Thin Film Expert Receives New Evaporator

Professor Benoît Lessard is one of Canada’s most ambitious researchers. His group is located in Canada’s capital at the University of Ottawa. They focus on developing novel polymers to support next generation device technologies like solar, biosensors, and nano-reactors, for a start.

An Angstrom EvoVac designed specifically for Dr. Lessard’s work was recently installed in his lab, and we had a chance to talk to him about it: “We are mostly using this system to make organic electronic devices, such as organic photovoltaic devices, organic light-emitting diodes and organic transistor-based sensors using carbon-based semiconductors. Combinatorial shuttering and in-situ mask change will facilitate the fabrication of several different devices at once, reducing the fabrication time and increasing the productivity in the lab. It will enable the high throughput screening of new molecules, thicknesses and ultimately, device performance.”

“Customer service is top notch. Our renovations were lagging and Angstrom engineering was extremely helpful. Our chiller was on back order and Angstrom Engineering lent us one of theirs until ours came in. This act alone meant we were up and running 1-2 months faster than if we waited. Other examples include the countless system redesigns and reconfigurations which resulted from the lab being smaller than expected and having to relocate units.”

The design process was something that Dr. Lessard found instrumental in the final system’s success. “Other larger companies want to sell you a package that is predefined and established. Being open and customizable is so important in this constantly changing research landscape.”

To discover more about Dr. Lessard and his group, follow these links. His group website is well designed, simple and informative. He also has a robust Instagram account, where you can see many behind-the-scenes photos of a very active research group. On top of all that, he has a very active Twitter account.

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.