Nanoparticle deposition specialists, Nikalyte Ltd announce the delivery of an NL-UHV nanoparticle source to the Materials Science department at Montan University, Leoben in Austria. Prof Christian Mitterer, Chair of the Materials Science department, and Dr. Robert Franz, Plasma and Surface Engineering group leader will be mounting the nanoparticle source on a new, dedicated UHV vacuum system. The group will be using the source for a wide range of research projects exploring functional materials and plasma surfaces.
Nikalyte NL-UHV and NL-QMS (left) and NL-DX3 (right). Image Credit: Nikalyte
The NL-UHV uses a process called gas terminated deposition to generate ultra-pure nanoparticles in a vacuum, which unlike chemically synthesized nanoparticles are free of hydrocarbon and ligands. The Leoben NL-UHV source is also equipped with the versatile NL-DX3 3-headed magnetron, which will enable the team to generate ultra-pure nanoparticles from three different materials in situ and also experiment with alloy nanoparticle formation. Through independent control of the power supplied to each individual target and the variation of other process parameters, including gas flow, gas type, and nanoparticle aggregation zone length the team will be able to explore a wide range of nanoparticle properties.
Prof Mitterer and Dr. Franz also received the NL-QMS mass quadrupole which will enable the team to both measure and filter the size of the nanoparticles in flight to tailor the properties of the nanoparticles materials as they are deposited. The NL-QMS has been recently been upgraded to offer enhanced mass resolution and now enables the user to resolve nanoparticles from just a few atoms up to 200nm in size.
The Nikalyte team are looking forward to installing the source later this year when the dedicated vacuum system is ready.