#sputtering

[materialsscienceandengineering]

New material shows promise for next-generation memory technology

Phase change memory is a type of nonvolatile memory that harnesses a phase change material's (PCM) ability to shift from an amorphous state, i.e., where atoms are disorganized, to a crystalline state, i.e., where atoms are tightly packed close together. This change produces a reversible electrical property which can be engineered to store and retrieve data. While this field is in its infancy, phase change memory could potentially revolutionize data storage because of its high storage density, and faster read and write capabilities. But still, the complex switching mechanism and intricate fabrication methods associated with these materials have posed challenges for mass production. In recent years, two-dimensional (2D) Van Der Waals (vdW) transition metal di-chalcogenides have emerged as a promising PCM for usage in phase change memory.

Read more.

[colorintermediate]

s... skr.... sir....

[deadendtracks]

THE MARCH FOR LIFE

[tenth-sentence]

Benedict turned the key again as the engine sputtered.

"The Hungry Moon" - Ramsey Campbell

[spacenutspod]

Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your go-to podcast for the latest news and discoveries in space and astronomy. I'm your host, Anna. Today we have some exciting stories lined up for you. We'll dive into new research on our moon's atmosphere, revealing the powerful effects of meteorite impacts. Next, we'll explore why detecting signs of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations, known as technosignatures, is more challenging than we might think. Finally, we'll uncover recent findings about potential dark matter objects in space discovered using pulsars. So sit back, relax, and let's embark on this cosmic journey together. - NASA astronauts from the Apollo missions uncovered a fascinating aspect of the moon that was previously unknown. It has an atmosphere, although it's incredibly thin, so much so that it's technically classified as an exosphere. But what drives this tenuous lunar atmosphere?  - NASA scientists have been delving into the intriguing question of why we might not be able to detect advanced extraterrestrial civilizations, also known as technosignatures. One prevailing theory suggests that these civilizations may have relatively modest energy requirements, which means they wouldn't necessarily need to construct vast, detectable stellar energy structures, like enormous solar panel arrays that cover their planet's surface, or giant orbiting megastructures, to harvest energy from their star. - Recent research has brought exciting news in our quest to understand dark matter, something that has intrigued astronomers for decades. The study involves pulsars, which are neutron stars known for emitting regular beams of radio waves.  - If you enjoyed today's show, be sure to visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Until next time, keep looking up. www.bitesz.com 

[fishthegenderwitch]

Customer in the store this morning tells me that in one of our sister-stores, the book dept was shelved BY SPINE COLOUR.

Absolutely atrocious. You've turned your merchandise into decor. Nobody's gonna wanna read every single title like that.

I'm so appalled I don't even have WORDS FOR THIS

[gatorsportsfan]

A sputtering offense, a stubborn coach and a $76 million buyout: Inside Jimbo Fisher's Texas A&M downfall

Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff WriterNov 16, 2023, 02:30 PM ET Close Dave Wilson is an editor for ESPN.com since 2010. He previously worked at The Dallas Morning News, San Diego Union-Tribune and Las Vegas Sun. SHORTLY AFTER TEXAS A&M athletic director Ross Bjork fired Jimbo Fisher, he described what the Aggies are seeking in a replacement. They’re looking for a coach who’s open to change, adaptable,…

[ultramet2]

