Science

A Brief Look At Magnetron Sputter Deposition

Magnetron sputter deposition is an important PVD application in today’s biotech world.

Magnetron sputter deposition is a PVD process in which plasma is formed and positively charged ions and molecules from that plasma are then accelerated into an electrical field that is composed of numerous negatively charged electrodes known as targets. The positive ions are essentially accelerated by a variety of potentials that range from a couple hundred to thousands of electron volts. They then strike the negative electrode with a volatile force that dislodges and effects the atoms from the target. This results in a line-of-sight cosine distribution from the face of the target. This then condenses on surfaces that are placed within a close distance of the magnetron sputtering cathode.

Fabrication and Frequency

The targets are then fabricated from materials that the user wants to deposit on the surface of the component. These materials are then deposited using DC power and insulators in which they can be deposited through the use of a RF power supply. The most common frequency in sputter application is 13.56 MHz – within the RF spectrum. Furthermore, this frequency has been allocated to industrial applications.

Vacuum Deposition Within Magnetron Sputtering

Magnetron sputter deposition also utilizes vacuum deposition systems in that it utilizes a magnetic field to trap the electrons, which enhance the efficiency of the ionization process and allows the plasma to generate at subsequently lower pressures. This is important because it reduces the background gas within the growing film and the energy lost inside the sputtered atom through a variety of gas collisions.

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For UHV sputter deposition systems, visit Denton Vacuum, LLC online today. With the latest products and technology, you’ll find everything that you need to pursue deposition and other processes.

This Specially Designed Robotic Arm will Someday Revolutionize Healthcare

Article written by Sci-Tech Expert, everything gadgets and technology

Those with debilitating injuries may have new hope in the coming future.

The impact that technology has had on the medical industry is staggering. We’re closer than ever to curing life-threatening diseases and treating symptoms faster than ever before. We can diagnose with greater precision, and we’re beginning to experiment with the interaction between human flesh and machine.

One potential application for this bond is to heal those with debilitating handicaps that leave them unable to perform basic tasks for themselves. This could see widespread adoption in the military, where wartime injuries can result in missing limbs.

That reality was recently made a lot more manageable for retired Staff Sergeant James Sides. The retired veteran suffered the loss of his right hand, and blindness in one eye, when an IED he was attempting to diffuse exploded very close to him.

Today, with the help of Rogers & Cowan, the Alfred Mann Foundation is giving James Sides a chance at a return to normalcy. Sides was fitted with a prosthetic arm that can move on his will. Outsiders might think this is some kind of sophisticated mind control, but the reality is that the device reads the motions of Sides’ arm muscles and outputs that data as motions of the fingers or thumb.

The device even has sensors that stop it from clamping down too hard on something, in case Sides needs to pick up a fragile object or shake someone’s hand. This new device is only seeing a small test case for this deployment, but the hope of the Alfred Mann Foundation, and Steve Doctrow of Rogers & Cowan, is that they will one day have the ability to offer these devices to all who need them.

How Circuit Boards Are Made

The development of the modern circuit board really began in the early 20^th century. It was German inventor Albert Hanson who first discovered how to laminate flat foil conductors on an insulated board. Since, circuit boards have become crucial to the operation of electronic devices in the home and workplace. These important components would not be possible without advanced manufacturing techniques.

Mapping Boards

The first step in the creation of a circuit board is to map the wafer and plot out where the circuitry will actually go. There is a process called photolithography that is used to add a kind of roadmap to the board. Next, a sputter deposition system is used to lay the conductive materials onto the board itself.

Conductive Materials

The primary material used in the creation of a circuit board is copper-based. Copper is highly conductive of electricity, and fulfills the requirements a circuit board needs. Copper thickness is usually specified in micrometers, and a square foot usually requires about an ounce of melted down copper. Using a PECVD system, manufacturers can apply three or more layers of copper to the board, creating a heavy copper layer.

Final Thoughts

Circuit boards need to be able to draw in power and then disperse that power to the proper units. The creation of these boards is highly regulated, with safety standards designed to limit flammability and document maximum temperature threshold. These boards are live electrical parts, so they must be able to operate safely without sparking or shorting out.

Bio: Denton Vacuum, LLC sells thin film evaporation devices for advanced manufacturing techniques. Find heavy duty manufacturing devices online at Denton Vacuum, LLC.

How Vacuum Deposition Works

Vacuum evaporation is an important process in manufacturing

Written by: Denton Vacuum, LLC

Are you wearing scratch-resistant eye glasses? If you are, you can thank vacuum deposition systems for giving you clear vision! The process is an important turning point in manufacturing in the 21^st century. The basic process is simple, but the technique is used in situations where heat would damage the materials you want to coat.

Everything starts inside of a sealed chamber. The chamber contains the material that the manufacturer uses to coat the substrate. Those materials begin in solid form, but extreme heat liquefies and eventually evaporates the material. Cool air is pushed into the sputter coater at that point, which slows the molecules bouncing around the inside of the chamber. When the right temperatures is reached, the substrate is put into the chamber to receive a coating. The molecules eventually settle as they reach cooler and cooler temperatures, forming the thin coating around the substrate.

Thin film vacuum coating changes the property of the substrate. It can make a circuit board conducive, or add a glare-proof coating to glass surfaces. Solar cells use it to apply the coating that absorbs the sun’s energy and converts it into energy for the home. Vacuum evaporation is also used to distill liquids that have an unusually high boiling point, so it’s natural in food preservation.

Vacuums are important to manufacturing objects that have a low threshold with regards to heat. Too much heat, and the substrate will melt, but the coating typically requires extreme heat to break down into molecular form. Through an intense shift in temperature, from extreme heat to cold, the vacuum chamber solves these manufacturing road blocks and lets us create more durable and useful technology.

Using E-Beam Evaporation for Medical Technology

Article written by The Software Complex, latest software news and information

Modern medical technology is designed to use the least-invasive method possible to treat a patient. Using technology like a magnetron sputtering system, medical device manufacturers are able to make a number of improvements that make new devices possible and old treatments more effective. Here are just a few of the microscopic improvements driving medical technology today.

E-Beam Technology

E-beam systems are widely used with titanium to create medical equipment that is able to resist long term wear, while remaining light weight and flexible. This is the same process used to create metallic coating for pieces on an airplane or a space ship. Space-age technology, like a magnetron sputtering system, uses electrons to apply particular matter to something called the substrate. First, a pure alloy is broken down into a powdered form. Then, the alloy is super heated, and then a film is laid down on the substrate (usually according to a 3D model created ahead of the manufacture process). As a result, many medical implants can be cheaply manufactured.

Medical Applications

This technology is especially valuable for patients who need various implants. Orthopedic prosthesis manufacturers use this process to create the metal couplings on the prosthetics they create. This coating gives the patient more reliability in the product, and keeps it well protected from daily use. It’s also used in imaging technology, helping the system capture images and translates them into scans a doctor can read.

Sputtering also helps create medical devices that are less-invasive and easier for patients to use on a daily basis. Without this technology, much of our heart procedures might not be possible or would leave the patient in extreme discomfort.

Denton Vacuum, LLC makes systems for ion beam etchingof medical and optical devices. You can find the latest in sputtering and deposition technology at Denton Vacuum online.

Thin Film Deposition Explained

Thin film coatings help create medical devices, microchips and many other household products we use daily.

Written by: Denton Vacuum, LLC

When you want to apply a microscopically thin coating of a material, you need to use thin film deposition systems to do it. Thin film coatings are bonded to the material, called a substrate, and then used for a variety of applications.

We use thin film coatings to change the properties of something we are working with. In semiconductors, the process allows a circuit board to conduct electricity. Metal can be made less corrosive, and glass can be made anti-reflective or scratch resistant. We can even use the process to create a mirror-like surface by applying a thin reflective coating to a piece of normal glass.

Ion beam etching is equally important to a circuit board, helping engineers to create even smaller circuits working with microscopic coating.

Ion beam deposition is used in a number of household products you probably come into contact with everyday. Thin film coating can change how reflective a surface is, whether it reflects or refracts light, and even whether glass is reflect resistant. Thin films of ceramic coating can help decrease the possibility of corrosion in the substrate, helping increase the life span of the product.

Sensors contain integrated circuitry made possible by thin film deposition. The technology is also used to create the individual cells in a solar panel. Without thin film deposition, much of our way of life would be different. It’s true that we had mirrors prior to thin film deposition, but we are now able to mass produce many products we could not create before.

Study Reveals Why Some People Focus on the Negative

By Phin Upham

Does how we view the world depend on our genes? A new study suggests that it does. Science Daily reports that a study published in Psychological Science shows that a gene variant can be responsible for why certain individuals perceive emotional events more intensely than other, especially when it comes to negative events.

According to the article, the gene in question was previously known to play a role in real-time perception. However, the study reveals that participants with the gene variant were more likely to experience negative words than others, even though all participants were shown neutral, positive, and negative words.

“This is the first study to find that this genetic variation can significantly affect how people see and experience the world,” Prof. Rebecca Todd of UBC’s Dept. of Psychology, told Science Daily. She added, “The findings suggest people experience emotional aspects of the world partly through gene-coloured glasses — and that biological variations at the genetic level can play a significant role in individual differences in perception.”

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/

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Phin Upham is an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Phin on his Phin Upham website or Twitter page.