The Advantages of Using Magnetron Technology for Deposition

Written by: Denton Vacuum, LLC

Summary: Magnetron technology consists of high voltage and ion bombardment to produce a quality film layer.

This guide brings you the basics of understanding magnetron sputtering technology. Although it may seem like another ordinary form of PVD coating technology it possesses qualities and characteristics that other deposition methods lack.

The Basics

What exactly is magnetron sputtering technology? For one, it’s a physical vapor deposition coating method that’s used to deposit specific metals onto a substrate. Magnetron sputtering utilizes plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition as its primary form of coating due to its high adhesion rates. The process consists of a sputtering material bombarded by a set of ions to a target surface, therefore creating the thin film itself.

The vacuum chamber of the PECVD coating machine is filled to the brim with a select inert gas and charged with a high amount of voltage. A glow discharge is then created which results in the acceleration of ions to the target surface. This creates the plasma coating. The inert gas ions will then eject the sputtering materials which will result in a sputtered coating layer on the products. This is a common deposition method that is used in a variety of industries today.

Characteristics

Some of the main characteristics of magnetron sputtering technology include a water-cooled target to reduce overall radiation heat, oxide coatings, layer uniformity, and smooth sputter coatings (depending on the specific type of magnetron sputtering system utilized during the process). These make up the bulk of magnetron technology’s strengths and are the reasons why so many people use this technology over others.

A Brief Explanation of Thin Film Coating Through the Means of Thermal Evaporation

Thermal evaporation has become one of the most commonly used ways to coat a substrate.

EXILIS_MDOne of the most common methods of thin film deposition is through the process of thermal evaporation, which incorporates the use of vacuum technology to apply coats of pure materials that stick to the surface of various objects. The benefits that a thermal evaporation system provides to the user range from efficient coatings to wide surface area reach. In most cases, the use of thermal evaporation is preferred due to its ease of use and efficiency.

The Process of Coating

The coatings that are created through the vacuum are called films. These films range in thickness and can be a single material or multiple materials in a layered type of structure.

The materials that are used can be pure atomic elements that include both nonmetals and metals like oxides and nitrides. The object that is coated is known as the substrate and can be anything from a semiconductor wafer to medical device coatings. The possibilities are endless as technological advancement has led to a wide array of uses.

Thermal evaporation begins by heating a solid material inside a vacuum chamber, which forces it to reach a temperature that releases vapor pressure. This evaporated material will then traverse the chamber and hit the substrate at a designated speed, which forms the coating, or film.

The material is often heated to its melting point and turns into liquid, which is located at the bottom of the chamber in a crucible setup. The vapor will then rise from the bottom of the chamber and inverted in appropriated fixtures – which will then proceed to coat the substrate.


Denton Vacuum, LLC is a reputable supplier of thin film coating systems. For processes, such as UHV sputter deposition, contact Denton Vacuum, LLC for their expertise advice. For more information visit them online today.

The Similarities Shared Between RNA Synthesis and DNA Synthesis

It’s been known that RNA and DNA carry out the process of transcription in a similar fashion.

RNA Synthesis

There are numerous similarities between RNA and DNA during the process of synthesis. When it comes to transcription, or RNA synthesis, there are four stages that occur: initiation, binding, elongation, and termination. All of these stages are extremely intricate and detailed, but, they all require RNA polymers to be bound to a template strand of DNA. Now, DNA plays an important role in the entire synthesis process. Essentially, they’re the template from which RNA copies from. The RNA nucleotides will go through a variety of sequences throughout the synthesis process until it reaches the specific sequence that it needs. It then detaches itself from the DNA followed by terminating the entire process.

DNA Synthesis

The process of DNA synthesis is fairly similar to the RNA synthesis process in that involves the binding of polymers. But, as it proceeds through the sequencing stages it becomes much more complicated, involving the creation and identification of new strands. When the DNA polymerases synthesize, there’s something known as a lagging strand that is created alongside the process. To help understand this, think of two strands synthesizing at the same time. However, one strand will synthesize continuously while the other strand follows discontinuously. This gap is what creates the lagging strand. The process of DNA synthesis then proceeds similar in the way that RNA synthesis does until the DNA template directs it to stop.

The Bottom Line

Both RNA and DNA synthesis work in a similar fashion to each other. They both go through the synthesis steps and discontinue upon the creation of the sequence. Additionally, they also follow similar patterns during transcription. Although DNA synthesis is viewed as the more complex process, RNA synthesis can almost be viewed as a simplified version.


 

The Midland Certified Reagent Company supplies high-end oligos catered for any research purpose. Visit them online for more information.