Overview of Vacuum Coating Materials And Technologies

Vacuum coating technology mainly involves the use of different vacuum coating equipment and process methods to generate coated materials on the surface of specific substrates in order to prepare a variety of thin film materials with specific functions. Application areas for vacuum coating technology include flat-panel displays, semiconductors, solar cells, magnetic and optical recording medias, optical components, energy saving glass, LEDs, tool modifications, high-end decorative items, etc. Thin film materials grow on top of substrate materials (such as screen glass, optical glass, etc.) and are generally formed by metal, non-metal, alloy or compound materials (collectively referred to as coating materials) after coating, and have the functions of increased transmission, absorption, cut-off, spectroscopy, reflection, light filtering, interference, protection, water and dirt repellency, anti-static, electrical conductivity, magnetic conductivity, insulation, abrasion resistance, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance, radiation protection, decoration and composite and other functions. Thin film materials can improve product quality, environmental protection, energy saving, extend the life of the product and improve the original performance, etc. As the thin film material is formed after the transfer of the coating material to the substrate, the quality of the film is directly related to the quality of the coating material. Currently, thin film material preparation technologies mainly include: physical vapour deposition (PVD) and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technologies. Among them, physical vapour deposition (PVD) technology mainly includes vacuum sputtering coating, vacuum evaporation coating and vacuum ion coating.

Vacuum sputter coating. It refers to the technique of using ions generated by an ion source, which are accelerated and gathered in a vacuum to form a high ion beams, to bombard the surface of the target (coating material), where kinetic energy is exchanged between the ions and the atoms on the surface of the target, causing the atoms on the surface of the target to leave and be deposited on the surface of the substrate material. The object bombarded with ions is the raw material for the deposition of thin film materials by the vacuum sputtering method and is called a sputtering target.

Principle of vacuum sputtering coating

Generally speaking, sputtering targets are mainly composed of target blanks, back plates (or back tubes) and other parts, of which, target blanks are the target material bombarded by high-speed ion beams, belonging to the core part of sputtering targets. In the sputtering coating process, target blanks are hit by ions and its surface atoms are sputtered out and deposited on the substrate, making thin film materials. As the sputtering target needs to be installed in special equipment to complete the sputtering process, the equipment has a high voltage, high vacuum inner��working environment and most of the target blank material is soft or highly brittle, not suitable for direct installation in the equipment, therefore, it need to be bound with the back plate (or back tube) which mainly plays a role as the fixator of sputtering target and has good electrical and thermal conductivity.

Characteristics of vacuum sputtered films:

Good controllability and repeatability of film thickness. The thickness of the film is controlled at a predetermined value, known as controllability of film thickness. The required film thickness can occur repeatedly, called film thickness repeatability. In vacuum sputter coating, the film thickness can be controlled by controlling the target current.

Strong adhesion of the film to the substrate. The energy of the sputtered atoms is 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than the energy of the evaporated atoms, and the energy conversion of the high-energy sputtered atoms deposited on the substrate is much higher than that of the evaporated atoms, generating higher energy and enhancing the adhesion of the sputtered atoms to the substrate.

In the preparation of alloy and compound films, the components of the target material are very close to that of the film material deposited onto the substrate, avoiding variation and inconsistency in the components and structure of the coating material as it is transferred to produce the film material.

New material films can also be prepared which are different from the target material. If a reactive gas is passed through the sputtering so that it reacts chemically with the target, a new material film which is completely different from the target can be obtained.

High purity of the film layer. The purity of the film is high. The sputtering method does not have the crucible component of the evaporation method, so the sputtering coating does not mix with the crucible heater material and has a higher purity. The disadvantages of the sputtering method are that the film formation speed is lower than that of evaporation, the substrate temperature is higher, it is more susceptible to impurity gases and the device structure is more complex.

Vacuum sputtering has become one of the mainstream technologies for the preparation of thin film materials due to the reproducibility and controllable thickness of the sputtering process, the ability to obtain uniform thickness films on large areas of substrate materials, the high purity of the films prepared, the good density and the strong bonding with the substrate materials. Various types of sputtering targets have been widely used, so the demand for sputtering targets, a functional material with high added value, is increasing at a high rate year by year, and sputtering targets have become the largest market application of PVD coating materials.

Vacuum evaporation coating. It is a deposition technique that uses the thermal energy of a film heating device (called an evaporation source) under vacuum conditions to deposit a substance on the surface of a substrate material by heating it to evaporate. When the mean free path of the evaporated molecules is larger than the dimension line between the evaporation source and the substrate, the evaporated particles escape from the surface of the evaporation source and are rarely hindered by the collision of other particles (mainly residual gas molecules) in the process of flying towards the surface of the substrate, and arrive directly at the surface of the substrate, condensing and producing a thin film. The evaporated material is the raw material for the deposition of thin film materials by vacuum evaporation coating and is called vapour deposition material.

