Our lab at UALR house a dual-source sputter (Fig.1), thermal evaporation, and e-beam glancing angle deposition (GLAD) systems that is used for the fabrication of thin films and nanostructures in the shapes such as nanorods and nanosprings in a single-step process through a physical self-assembly mechanism. In the sputter GLAD system, the diameter of the targets (i.e. source) can be 1” or 2″. This is a DC/RF sputter deposition system also with an evaporation attachment custom modified to incorporate a 3D substrate rotation and tilt control. Simultaneous sample rotation and sample tilt angle with respect to the incident beam can be achieved by two independently controlled motors. This deposition system has a base pressure of 10-7 torr and is pumped by a turbo- molecular pump backed by a mechanical pump. E-beam system has similar properties and incorporates thermal evaporation and sputter deposition attachments that allow sequential or co-deposition different materials.
Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD)