The Center for Nanoscale Materials at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill., has dedicated a new microscopy building, which will house a scanning probe microscope that measures spin-polarized electrons on surfaces.

Nanomagnetism research using the spin-polarized scanning probe microscope (LT-SPM ) may lead to more energy-efficient motors, information storage, processing prototype devices, medical therapy and biomagnetic sensing concepts, according to the laboratory.

The LT-SPM is a multi-functional scanning probe microscope devoted to the high-resolution properties of spin-polarized surfaces at high magnetic fields (9T) and low temperatures (4.2 K).