How Warfare Changed Calculations

WarfareBy Samuel Phineas Upham

World Wars I and II significantly changed how we used calculators. It’s strange to consider that dropping bombs required greater computational urgency than sending a man to the moon, the latter being accomplished with the use of a slide ruler, but the reality is that warfare and math go hand in hand. For the military to perform precision air strikes, or to shoot down incoming planes with any sense of accuracy, real-time calculations had to be performed.

Math had another coveted property: encoding. Using mathematic principles applied to language or numbers could produce a code for communication. The enemy on both sides struggled throughout World War II to gather intelligence in order to crack these codes. A great deal of money was poured into programs designed to crack intelligence codes and decipher communications to gain the upper hand in war.

Most of these attempts were more like machinery you’d find in a factory, complete with turning gears and rotating cylinders. It wasn’t until 1946 that the first object resembling what we’d recognize as a modern computer came to be. ENIAC (the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was basically a large calculator. It was designed to perform calculations rapidly, and had the ability to hold a ten digit memory. It was a marvel for its time, easily thousands of times faster than anything that had come before it.

It wasn’t until the miniaturization of valves and tubes that the office calculator began to take shape. The basic design used push buttons and a modest storage to perform a range of calculations, only evolving throughout the ages to the desktop you’re no doubt reading this article on.


About the Author: Samuel Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media and Telecom group. You may contact Phin on his Samuel Phineas Upham website or Twitter.

Measuring Stress using your Smartphone

Article written by GigaTech, latest technology, news and articles

Stress has been shown to cause several diseases and be detrimental to your health. Now there is a way to measure that stress using your cellphone. There are two methods. They both use the same technology, known as Heart Rate Variability (HRV).

Heart rate variability is the measurement of the time between heart beats. Although counter intuitive, a steady heartbeat with little to no variation is actually considered to be a sign of physiological stress. A healthy low stress individual would have a heartbeat with a high degree of variability.

The two methods are both smartphone based but vary on the method of getting the heartbeat data. The first method requires a bluetooth heart rate monitor. That data is fed into a HRV app and then the data is analyzed and current stress levels are displayed. This is the most accurate method but involves purchasing a heart rate monitor. To maximize accuracy, a chest strap basemysystemsjournal3d heart rate monitor is preferred.

The second method, is to use the camera of the smartphone to analyze your heartbeat. Although not as accurate, it has been shown to correlate very well with dedicated heart rate monitors. This is also the cheapest and most accessible method for most users. People who are not the most physically active and have no use for an actual heart rate monitor will find this method the most useful.

How Does Current VR Technology Work

mysystemsjournal2Virtual Reality is being hailed as the next big thing in tech. The highlight of the last Consumer Electronics Show was every company showing or announcing their VR plans. Even Apple is rumored to have up to 800 people working on some form of virtual reality tech. At present there are two products on the horizon which are generating the most buzz. The two products are by Oculus and HTC.

The Oculus rift is a head mounted virtual reality stereoscopic 3D display. You get a controller and can look around in every direction. However, VR is more than just about games. While gaming is the primary draw, the ability to look around in 3D limited mostly to cockpit based interactions. You can be in the cockpit of a fighter and can actually look around for enemy fighters. The other two uses for VR are movies and exploration. With exploration you can explore any location in the world in 3D. Think of it as an upgraded version of Google streetview. When it comes to movies, you can simulate being in an IMAX size cinema. It could possibly be the future of movie watching from the home.

The HTC Vive takes the above one step further. In addition to watching movies etc the gaming on the Vive has a new angle to it. It requires a room with a minimum size of 9 by 12 feet. Sensors are placed along the edges of the walls and you get two controllers. The games are different in that you can now move around this virtual area.

The demos of these games have been called “game-changing” by the tech media. However, it remains to be seen if these are mass market products.

Creating Diamond-like Carbon Coatings

Written by: Denton Vacuum, LLC

Diamond-like carbon coatings can be created in a laboratory.

Diamond like carbon coatings can be deposited in a variety of ways using different methods. Some of these methods include: ion beam, electron beam, lasers, and sputter coating.

The Coating Process

The entire coating process takes place in a specially designed vacuum chamber that varies by system. Some of the more optimal systems utilize a fixated carousel that the vacuum lies on. The source material is then preheated to a specific temperature, typically less than 150 degrees Celsius. During the preheating process, the substrate that is going to be coated is rid of all of the moisture produced by the material utilizing the vacuum attached to the sputter coater. The adhered moisture can affect the product’s properties as well as the final result.

The next phase requires there to be a scrubbing of the surface with ions to enhance the overall adhesion and scatter. Once the cleaning process has completed, an optional gas is added into the chamber which then transitions into the coating step. Finally, the electrical charge created by the carousel then draws the hydrogen and carbon ions to the surface therefore creating the thin film layer. The carousel can also rotate to improve the uniformity and prevent any thin film evaporation from occurring on the final product.

