The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched NIST on a Chip, a program that will bring cutting-edge measurement-science technology and expertise from our labs directly to users in industry, defense, medicine and academia. NIST on a Chip (NOAC) aims to make ultra-reliable measurement technology available nearly anywhere and anytime.
The program is creating prototypes for a new generation of ultra-compact, inexpensive, low-power measurement tools for time and frequency, distance, mass and force, temperature and pressure, electrical and magnetic fields, current and voltage, fluid volume and flow, and more. Because these devices are directly based on the rules of quantum physics, they are inherently accurate and reliable.
At present, the evolving program is planned to include robust projects across the NIST laboratories in multiple technology areas. It’s seeking partnerships with the US private sector to bring these technologies to commercial reality and “unleash new capabilities for American innovation”.