Vacuum evaporation coating system generally consists of three components: the vacuum chamber, the evaporation source or evaporation heating unit, and the device for placing and heating the substrate. In order to evaporate the material to be deposited in a vacuum, a vessel is required to support or contain the evaporate and to provide evaporation heat to bring the evaporate to a high enough temperature to generate the required vapour pressure.

Principle of vacuum evaporation coating

Features of vacuum evaporation coating technology: simple equipment, easy operation, high purity and quality of the film made, accurate controllability of the thickness, fast filming rate , high efficiency, relatively simple growth mechanism of the film, etc.; the disadvantage are that it is not easy to obtain the film with crystalline structure; the adhesion of the film formed on the substrate is small; the repeatability of the process is not good enough, etc.

Vacuum ion coating. This refers to a process in which the film is evaporated or sputtered in a vacuum atmosphere, using an evaporation source or sputtering target, and part of the evaporated or sputtered particles are ionized into metal ions in the gas discharge space, and these particles are deposited onto the substrate under the action of an electric field to produce a thin film. The principle is shown in followed Figure. Firstly, the pressure of the coating chamber is evacuated to below 10-3pa, then the working gas is passed in to increase the pressure to 10^0~10^-1pa and the high pressure is accessed. As the cathode of the evaporation source grounded, the substrate is connected to the adjustable negative bias voltage, then the power supply can establish a low temperature plasma area with low pressure gas discharge between the evaporation source and the substrate, after the evaporation source of resistance heating type is energised and heats the film material, part of the neutral atoms escape from the surface of the film material and ionise into positive ions due to collision with electrons when passing through the plasma in the process of migration to the substrate; another part of the neutral atoms ions can also be generated by colliding with ions in the working gas and exchanging charges. These ions are then accelerated by the electric field and shot towards the substrate where they are connected to the negative potential, resulting in a thin film.

Principle of Vacuum Ion Coating

Characteristics of vacuum ion coating:

film/substrate adhesion is strong and the film layer is not easy to fall off;

ion plating has good diffraction, thus improving the coverage of the film layer;

high quality of the coating;

high deposition rate, film speed. 30 micron thick film can be prepared;

coating can be applied to a wide range of substrate materials and film materials.

Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD). It is a filming technique that uses heating, plasma enhancement and light assist to make a solid film on the surface of a substrate by chemical reaction of gaseous substances under atmospheric or low pressure conditions.

Chemical vapour deposition CVD technology has the following characteristics:

the process and operation of the equipment is relatively simple and flexible, enabling the preparation of single or composite film layers and co-layers in various ratios;

the chemical vapour deposition CVD method is widely applicable;

the deposition rate can be as high as a few microns to hundreds of microns per minute, resulting in high production efficiency;

compared to the PVD method (vapour deposition, sputtering), it has good diffraction properties and is suitable for coating substrates with complex shapes;

good denseness of coating;

low damage after exposure to radiation and integration with the MOS integrated circuit (an integrated circuit consisting of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors as the main components) process.

Summary: Vacuum coating technology mainly includes physical vapour deposition (PVD) technology and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technology. The above mentioned vapour deposition, sputtering and ion deposition are all physical vapour deposition PVD, the basic principle of which can be summarised as follows: vapourisation of the plating material → migration of the atoms, molecules or ions in plating materials → deposition of atoms, molecules or ions in the plating materials on the substrate to recreate a thin film. Chemical vapour deposition CVD can be summarised as: formation of volatile substances → transfer of the substances to the deposition area → chemical reaction on the solid and production of a solid film substance.

