The Project that Broke New Ground in Nanoscale Research

I would be remiss if I did not begin my column about the design of nanoscale research facilities without recognizing the special features of the Advanced Measurement Laboratory (AML) complex for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and its role as a model for the design and construction of other nanotechnology facilities. When NIST began planning the AML complex, few, if any, facilities in the world had achieved the combination of internal environmental stability that was required for research and measurement at the nanoscale; the AML is truly a “first-of its kind” facility.

THE BUILDING AS RESEARCH PROJECT
Designing and constructing “the most environmentally stable laboratory of its kind in the world” in effect required that the project itself become a research “study” to determine what building methods and details could best support research at the nanoscale. The design team embarked on an unprecedented journey of collaboration, exploration, and innovation. Comprised of an unusual mix of NIST scientists and staff, facilities and operations personnel, building systems engineers, architects, lab planners, and a host of specialty consultants, the team visited and scrutinized many of the world’s finest metrology laboratories. Many design challenges had been individually achieved at these then “state-of-the-art” facilities, but none had integrated such a combination of stringent environmental criteria into a single facility.

The AML’s main mission was to make significant progress in the quality of research environments to allow work on measurement methodologies and technologies to continue to advance well into the new century. Working from lessons learned from other similar projects, design concepts for the AML were tested in several full-scale mockups, such as the Temperature Control Research Project (TCRP) and the Vibration Isolation Research Project (VIRP). Staged long before construction of the AML began, these mockups were instrumental in the development of some of the innovations incorporated into the project.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL RESEARCH PROJECT (TCRP)
During the early design phases of the AML project, a fully operational laboratory module was built within a high bay structure inside the NIST Building and Fire Research Laboratory (Building 226) in Gaithersburg, MD. The mock up was based on the design of the high accuracy controlled laboratories being designed for the metrology wing of the AML complex. The main premise of the TCRP was to evaluate and validate the engineering solutions prior to finalizing the design and the construction of numerous similar laboratories within the AML complex.