Dependable Evaporators, Excellent Service: A new system is installed in Colorado

In Golden, Colorado, there exists a facility devoted to innovating new technology in order to solve today’s energy challenges. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is large enough to be visible from a large part of the surrounding area, and is home to many rattlesnakes, enough for visitors to be warned to stay on the paths in order to avoid them.

One of our engineers recently installed a brand new EvoVac thin film deposition PVD platform in an NREL lab, the fourth system to be included into this particular lab. We spoke with Graham Colegrove, the project manager, about the installation, what the machine will be used for, and how Angstrom Engineering helps NREL achieve its goals.

“Our Angstrom systems are very well built and dependable, and they allow many depositions to be performed each day in a very reproducible manner, even when operated by relative non-experts. By being very user-friendly and having the ability to deposit a range of materials, the tools have allowed a large number of users to experiment with many different depositions.”

“We are doing photovoltaic research with the EvoVac, including perovskite solar cells. It will be used primarily for metallization, interface layers, and some optical coatings. We are particularly excited about the added capabilities that it will give us, including glovebox integrated e-beam chamber and the gradient control fixturing.”

“The installation went very well and your technician was great to work with. He was prompt, knowledgeable, hard-working, and very customer-oriented. He was able to answer all of the questions we had or get us the answers quickly. From the initial ordering process, to changes made during the build, to delivery and installation, Angstrom was great.”

“I have dealt with many companies that can make a great product, but their customer service is terrible. Angstrom Engineering provides both great products and great customer service and that is what makes people return customers.”

For more information on NREL, click here.

The EvoVac at the NREL lab with integrated glovebox.

Having arrived in Brazil, our partner’s logistics team takes the lead, taking it out of the wooden box so that it can fit through the door of the facility. The journey resulted in the standard small bumps and dents that are categorized and logged so that our installation team can quickly and effectively get the system up and running, which they do.

Finally, all that’s left to do is to fabricate some superconducting circuits, and further the field of quantum computing. Our partners at Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas (CBPF) expressed their excitement at having gained the capabilities  of partnering with us in this translated LinkedIn post:

 

It is with great enthusiasm that we announce the arrival of the newest equipment, from Angstrom Engineering, to the Quantum Technologies Laboratory of CBPF. This laboratory is complementary to Labnano, one of the strategic laboratories of SisNANO – the National System of Nanotechnology Laboratories of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI).

SisNANO is comprised of a set of laboratories focused on research, development and innovation (RD&I) in nanosciences and nanotechnologies, with the essential characteristic of being multi-user and open access to public and private institutions.

Acquired with funding from Finep and support from MCTI, the new equipment will allow CBPF to advance in the manufacture of superconducting quantum nanodevices, such as Josephson junctions and SQUIDS. These devices are essential for the development of future quantum chips, which promise to transform areas such as computing, secure communication and metrology.

The impact of this advance is also connected to related projects funded by FAPERJ, CNPq and Petrobras, consolidating a robust research ecosystem in Brazil.

This achievement reinforces the commitment of CBPF and MCTI to leading the frontier of scientific research, contributing to enabling the country to compete in a global scenario marked by disruptive and strategic advances.

We would like to thank the institutions involved and the professionals who made this achievement possible. We invite the scientific, technological and industrial community to closely monitor the transformative results that this new infrastructure will provide.

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