Sputter & carbon coaters
Sputter and carbon coaters are used to deposit a thin metal or carbon layer on the surface of a substrate. Sputtering is used in electron microscopy to deposit an electrically conductive film on non-conductive surfaces, to prevent electrons from the microscope's electron beam from accumulating on the sample surface, causing the latter to become charged. Such a charge would prevent imaging of these surfaces with the SEM. The desired films should be extremely thin, but electrically conductive, with a thickness of 2 - 20 nm. Carbon is used for EDS and WDS analysis because of the low absorption of X-Ray and to create support films for TEM.
By cathode sputtering (sputtering) samples or substrates can be coated with a wide variety of metals / metal alloys or electrically conductive materials. The coating material is referred to as a sputtering target.
The SC7620 Mini Sputter Coater is a low-cost manual device for sputtering precious metals (Au, Au/Pd) and glow discharge. Optional is a carbon fiber attachment for deposting a thin layer of carbon for energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.
The Q150R Plus series are fully automated, modular coating systems for the deposition of electrically conductive carbon or noble metal films recommended for electron microscopic applications at low and medium-high resolutions. The Q150R Plus can be acquired solely as a carbon coater (RE), sputter coater (RS) or as a combined system for carbon and sputter coating (RES).
The Q150T Plus series are fully automated, modular coating systems for the deposition of electrically conductive carbon or metal films recommended for electron microscopic applications at low and medium-high resolutions. The Q150T Plus can be acquired solely as a carbon coater (TE), sputter coater (TS) or as a combined system for carbon and sputter coating (TES). The application of a turbomolecular pump enables the sputtering of oxidising metals, which have a lower grain-size and are suited for high-resolution electron microscopy applications.
The Q150V Plus series are fully automated, modular coating systems for the deposition of electrically conductive carbon or metal films recommended for electron microscopic applications at low and medium-high resolutions. The Q150V Plus can be acquired solely as a carbon coater (VE), sputter coater (VS) or as a combined system for carbon and sputter coating (VES). Due to the low background pressure, oxygen, nitrogen and water vapour are removed from the chamber. This helps avoiding chemical reactions during the sputtering process, which could otherwise lead to impurities or defects in the coatings. Lower scattering due to the improved vacuum also allows the deposition of high purity, amorphous carbon films of high density.
The Q150V Plus series offers all the advantages of the Q150T Plus system but can reach finer grain sizes and thinner coatings. This is beneficial for imaging at ultra-high-resolutions in electron microscopy (magnifications > 200 000 x).
The Q300T Plus series are fully automated, modular coating systems with large vacuum chambers for applying fine-grained films for SEM, TEM and thin-film technology. The Q300T Plus can be acquired as a sputter coater with three targets (TT), with two targets for sequential deposition (TD) or as combined system for sputter coating, as well carbon and metal evaporation (TES).
The K975X carbon coater is a compact thermal evaporator for vacuum deposition of thin layers of carbon and metals for SEM and TEM applications. The K975 series consists of the carbon and metal evaporator s K975X and K975S, designed to coat 8” wafers or similarly large specimens with carbon (C).
The Q150GB is a modular glovebox version of the highly successful Q150T ES bench top turbomolecular-pumped coating system. It is suitable for SEM, TEM and many thin-film applications. The system is a single platform for sputtering, carbon rod and metal evaporation (optional).
