1. What is sputtering deposition?

Sputter deposition is a method of depositing thin films by sputtering material from a “target”. Sputtering is a term used to describe the mechanism in which atoms are ejected from the surface of a material when that surface is stuck by sufficiency energetic ions generated by low-pressure gas plasma, usually an argon plasma. The sputtering takes place at a much lower temperature than evaporation. Sputtered atoms ejected into the gas phase in vapor form are not in their thermodynamic equilibrium state and tend to condense on all surfaces in the vacuum chamber including the substrate.

2. Why are thin films important?

There are many useful applications for thin films. We desire to produce properties in a material that are often conflicting in nature if we use one homogeneous material. Semiconductor devices, for example, are fabricated on a thin layer deposited on a semiconductor substrate. The integrated electronic circuits depend on the confinement of electrical charges, which relies on the interfaces between different materials with different electronic properties. There are also many occasions when the properties demanded an engineering application involve features that are different for the surface than that are for the bulk. Depositing metal films and patterning them on the surface are relatively easy to secure electrical connection between semiconductor devices.

3.How does a sputtering system work?

Generally, in sputtering systems ions are generated and directed at a target, then ions sputter targets atoms. The ejected atoms are transported to the substrate and atoms condense and form a thin film. Below image shows the simple schematic of a sputtering system.

Who invented electron microscopes? - NanoStructured Coatings Co.

Who invented electron microscopes?

Here’s a brief history of the key moments in electron microscopy—so far!

1924: French physicist Louis de Broglie (1892–1987) realizes that electron beams have a wavelike nature similar to light. Five years later, he wins the Nobel Prize in Physics for this work.
1931: German scientists Max Knoll (1897–1969) and his pupil Ernst Ruska (1906–1988) build the first experimental TEM in Berlin.
1933: Ernst Ruska builds the first electron microscope that is more powerful than an optical microscope.
1935: Max Knoll builds the first crude SEM.
1941: German electrical engineers Manfred Von Ardenne and Bodo von Borries patent an “electron scanning microscope” (SEM).
1965: Cambridge Instrument Company produces the first commercial SEM in England.
1981: Gerd Binnig (1947–) and Heinrich Rohrer (1933–) of IBM’s Zurich Research Laboratory invent the STM and produce detailed images of atoms on the surface of a crystal of gold.
1985: Binnig and his colleague Christoph Gerber produce the first atomic force microscope (AFM) by attaching a diamond to a piece of gold foil.
1986: Binnig and Rohrer share the Nobel Prize in Physics with the original pioneer of electron microscopes, Ernst Ruska.
1989: The first commercial AFM is produced by Sang-il Park (founder of Park Systems of Palo Alto, California).

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