The Final Product

Diamond like carbon coatings are high quality films that surpass the conventional plating methods used regularly. By redefining the film’s properties like hardness and structure, one can expect a uniform film that is optimal for various applications.

Finding a Quality Oligonucleotide Supplier

Oligonucleotide SupplierWritten by: The Midland Certified Reagent Company

Here are some factors that you should consider.

If you are a laboratory that is in need of custom oligonucleotides, there are a variety of factors that you need to look at before selecting your supplier of choice. There are many trusted and reputable brands out there that meticulously care for their products and those should be the companies that you should be doing business with.

Flexibility

When you’re dealing with a supplier, you’re going to want to make sure that they supply you with a flexible amount of oligos for your laboratory. B sure to check the flexibility of their synthesis scales as well as how their bulk orders work as well – usually you’ll be able to score a discount when ordering in bulk. You’re also going to want to take a look at their catalogue to ensure that they can supply you with the customized oligo that you need.

Quality

Check their certifications to see if they are qualified to work with. ISO9001 certified is the standard that you should be looking for. If your modified oligo comes to you in an altered state, there would be no reason for them to refund it. Be sure that they provide quality products at a fair price as well. You may also check to see if they have comprehensive quality control reports.

Summing It Up

Find a reputable company that offers oligos that are flexible enough to offer you various DNA synthesis scales at a competitive price. It’s important that you perform adequate research to avoid wasting both your time and money.

Alfred Mann Foundation Creates Amazing Robotic Hand for Retired Denver Marine

The biggest challenge for those who lose limbs through amputation or trauma is that life never really returns to a sense of normalcy. If you lose a leg, going for a run feels like a luxury. Losing your sight or your hearing can completely change how you interact with the world around you.

This harsh reality was daily routine for James Sides, a retired Staff Sergeant from Colorado. During his second tour of Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Sides encountered an IED. Trained in disposal, Sides went to work on clearing the bomb. Without warning, the bomb detonated. The blast sent shrapnel into his body and knocked him over. It also blinded him in one eye, broke his forearm and took one of his hands.

That’s where the Alfred Mann Foundation, Steve Doctrow and Rogers and Cowan thought that they might be able to help improve the quality of Sides’ life. Founded by Alfred Mann in 1985, the foundation has several core goals including the exploration of how bionics can improve quality of life for people like James Sides. Rogers and Cowan helped to facilitate this exchange and promote the project. This kind opf breakthrough is unprecedented, and the Foundation wanted big attention for their unveiling.

They fitted Sides with a device that has two components. The first is smaller than a penny. It’s a tiny sensor that must be embedded within the muscles of the arm. This transceiver uses radio frequencies to interpret muscle movements that would dictate how the hand might respond. Outsides see a man moving his hand, but the science behind this shows an incredible understanding of the human body.

Although this technology is promising, Sides is one of only seven people in the world to have a robotic arm. The Alfred Mann Foundation hopes that these early proofs of concept will give way to more affordable devices that can be deployed to the general population.

What You Need to Know About Troubleshooting Wi-Fi Issues

Trying to figure out what is wrong with a network can be a difficult task. You need patience if you want to resolve the issue.

The problem can be either simple or a complex one depending on the situation and there are steps that you take in either case.

Apart from the complex issues that might be reason why your device cannot access the Wi-Fi network, there are two simple ones: your laptop or your router.

 mystemsjournal2

Probably the first thing that you should do is test the network by using another laptop or any other device that uses Wi-Fi. If this device can use Wi-Fi flawlessly, then the problem is with your computer instead and not the network.

Now that you know that the problem is with your system, ensure that the Wi-Fi switch is turned on your system. Usually there’s a hardware switch that you can flip off and on.

Windows will usually tell you whether it’s turned back on or not. However, if that doesn’t fix the problem, then you can try to reboot the system in order to see if that works or not.

Also, make sure you are connecting to the right network and using the right password if that didn’t work either. For that, click the Wi-Fi icon in the notification area for the networks in your area. It should say ‘Connected’ but it probably won’t.

Another thing that you can try is to shut down your firewall. Also, try checking for the number of bars right next to your network’s name to see if you have a strong connection or not.

If none of these work then there’s a problem with the network. Try rebooting it. Unplug the modem and router, wait for a couple of minutes and start it again.

Finally, if that doesn’t work, connect the laptop to the router through the Ethernet cable. This should tell you whether the issue with the router’s Wi-Fi. If that’s the problem, the go to the router’s settings and change the Wi-Fi channel.