Cluster Beam Deposition

Growth & Synthesis (Synthesis of nanoparticles)

CBD is a special kind of Physical Vapor Deposition method, where aggregates formed in the gas-phase are processed in a molecular beam source so to form a collimated beam of particles. This can be finally used to grow thin films of nanostructured materials once it is intercepted by a substrate.
In the supersonic-source implementation of the technique (SCBD), the film is formed by random stacking of the nanoparticles that owing to their relatively low kinetic-energy (i.e. the energy per atom is small compared to cohesive energy) are soft-landing on the substrate and thus retain much of their gas-phase structure. The material can thus inherit structural properties from the deposited clusters which act as building blocks for the nanostructured film.

Aerodynamic separation and focusing effects allow the preparation of intense beams with controlled particle size distribution. Owing to the high-collimation and well-defined directionality of the beam, SCBD can be used to produce micro-structures and high-resolution patterns with nanostructured material by simple interposition of a non-contact stencil mask between the source and the substrate.

The technique is UHV compatible and easily integrated with different deposition methods or multiple sources. When the PMCS (Pulsed Micro-plasma Cluster Source) is applied as a particle beam source, high deposition rates are achieved and deposition of nanostructured films of several microns thickness is obtained within minutes. Large areas can be covered by rastering the substrate in front of the particle beam. The source can produce metal, carbon, oxide clusters and arbitrary mixtures of these ultrafine particles (typically below 5nm in diameter) can be deposited to produce nano-composite films by simultaneously operating multiple CBD sources. Among metals, Mg, Al, Ti, Ni, Ag, Au, Zr, W are the most commonly used; Zn0, TiO2 have been demonstrated for gas-phase oxide particles, but post-deposition oxidation is generally adopted.

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          provided at NFFA-Europe laboratories by:
UMIL
Italy

Instruments datasheets

UMIL
Italy
Cluster Beam Deposition at UMIL
Thin film deposition of cluster-assembled nanostructured material
Pulsed Micro-plasma Cluster Source
UMIL
Italy
Cluster Beam Deposition at Trieste
in-situ deposition of nanoparticles and thin films of cluster-assembled nanostructured material under UHV.
Pulsed Microplasma Cluster Source
@
          provided at NFFA-Europe laboratories by:
UMIL
Italy

Also consider

Structural & Morphology Characterization

SEM Scanning Electron Microscopy

In SEM a beam is scanned over a sample surface while a signal from secondary or back-scattered electrons is recorded. SEM is used to image an area of the sample with nanometric resolution, and also to measure its composition, crystallographic phase distribution and local texture.

Electronic & Chemical & Magnetic Characterization

XPS X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

XPS is a surface spectroscopic technique for quantitative measurements of the elemental composition or stoichiometry and the chemical state of the present elements, like their oxidation state and chemical bonds. XPS is highly surface sensitive, giving chemical and binding energy information from the a narrow region close to the surface.

Structural & Morphology Characterization

TEM Transmission Electron Microscopy

In TEM/Scanning TEM (STEM) high energy electrons incident on ultra-thin samples, allow imaging, diffraction, electron energy loss spectroscopy and chemical analysis of solid materials with a spatial resolution on the order of 1-2 Å. Samples must have a thickness of a few tens of nanometres and are prepared in sample preparation laboratory.

Electronic & Chemical & Magnetic Characterization

RS Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy (RS) investigates the vibrational properties of a sample and provides chemical as well as structural information. RS does not require any specific sample preparation, size or condition and may be combined with micron/nano spatial resolution when operated using a confocal microscope/TERS or SNOM configuration.

Structural & Morphology Characterization

STM Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

STM allows imaging conductive surfaces at the atomic scale. It is possible to characterize the distribution of surface terraces and steps, as well as to determine the atomic arrangement of (ordered) surface (over)structures.