A whole new technology awaits exploration with the discovery of a technique for trapping single atoms, according to scientists at ORNL. Researchers at ORNL and Nanocrystals Technology in Briarcliff, N.Y., have collaborated to cage single europium atoms in nanocrystals not much larger than the atoms themselves. The process enables them to study the properties of a single atom at room temperature using conventional microscopy techniques. This is far more practical than methods that require cooling the atoms to cryogenic temperatures or trapping atoms in the gas phase using ion trap mass spectrometers. When the atoms are trapped in a specially fabricated nanocrystal host structure, scientists noticed that the europium atoms can be excited with a laser into four distinct levels of brightness. Potential applications lie in computing - perhaps a four-bit optical storage system - optical sensing and display systems.
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