Nanocluster deposition

A cutting-edge goal in nanoscience is to develop reliable tools to generate, size-select, and soft-land nanocluster particles on a substrate. The endgame is to be able to obtain well-controlled films, arrays, or networks of pure or compound nanoparticles with size and composition known precisely to within an atom. Such samples will be of great utility for research and applications in nanoelectronics, optics, catalysis, spectroscopy, solar energy, and other uses.

Nanoparticle deposition apparatus

We are working with a setup which includes a magnetron sputtering/condensation nanoparticle source,  a high-range/high throughput quadrupole mass spectrometer, and a substrate deposition chamber. We are able to generate, deposit, image, analyze, and manipulate metal nanoparticles ranging from 1 to 10 nm in diameter (~10-10⁴ atoms).