Can Integrated Optical Semiconductor Technology be Designed with Zero Cross Talks between Photons Allowing Dense Integration per Chip?

Dr. Abhijit Biswas

September 2023 VT&C Digital Magazine

Conductive Polymer-Based Materials for Supercapacitors

Dr. Peter Martin

August 2023 VT&C Digital Magazine

Pressure Measurement Realities - What you see is not necessarily what you've go Part1

Steve Hansen

July 2023 VT&C Digital Magazine

The AFM-in-SEM Technique

Dr. Matthew Linford and Team

June 2023 VT&C Digital Magazine

Controlling and Improving Surface Properties of Biomaterials by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Dr. Megha Agrawal and Dr. Shyamasri Biswas

May 2023 VT&C Digital Magazine

Next-generation High Strength Carbon Fibers for Aerospace and Defence Industry

Dr. Abhijit Biswas

April 2023 VT&C Digital Magazine
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Industry News

Materials Science, Inc.: Materials Science, Inc. Relocates Corporate Headquarters, Ownership & Management Changes

Materials Science, Inc. a supplier of sputtering sources, power supplies and related equipment is relocating its headquarters to its Colorado manufacturing location of several decades from San Diego, California as its founder John Miller retires. The transition begins in July, 2023. Patrick Manley, is assuming management of the company, adding to his decades long role as Materials Science, Inc. manufacturing and engineering manager. John will remain as an active advisor and consultant as needed as he fades off into the sunset. The rest of the team remains. All of Materials Science customers and products, some dating to 1989, will continue to be supported without interruption. NSA Scientific, Inc. (Patrick Manley – President) will assume the intellectual property, customer base and Materials Science, Inc. assets, but continue to operate under the dba Materials Science identity to maintain continuity. The transition will be seamless and all contracts, warranties and purchase orders placed prior to July, 2023 will continue to be honored. Individual customers will be notified of any specific legal and financial details that may change.

NanoMaster: Space Simulation Systems

The NDT-4000 is a Device Testing System for testing devices or samples in extreme vacuum and controllable uniform heat and cold cycle conditions. It is equipped with computer control, safety interlocks, and mulitple levels of access with password restrictions. It can be used to test devices/samples with automated heat and cool cycles for extended periods of time exceeding 36 hours with varying temperature conditions defined by the recipe. One of the common applications of this system would be space simulation. The approximate chamber size is 43" in length and 24" in diameter. A 16"x32" sliding thermal platform can be controlled within ±1 °C across its surface area for temperatures ranging from -100 °C to 150 °C. This platform is mounted on rolls so that it can be pulled out to 75% of its length for loading devices/samples. The chamber has provision for 4x 8" CF flanges that can be configured with an assortment of customer-defined feedthroughs for digital and analog communication, temperature measurement, power, RF, and other instrumentation needs. The standard vacuum system consists of a 1250 l/sec turbomolecular pump and a 680 l/min dry scroll backing pump. The base pressure of the system can be as low as 7x10-8 Torr and could reach 10-6 Torr range in less than 20 minutes.

k-space: k-Space Adds Color Measurement Capability to its Glass Inspection Metrology Tools

k-Space has added new color measurement functionality to its line of glass inspection and defect detection tools. With the kSA Color Measurement tool, RGB values are calibrated to known color Swatch standards. L*a*b* values can also be determined, ultimately enabling the tool to provide an accurate measurement for absolute color values. This is another great example of k-Space collaborating with its worldwide customer base.

J.A. Woollam: Webinar: Ellipsometric Porosimetry

Porous thin films are used in a variety of applications to provide enhanced electrical, sensing, or thermal characteristics dictated by the porous structure of the film. Mixing a skeletal material with air or other fillers, reduces the density compared to the bulk material effectively reducing the refractive index, dielectric constant, and other relevant parameters to levels not achievable with bulk materials. Traditional porosimetry techniques such as high-pressure mercury or liquid nitrogen porosimetry are not applicable to the small volumes of thin porous films.

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Vacuum Technology Primer

Since 2000 Vacuum Technology & Coating Magazine has been the industry's leading source for the latest articles, news, and product and service information. Below we describe some of the terms that you will find in a typical issue of VT&C.

Vacuum Coating (Vacuum Deposition and Thin Film Deposition) is the process of depositing a film or other material atom by atom or molecule by molecule onto a surface in a low pressure environment or vacuum.

Physical Vapor Deposition or PVD refers to vacuum deposition methods which involve the material (which is being deposited) going from a condensed phase to a vapor phase and then to a thin film condensed phase. Sputtering and evaporation are common PVD processes.

Sputtering refers to a type of process used to deposit thin films and employs a plasma to bombard and eject atoms from a target source.

Evaporation refers to the heated source material being evaporated in a vacuum. Vacuum allows vapor particles to travel directly to the target object, where they condense back to a solid state. (called a Deposition Source) refers to a type of process used to deposit thin films and employs a plasma to bombard and eject atoms from the target source (called a Deposition Source).

Vacuum Hardware refers to the types of hardware and components that are used in the vacuum process. There are many types of hardware used in this process, some examples are flanges, fittings, seals, valves, and chambers.

Thin Film Metrology involves determining the optimal thickness, composition and/or condition of a coating through various techniques and mathematical calculations.

Gas Analytical Systems are used in the analysis of residual gases within a low pressure environment or vacuum.

Vacuum Pumps are devices that remove gas atoms and molecules for the purpose of leaving behind a partial vacuum. Some examples of types of vacuum pumps are rotary vane pumps, diaphragm pumps, and scroll pumps.

Every issue of VT&C includes a product showcase focused on a specific topic relevant to Vacuum Processing, please see our editorial calendar which lists the topic for each issue.