[longhua1]

ITO Target

ITO target is made up of a combination of indium oxide and tin oxide and serves as a crucial component in the production of ITO film. This film holds a significant position in the electronic information area and is used in a range of applications such as liquid crystal displays, organic light emitting diodes, touch screens and thin-film solar cells.

Operating Principle of ITO Target

An ITO target is a combination of indium oxide and tin oxide and serves as a crucial raw material in the field of electronic information, specifically in the production of ITO film. Due to its superior electrical conductivity, optical transparency, and high stability, ITO film is employed in different applications such as liquid crystal displays, organic light emitting diodes, touch screens, and thin-film solar cells.

Japan and South Korea have enjoyed a monopoly in the ITO target market for some time now, particularly in high-end TFT applications. However, our company has achieved independent innovation by acquiring core technology for mass-producing high-end ITO target, with multiple intellectual property rights and patent achievements. Presently, our production capacity for ITO targets is approximately 300 tons per year and we provide a steady supply to all TFT production lines ranging from G2.5 to G10.5. The quality of our targets ranks top in China, reaching world-class standards. Our growing market share is a testament to the satisfaction of our clients in the industry.

[zondearts]

Wof sona as todays warm up

[risky-witchy]

Thinking about the new episode of cr and about Dorian and Orym but I’ve seen a lot of people making jokes about Dorian’s dad seeing everyone intrusive themselves and is like ‘wtf is that my son’ and so true so valid but consider.

You are the father of the Wyvernwinds, a family who essentially serves as royalty in their culture. Several years ago your youngest left, likely against your wishes, and just a short period of time ago your oldest dies, and now all of the worlds leaders are gathering to develop a plan to deal with a potential Calamity level event. You spot someone who looks similar to your only living son. He is then a part of the group of, frankly, hooligans who are fucked in the head brave and are gonna be the main task force against this event and summons your goddamn wyvern dragon horse, while wearing the sluttiest outfit you’ve ever seen, as well as a sending stone that matches with the halfling who approached you after who very clearly is fond of your son. Not to mention he doesn’t go by his birth name and title but is wearing gold to symbolize the death of his older brother. What would you do then

[himexyandere]

I can't stop thinking about the typical hero vs villain trope, but this time, the villain gets infatuated with you, the heroine, and it starts to show.

You're informed of the villain's whereabouts as he wreaks havoc throughout the city you protect. You confront him as normal, only to find out that the reason he started blowing up empty buildings was to purposefully draw your attention.

"This was the only way I could get in contact with you, little hero. It's not as if I have your personal number... We could change that now, actually~. Will you give me your number?"

You're beyond confused, assuming at first that he was just messing around and trying to throw you off your game. You engage in battle and exchange blows before your sidekick shows up. The villain clicks his tongue and complains about how your "date has been ruined" before taking off, promising that you'll continue at a later date. Your sidekick is just as confused as you are once they spot the villain flying away, asking you what happened. You have no idea either.

He wastes no time getting back in contact with you, this time, through a private number. You thought it could've been a call from another hero, but no, it's that damned villain again... You, of course, question why in the world he would be calling you, to which he replies with a light chuckle and: "I just wanted to hear your voice. It's been a while since our last rendezvous, sweetheart."

You better believe he won't allow another villain to take up your attention either. He'll get rid of them and then leave a love note for you, bragging about how he's helping make your job a tad bit easier so that the both of you can finally go on a long overdue honeymoon, uninterrupted.

...This man is absolutely insane.

