Manufacturing Strategy

Written by Access Industries

Here are some interesting facts about Len Blavatnik, the investor and entrepreneur who is also Britain’s richest man:

Although he is britain’s richest man, he was born in the Ukraine and studied at Moscow State University. In 1978 he migrated to the United States and gained citizenship in 1984. His education began with a degree in computer science at Columbia followed by a Harvard MBA.

His most publicized and famous deal was the 2011 purchase of the Warner Music group for 3.3 billion dollars. With it came the label that signed artists like Coldplay.

His Yacht is named Odessa after the city where he was born in the Ukraine. He is known to throw a party on the Yacht every year during the Cannes film festival. This event is attended by hollywood and a-list celebrities.

He owns one of the few grade 2 listed homes in the exclusive Kensington Palace gardens, London. Grade The house is valued at approximately 41 millions sterling pounds. As a listed home, it is considered to be of special architectural and cultural significance.

The Blavatnik Foundation is one of the world’s leading supporters of scientific, education and cultural awards. The most famous of these is the Blavatnik Young Scientists Award which started in 2007. He has also personally made donations to Yale, Harvard and Oxford univsersities.

He is married and has two sons and two daughters. His daughter’s Bat mitzvahs had Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars performing.
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Len Blavatnik needs no introduction. He is the man at the top of Access Industries and world renowned philanthropist.

Read below to find out how IBS is advantageous when it comes to thin film deposition.

Manufacturing optical thin films is a large industry that utilizes various techniques in order to achieve the highest quality possible. One of the more common approaches to these films is by using ion beam sputter deposition. Taking place in a vacuum chamber, IBS typically uses a high energy ion beam as the primary source – this is typically composed of various metals or oxides.

How does IBS work?

The high energy beam that’s shot out towards the target material creates a momentum that causes the atoms and molecules to “sputter” off onto the substrate, thus creating the thin film. As mentioned before, the vacuum chamber plays a vital role in the entire process. Note that there is oxygen present within the vacuum chamber at low pressures. This is designed to create oxidation or re-oxidize when needed.

What about the Quality?

What results from IBS is a highly uniform, highly dense film with excellent coverage and adhesion to the substrate itself. This is important because films require mechanical durability and stability. IBS provides a great amount of precision and makes hitting performance targets efficient and easier than PVD thermal evaporation. This process can also be automated, which doesn’t require supervision from the operator.

Summing it Up

IBS delivers excellence when it comes to both stability and durability of optical thin films. They also have the lowest absorption rate of any other type of coating type. There are very few drawbacks to utilizing this method, except for the limited range of materials that can be used – typically going to be metal oxides. IBS proves that it’s both a reliable and consistent method of generating thin films.

Denton Vacuum, LLC manufactures high-quality systems for electron microscopy, ophthalmic applications, and PVD coating.

Summary: This is why some telescopes cost substantially more than others.

For most people, seeing the planets will require little more than a telescope and a clear evening. However, serious star gazers will want to consider an upgrade to telescopes that feature lenses treated by optical coating systems. These lenses have several advantages over the standard store-bought varieties, but they aren’t always easy for the newcomer to recognize. If you’re wondering why some telescopes are vastly different in price, this may help you understand.

Coating Types

Before we dive into coating types, we need to first make note of the method in which the lens is coated. Cheaper methods, like the dip and bake, may lower the cost to you but the quality suffers greatly. The coatings don’t last as long as an ebeam coating would. Within a year or two you’ll literally wipe away the coating.

Aluminum and titanium oxide, as well as magnesium fluoride, represent the most common substance used. High quality lenses are “fully coated,” which means that the coating has been applied to both sides. This is different from “multi-coated” lenses, which may also carry a high price tag. The multi-coat name comes from the multiple layers of chemicals applied to the lens in order to alter properties like light transmission.

Buying Your Telescope

In addition to any coatings applied to the lens of the telescope, you might want some additional upgrades. A tripod mounted telescope, for instance, are easy to set up and provide stability. You can also purchase telescopes with recording capabilities, so you can capture video footage for time lapse editing later.

Bio: Denton Vacuum, LLC specializes in ion beam assisted deposition systems for optical coating and advanced manufacturing. Denton Vacuum, LLC sells equipment used in the aerospace, automotive and medical industries.

Have you ever seen the fine polish on the exhaust pipe of a motorcycle? The metal shaping process isn’t how bikes get their sheen, and polish can only get someone so far. These parts have all been through a sputter coater designed to give an even finish, most likely thin film deposition. This even coating gives the smooth, shiny appearance hobbyists love with minimal material waste. That has helped keep costs for parts down and kept markets alive.

Sputtering is useful in many kinds of advanced manufacturing, especially manufacturing metalized products. The aerospace and automobile industries could not produce what they are able to without some efficient method that reduces waste and produces the perfect finish.

Why Sputtering?

A substrate can be coated in thin films of metallic materials, as long as it is evenly rotated to avoid unnecessary buildup. That’s one of the advantages to sputtering, an even coat free from defects. That might not matter to someone riding a bicycle, who finds a small metallic imperfection, but it makes a huge difference in precision applications for healthcare practitioners or pilots.

Besides the coating system, thin film vacuum coating is used to provide the same finish.  You can imagine the process a lot like spray painting the wall of your house. The substrate is given an even coating from materials ejected through an extremely small nozzle. The chemicals are converted to gas via superheating well before hand. To protect the substrate, a vacuum sealed chamber is used because engineers can control temperature with greater precision.

How Magnets Help Coat Substrates

Some vacuum deposition systems utilize magnets, allowing for the same kind of application using different means. In this case, the nozzle mechanism that sputters is replaced by magnets pulling ions with opposite charges. These machines use pulses of magnetism to attract metals, which pull ions onto the substrate. Because ions with an opposing charge are repelled during this process, chemicals are smashed into the substrate to give it the coating desired. This process is preferred because of the low levels of radiation emitted.

Pros and Cons

Not all sputtering systems are useful in every situation. Some leave inconsistencies in the material, and are useful for certain applications. Ion-beam assisted deposition, for example, is best used for circuit boards that require precise conductivity between components.
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Denton Vacuum, LLC specializes in machinery used in advanced manufacturing, including plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition.

Written by: Denton Vacuum, LLC

Summary: Producing circuit boards at a massive scale involves advanced manufacturing processes.

Circuit boards are now a ubiquitous part of modern homes. They are in everything, from the microwaves that heat our food to the cell phones that help us connect with each other. Circuit boards have to be produced en masse in order to keep up with this demand, fueling the need for modern manufacturing that offer precision and speed. Ion beam deposition allows manufacturers to create intricate circuit boards that power all kinds of machinery in a fraction of the time it took the Silicon Valley to do originally. These improvements have not only created more efficient processes, they have lessened the costs of manufacturing.

Photolithography and Etching

A circuit begins with the substrate, or the board itself. Manufacturers design the kind of board they want on a computer, then they use photolithography to create an image of that design on the board itself. Ion beam etching is then used to deposit strict amounts of metals and other substances to the board at precise locations. This allows for more effective connections that can power a greater number of tasks.

One reason that ion beam is chosen over UHV sputter deposition is the amount of waste involved. UHV sputtering is best used when there is no precision required.

Conclusions

Circuit boards have become incredibly intricate as technology has progressed, and there are more connections required to divert power to the parts of a machine. Improvements in manufacturing have allowed for greater precision in the design and construction of circuit boards.