Products
Processing Examples
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
The technology for producing electron transparent films has been around for a time even longer than the invention of the electron microscope itself, as there was strong desire to prove the wave-like nature of electrons. However, as nanotechnology has become a strong force in commerce, serving the cosmetics, food & drug, sporting goods, textiles, and semiconductor industries, I believe that the need to provide a convenient platform for analyzing processes at nanometer length scales or below will become important. Producing these substrates in as cost-effective a manner as possible is a step towards this goal.
In the past, I have successfully made the following materials at about 2 – 30 nm thickness, based on in-situ quartz crystal microbalance monitoring, using either an SPI Sputter Coater or Gatan PECS system, using the same patent pending processing method:
Nonmetallic:
Carbon, Silica
Metallic:
Gold, Platinum, Palladium, 60-40 Gold Palladium, Silver*, Osmium*
* Surface oxides were found in electron diffraction patterns or in x-ray photoelectron spectra
Metal Oxides:
Copper, Aluminum, Titanium, Nickel
Note that, while the metals were found to be stable below 2 - 3 nm thickness, the nonmetals and metal oxides were far more fragile except at greater thicknesses.