[rollersfataft]

TFsona doodle fo tonite, I'm sitting here cranking 90s in my head since I can't play fortnite

[mommycity]

Geto is a tummy grabber I fear. It’s such a mindless activity for him: he could be hugging you from behind and, there we are, tummy grab. Driving? Hand on tummy. It isn’t just a resting hand either. He’s gripping the fupa. Geto gets such big heart eyes when he does, a part of him melts feeling the plush weight in his hands. He loves when you wear tight clothing that outlines the puffy part of your stomach; he’s practically salivating waiting to get his hands all over your soft tummy. God knows how bad he just want to see his pale dick dragging against your soft midsection. he aches to cover it all in his cum and lap it up like a dog. His cock jumps just thinking about you riding him, stomach bouncing from all of the motion. The way he’d run his fingers through your stretch marks and then plant his hands on your love handles and squeeze. The curse user is pretty much purring when you let him cuddle your tummy,he relishes the smell of the sacred skin. He doesn’t care what he has to do as long as he can touch your tummy. Geto absolutely needs it

[bitsbug]

(from a discussion I had with a friend a bit ago) Hey isn't it really weird how Spearmaster's campaign handles Moon?

The chain of plot events goes that: SRS gives FP self-destruction taboo removal instructions > FP uses insane amounts of water executing it at an ill-advised scale, harming Moon in the process > Moon forces him to stop, he fucks up and gets the rot, Moon is still dying > SRS sends Spearmaster over to FP with a fucking apology letter???

I get that he's SRS's friend, but. There is something more severe happening here than Pebbles being angry. SRS, Moon is on fire right next to him. Yet no action is taken about this, not even bothering to ask her "Hey why didn't you stop him from actively killing you? Are you unable to in some way? Can we help?". It's like, it's like an arsonist setting a house on fire, and then fussing about the arsonist getting burned a little. While somebody's still in the house.

Also she's so uncharacteristically accepting of her death. Y'know? She was begging him to stop, but to Spearmaster she's just "ohh it's too late for me.. send the guys a goodbye letter why don't you?". There's the COLOSSAL missed opportunity of further investigating why she let him hurt her for that long, why she endured beyond the tipping point, but it feels like that intrigue to her character was forgotten. Instead she exists largely to further Pebbles' own arc, passive and mild in comparison. And it sucks! I believe this is probably a symptom of Downpour being so pebbles-centric, which really neutered the story here.

[numberoneredriotfan]

Funny Rodydeku idea- so, Rody doesn't necessarily understand Japanese customs or etiquette. He's done some research but still, there's a lot he doesn't know. One of these things being that people in Japan typically refer to each other by their last names, and that referring to someone by their first name is more of an intimate thing. I just don't think he really made that connection lol. Like, Deku, knowing a bit more about other national customs knew that calling someone by their first name was normal, thus why he refers to Rody as Rody (I also see Deku being fluent in English cause I headcanon his dad as american-).

So, Rody doesn't really call Deku by his actual name at all. It's either Deku, Hero, or mass murderer on some occasions (just to piss off Deku tbh). Making that realization, he decided that he should try calling Deku by his actual name, just to see how he would react! So next time they called each other, after a few minutes of talking, Rody drops the "So, Izuku, how has everything with UA been?" You know, super casually, see if he even notices.

Cue a long bout of silence. And suddenly, Rody's wondering if he fucked up. Did he get his name wrong?? Did he pronounce it wrong??

Then, Deku speaks up in a very flustered and sheepish voice, "You...just called me by my first name..." Rody, dumbfounded at this point, replies "Yeah? I don't know- I just realized I only ever refer to you as Deku so I wanted to give it a try."

Another bout of silence, till Deku calms his beating heart and clears his throat.

"Well, uh, Rody...you probably don't know this, but referring to someone by their first name here is...a bit...of a personal thing...like, normally we only call our family or really close friends by their first name. Or you know...in the case that we're in a relationship..."

Rody took a moment to process what Deku was implying, before the embarrassment washed over him. "Y-You don't say!" He sputtered, Pino now hiding his hair and covering her blush with her wings.

"Not that I mind you calling me by my first name, because I do think we're really good friends but it did kind of take me off guard!! You can keep calling me Izuku if you want!!"

"I think I'll stick to Deku, actually, thanks..."

Though Deku was slightly disappointed, he couldn't help but think about for the next few days how nice his own name sounded on Rody's tongue. Meanwhile, Rody wanted to bury himself as always whenever he managed to embarrass himself in front of Deku.