MRSEC

The University of Maryland Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) is part of a network of national Materials Research centers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF)... Our MRSEC logo shows the arrangement of atoms at the surface of a crystal. Crystals are made up of layers, or "planes" of atoms, perfectly stacked in an ordered pattern. Because this surface has been cut at a slight angle to the crystal planes, it appears "stepped" (we call this type of surface a vicinal surface). Modern scanned-probe microscopes, such as the STM, allow us to see the atoms at the surface of a crystal, producing images very similar to this one.

Primary location: College Park United States