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.
Scientists at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, have captured real-time images showing how a key brain enzyme organizes itself to help memory formation.
Bio & Medicine
Jan 12, 2026
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31
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have used specialized tools to study materials at the atomic scale and analyze defects at the surface of ferroelectric materials. Results of their research help to better understand ...
Nanophysics
Jan 6, 2026
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23
Through a novel combination of machine learning and atomic force microscopy, researchers in China have unveiled the molecular surface structure of "premelted" ice, resolving a long-standing mystery surrounding the liquid-like ...
Hybrid materials made of magnets and superconductors give rise to fascinating quantum phenomena, which are so sensitive that it is crucial to measure them with minimal interference. Researchers at the University of Hamburg ...
Superconductivity
Nov 26, 2025
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67
A technology developed in the laboratory of Prof. Amit Meller from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology Faculty of Biomedical Engineering marks a significant advancement toward rapid proteome analysis, with far-reaching ...
Bio & Medicine
Nov 25, 2025
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28
Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, have used three-dimensional atomic force microscopy (AFM) and molecular dynamics simulations to determine the structure of water in the hydration ...
Nanomaterials
Nov 6, 2025
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29
Using ultra-fast laser beams, a team from the Irradiated Solids Laboratory has designed an experiment that allows both the creation of nanometric cavities in metal films and their study using several advanced microscopy techniques. ...
Nanophysics
Oct 29, 2025
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62
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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80
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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