16-Jul-2018: IIT-Madras unveils "word's first" remotely operable LEAP microscope

Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has launched a Rs 40 crore remotely operable microscope, claimed to be the world's first of its kind, that would enable precise view of atoms of a material.

The Local Electrode Atom Probe (LEAP) had been developed in a collaborative exercise involving eight top research institutions in the country, spearheaded by IIT-M.

Though there were several such devices available across world, the LEAP inaugurated at IIT-Madras was the first one that can be operated through a special terminal by researchers divided geographically. Special terminals to access the device have been set up in all the eight partner institutions.

IITs of Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Ropar along with International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) are the partner institutions who contributed Rs 2 crore each for the project. Besides, the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) had contributed Rs 3 crore. The remaining funds came from the Department of Science and Technology's 'Nano-mission'.