MSGID: 1:317/3 64781efb   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    First X-ray of a single atom    
      
     Date:   
         May 31, 2023   
     Source:   
         Ohio University   
     Summary:   
         Scientists have taken the world's first X-ray SIGNAL (or   
         SIGNATURE) of just one atom. This groundbreaking achievement could   
         revolutionize the way scientists detect the materials.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   A team of scientists from Ohio University, Argonne National Laboratory,   
   the University of Illinois-Chicago, and others, led by Ohio University   
   Professor of Physics, and Argonne National Laboratory scientist, Saw Wai   
   Hla, have taken the world's first X-ray SIGNAL (or SIGNATURE) of just one   
   atom. This groundbreaking achievement was funded by the U.S. Department   
   of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences and could revolutionize the   
   way scientists detect the materials.   
      
   Since its discovery by Roentgen in 1895, X-rays have been used everywhere,   
   from medical examinations to security screenings in airports. Even   
   Curiosity, NASA's Mars rover, is equipped with an X-ray device to   
   examine the materials composition of the rocks in Mars. An important   
   usage of X-rays in science is to identify the type of materials in a   
   sample. Over the years, the quantity of materials in a sample required   
   for X-ray detection has been greatly reduced thanks to the development of   
   synchrotron X-rays sources and new instruments. To date, the smallest   
   amount one can X-ray a sample is in attogram, that is about 10,000   
   atoms or more. This is due to the X-ray signal produced by an atom being   
   extremely weak so that the conventional X-ray detectors cannot be used   
   to detect it. According to Hla, it is a long-standing dream of scientists   
   to X-ray just one atom, which is now being realized by the research team   
   led by him.   
      
   "Atoms can be routinely imaged with scanning probe microscopes, but   
   without X- rays one cannot tell what they are made of. We can now   
   detect exactly the type of a particular atom, one atom-at-a-time, and   
   can simultaneously measure its chemical state," explained Hla, who is   
   also the director of the Nanoscale and Quantum Phenomena Institute   
   at Ohio University. "Once we are able to do that, we can trace the   
   materials down to ultimate limit of just one atom. This will have a   
   great impact on environmental and medical sciences and maybe even find   
   a cure that can have a huge impact for humankind. This discovery will   
   transform the world."  Their paper, published in the scientific journal   
   Nature on May 31, 2023, and gracing the cover of the print version of   
   the scientific journal on June 1, 2023, details how Hla and several   
   other physicists and chemists, including Ph.D. students at OHIO, used   
   a purpose-built synchrotron X-ray instrument at the XTIP beamline of   
   Advanced Photon Source and the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne   
   National Laboratory.   
      
   For demonstration, the team chose an iron atom and a terbium atom,   
   both inserted in respective molecular hosts. To detect X-ray signal   
   of one atom, the research team supplemented conventional detectors in   
   X-rays with a specialized detector made of a sharp metal tip positioned   
   at extreme proximity to the sample to collect X-ray excited electrons --   
   a technique known as synchrotron X-ray scanning tunneling microscopy or   
   SX-STM. X-ray spectroscopy in SX-STM is triggered by photoabsorption of   
   core level electrons, which constitutes elemental fingerprints and is   
   effective in identifying the elemental type of the materials directly.   
      
   According to Hla, the spectrums are like fingerprints, each one being   
   unique and able to detect exactly what it is.   
      
   "The technique used, and concept proven in this study, broke new ground   
   in X- ray science and nanoscale studies," said Tolulope Michael Ajayi,   
   who is the first author of the paper and doing this work as part of his   
   Ph.D. thesis.   
      
   "More so, using X-rays to detect and characterize individual atoms   
   could revolutionize research and give birth to new technologies in   
   areas such as quantum information and the detection of trace elements   
   in environmental and medical research, to name a few. This achievement   
   also opens the road for advanced materials science instrumentation."   
   For the last 12 years, Hla has been involved in the development of an   
   SX-STM instrument and its measurement methods together with Volker Rose,   
   a scientist at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory.   
      
   "I have been able to successfully supervise four OHIO graduate students   
   for their Ph.D. theses related to SX-STM method development over a   
   12-year period.   
      
   We have come a long way to achieve the detection of a single atom X-ray   
   signature," Hla said.   
      
   Hla's study is focused on nano and quantum sciences with a particular   
   emphasis on understanding materials' chemical and physical properties   
   at the fundamental level -- on an individual atom basis. In addition   
   to achieving X-ray signature of one atom, the team's key goal was to   
   use this technique to investigate the environmental effect on a single   
   rare-earth atom.   
      
   "We have detected the chemical states of individual atoms as well," Hla   
   explained. "By comparing the chemical states of an iron atom and a terbium   
   atom inside respective molecular hosts, we find that the terbium atom,   
   a rare-earth metal, is rather isolated and does not change its chemical   
   state while the iron atom strongly interacts with its surrounding."   
   Many rare-earth materials are used in everyday devices, such as cell   
   phones, computers and televisions, to name a few, and are extremely   
   important in creating and advancing technology. Through this discovery,   
   scientists can now identify not only the type of element but its chemical   
   state as well, which will allow them to better manipulate the atoms   
   inside different materials hosts to meet the ever-changing needs in   
   various fields. Moreover, they have also developed a new method called   
   "X-ray excited resonance tunneling or X-ERT" that allows them to detect   
   how orbitals of a single molecule orient on a material surface using   
   synchrotron X-rays.   
      
   "This achievement connects synchrotron X-rays with quantum tunneling   
   process to detect X-ray signature of an individual atom and opens many   
   exciting research directions including the research on quantum and   
   spin (magnetic) properties of just one atom using synchrotron X-rays,"   
   Hla said.   
      
   In addition to Ajayi, several other OHIO graduate students including   
   current Ph.D. students Sineth Premarathna in Physics and Xinyue Cheng   
   in Chemistry, as well as Ph.D. in Physics alumni Sanjoy Sarkar, Shaoze   
   Wang, Kyaw Zin Latt, Tomas Rojas, and Anh T. Ngo, currently an Associate   
   Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois-Chicago,   
   were involved in this research. College of Arts and Sciences Roenigk   
   Chair and Professor of Chemistry Eric Masson designed and synthesized   
   the rare earth molecule used in this study.   
      
   Going forward, Hla and his research team will continue to use X-rays to   
   detect properties of just one atom and find ways to further revolutionize   
   their applications for use in gathering critical materials research   
   and more.   
      
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   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Ohio_University. Original written   
   by Samantha Pelham.   
      
   Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Tolulope M. Ajayi, Nozomi Shirato, Tomas Rojas, Sarah Wieghold,   
      Xinyue   
         Cheng, Kyaw Zin Latt, Daniel J. Trainer, Naveen K. Dandu, Yiming   
         Li, Sineth Premarathna, Sanjoy Sarkar, Daniel Rosenmann, Yuzi   
         Liu, Nathalie Kyritsakas, Shaoze Wang, Eric Masson, Volker Rose,   
         Xiaopeng Li, Anh T.   
      
         Ngo, Saw-Wai Hla. Characterization of just one atom using   
         synchrotron X- rays. Nature, 2023; 618 (7963): 69 DOI:   
         10.1038/s41586-023-06011-w   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230531150120.htm   
      
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