optics as an undergraduate, he was developing atomic magnetometers. That experience sparked a growing curiosity about how light interacts with matter, an interest that has now ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 15, 2025
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67
Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed DeMemSeg, an AI-powered analysis pipeline that addresses a long-standing challenge in microscopy: precisely segmenting and measuring individual cell membranes that overlap ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 8, 2025
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17
Researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have been able to see the magnetic nucleus of an atom switch back and forth in real time. They read out the nuclear "spin" via the electrons in the same atom ...
Quantum Physics
Sep 2, 2025
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333
Researchers have demonstrated a technique that geometrically models organic objects and creates photorealistic, three-dimensional (3D) images of those objects. These mathematically precise images can be used to engineer robotic ...
Biotechnology
Jul 29, 2025
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Scientists use scanning tunneling microscopy to understand how a material's electronic or magnetic properties relate to its structure on the atomic scale. When using this technique, however, they can normally investigate ...
Nanophysics
Jul 18, 2025
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124
Three-dimensional immunohistochemistry (3D-IHC) has transformed our ability to visualize the spatial arrangement of cells and molecules in intact tissues. However, traditional methods are often time-consuming and suffer from ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 19, 2025
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35
NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley houses a unique laboratory: the Airborne Sensor Facility (ASF). The engineers at the ASF are responsible for building, maintaining, and operating numerous instruments that get ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 12, 2025
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Researchers at the Institute of Physics in Zagreb, Croatia, in collaboration with international partners, have showcased new methods for visualizing atomic-scale changes in advanced materials.
Nanomaterials
Jun 4, 2025
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41
Imagine a medical scanner that works faster and produces clearer images, or a radiation detector that pinpoints tiny traces of radioactive material with unprecedented accuracy. These futuristic possibilities are a step closer ...
Nanophysics
May 20, 2025
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