We are leading the development of international documentary standards for surface chemical analysis, nanotechnologies, analysis of particles and graphene and other 2D materials. Documentary standards, certified reference materials and traceability are important to ensure that measurements are comparable between laboratories, that data is defendable and that materials meet accredited standards required by industry. We support innovation, measurement comparability and trade.
NPL is very active in international standardisation and pre-normative activities for surface technologies, nanotechnologies, particles and 2D materials. We lead the development of many ISO, CEN and IEC documentary standards and lead and participate in pre-normative international interlaboratory studies particularly under VAMAS. We provide consultancy, advice and information on developing standards and pre-standardisation testing to ensure your measurement methods or products are compliant and internationally competitive.
We participate and take leadership roles in three ISO technical committees (TC) on surface chemical analysis and nanotechnologies.
The consistent use of terminology is an important component of accurate and reproducibility reporting of results. ISO provides a free online browsing platform which lists all ISO defined terms from all published ISO standards (click "Terms & Definitions" button) from the different fields so that they may be compared. At NPL, we lead the development of terminology in surface chemical analysis and nanotechnologies, including 2D materials.
To minimise confusion and encourage consistency, a consensus set of terminology for surface analysis has been developed by ISO TC 201 on Surface Chemical Analysis. This surface chemical analysis vocabulary provides the definitions for more than 1000 surface chemical analysis terms in a three-part ISO International Standard. These terms can be accessed at no charge through the links included below.
These documents, available for free from the links above cover the terms used in surface analysis spectroscopies such as Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and many similar methods as well as in the scanned probe microscopies (SPM) such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM), scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and many similar methods. New to the revised 2023 version are terms related to atom probe tomography (APT). Because it is important for analysts, researchers and students to communicate clearly and unambiguously, these definitions are now freely available from the ISO using the above links to the documents or through the ISO portal.
When the documents are addressed through the links a table of contents listing general topic areas will appear to help locate terminology of interest.
The ISO 80004 vocabulary series is a multi-part ISO standard providing terms and definitions in nanotechnologies. NPL has led the development of part 6 on nano-object characterisation and part 13 on graphene and related 2D materials. The below lists several of the 80004 series which can be accessed for free following the links below:
ISO 80004-1:2023 Nanotechnologies - Vocabulary - Part 1: Core vocabulary
ISO/TS 80004-6:2013 Nanotechnologies - Vocabulary - Part 6: Nano-object characterisation
ISO/TS 80004-13:2017(en) Nanotechnologies - Vocabulary - Part 13: Graphene and related two-dimensional (2D) materials
We undertake and lead pre-standardisation international interlaboratory studies through various VAMAS technical working areas (TWAs). VAMAS supports world trade in products dependent on advanced materials technologies, through international collaborative projects aimed at providing the technical basis for harmonised measurements, testing, specifications, and standards. We lead projects in:
We are active in the CCQM committee and especially the Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG), which promotes worldwide uniformity in units of measurement.
Our research and measurement solutions support innovation and product development. We work with companies to deliver business advantage and commercial success.
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