M. Sc.

in Physics
Veer Narmad South
Gujarat University

Semester-02
(VNSGU)

PH-424, Elective-02, Thin Film Technology and Non

Destructive Technology (NDT)

Unit-01: Vacuum Science and Vacuum Technology

 PH-424, Syllabus

Unit-01: Vacuum Science & Vacuum Technology

Unit-02: Thin Film Technology

Unit-03: Thin Film Characterization

Unit-04: Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)

 Syllabus-Unit-01

Unit-1: Vacuum Science and Vacuum

Technology
 Course Delivery Plan
Introduction: Vacuum Characterisation & Unit of Vacuum, Classification
of Classification of Vacuum Range and pumps.

Characterization of Good vacuum Pumps, Production of Vacuum: Rotary

pump, Molecular Drag and Turbo-Molecular Pump

Diffusion pump, Sorption pump, Thermodynamics of Adsorption, Typical

Sorbants used in Vacuum Technology, Construction & action of Sorption
pump
Gettering and ion pumping, Pressure measurement in Vacuum systems:
Classification of vacuum Gauages, Mechanical gauges: Diaphragm,
Mcleod gauge, Thermal conductivity gauge

Hot & Cold Cathode Ionization Gauge, Bayard-Alpert gauge, History,

Applications and Scope of Vacuum Science and Technology
Read from the following…
Introduction: Vacuum Science & Technology
Introduction: Vacuum Science & Technology
Introduction: Vacuum Science & Technology
 Atmosphere of Earth

 A layer of gases, known collectively as Air

 As of 2023, by mole fraction (i.e., by number of molecules), dry air contains 78.08%
Nitrogen, 20.95% Oxygen, 0.93% Argon, 0.04% Carbon Dioxide, and small amounts of
other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapour, on average around 1% at
sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere.
 What is vacuum?
The atmospheric air around us is said to contain nearly 2.5 x 1019 molecules for
every cubic centimeter space. Any given space having molecular density less than this is said
to be under “Vacuum” condition. The technology dealing with the production of such
reduced pressure environment using different scientific concepts is known as “Vacuum
Technology”.
Vacuum Technology is fundamental to range of scientific exploration and
technological processes; extending from analysing atomically clean surfaces at extremely
low pressure of the order 10−11 (1 Torr = 1 mm Hg) to freeze drying of foodstuff at relatively
high pressure in the range of 10−1 Torr. Vacuum conditions between these extremes are
required for TV tube production, vacuum coating, semiconductor processing, particle
accelerators, space simulation, etc.
 Where is vacuum?

A clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a

very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well
isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and
Light Bulbs contain a Chemical Vapor Deposition(CVD)
actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for
partial vacuum, is a Vacuum deposition method
scientific research, and in industrial production for all
used to produce high-quality, and
usually backfilled with nanoscale processes, such as semiconductor
high-performance, solid materials. manufacturing. A cleanroom is designed to keep
Argon, which protects The process is often used in the everything from dust, to airborne organisms, or
the Tungsten filament. Semiconductor Industry to produce vaporised particles, away from it, and so from whatever
Thin Films. material is being handled inside it.
 Pressure Comparison

Pressure (Torr, atm) Mean free path Molecules per cm3

Standard Atmosphere, for

760 torrs (1.00 atm) 66 nm 2.5×1019
comparison
Vacuum Cleaner 600 70 nm 1019
24 torrs
Liquid ring vacuum pump (0.032 atm)
1.75 μm 1018

8.66 to 0.23 torrs

Mars atmosphere (0.01139 to 0.00030 atm)
0.1 to 0.01 torrs
Incandescent light Bulb (0.000132 to 1.3×10−5 atm)
1 mm to 1 cm 1015 to 1014

1×10−2 to 1×10−4 torrs

Thermos Bottle (1.316×10−5 to 1.3×10−7 atm)
1 cm to 1 m 1014 to 1012

Earth Thermosphere 10−2 to 10−9 1 cm to 100 km 1014 to 107

Vacuum Tube 10−7 to 10−10 1 to 1,000 km 109 to 106
Cryo-pumped MBE chamber 10−9 to 10−11 100 to 10,000 km 107 to 105
Pressure on the Moon 10−11 10,000 km 4×105
 Vacuum Technology- a brief history…

 The history of vacuum technology with Galileo (1564-1642) who was the first to conduct
experiment to produce vacuum with a piston in cylinder for removal of water from mine.
Later in 1643, Torricelli, an associate of Galileo, discovered the vacuum which is produced
at the top of a column of mercury when a long tube (closed at one end) with mercury is
inverted in a trough containing mercury. During the same period Pascal (1623-62) carried
out several vacuum physics experiments and was among the first to devise a barometer.
In honor of these two great scientists, we now have two units of vacuum namely, Torr and
Pascal. Guericke (1654) was the first to show the practically useful mechanical effects
associated with the forces due to pressure difference between vacuum and atmosphere.
 The invention of the vacuum diode (1902) and triode (1907) and of the tungsten filament
(1909), initiated the development of the electron and X-ray tubes. During the same
period, McLeod (1874) developed his primary gauge to measure pressure accurately. In
fact, the two–stage rotary pump, the oil diffusion pump and the cold/hot cathode
ionization gauge and the Pirani /thermocouple gauge became the standard component of
vacuum systems for different applications.
 Vacuum Technology- a brief history…

 A new design in vacuum pumps introduced by W. Becker (1958) based on the principle of
molecular drag of a high speed rotor (W.Gaede, 1912) led to present day turbo molecular
pumps. This is an important development in ultra high vacuum technology (<10−10Torr).
More recently, with the development of reliable closed cycle helium gas cyroefrigerators,
cryopumps with huge capacity are being developed by vacuum industries for space
simulation and particle accelerator applications.
 Units of Vacuum
 Vacuum is basically measured in pressure units. In a coherent unit system the pressure in
chamber is defined as the force acting on unit surface area and its dimensional formula is
𝑙 −1 m 𝑡 −2 , where l, m and t present the base units of length, mass and time respectively.
 In SI unit, the unit of pressure is newton/𝑚2 or Pascal and in the CGS system of unit is
dyne/ 𝑐𝑚2 .
 The standard atmosphere is defined as the pressure exerted by a column of mercury
760mm high.
 In recent scientific literature, this standard is often expressed in Torr and mbar, Which are
non-coherent pressure units, but widely used.
1 Torr = 1mmHg = 1/760 atm and 1 mbar = 100 pascal = 1/1013 atm
 Common Units of Vacuum
 atm – standardized atmospheric pressure, 760 mmHg
 PSI – pounds per square inch, absolute (PSIA) or gauge pressure (PSIG)
 InHg – inches of mercury
 mmHg – millimeters of mercury
 Torr – almost but not exactly equal to millimeters of mercury
 micron (mTorr) – a millitorr is 1000th of a Torr
 kPa – kilopascals, newton-force per square meter
 mbar – millibars, bar (kPa x 100) x 1000
 Vacuum Pressure Range
These are the vacuum pressure ranges as measured in Torr (or fractions of 1 Torr).
 Atmospheric pressure: 760 Torr
 Rough vacuum: 760 to 25 Torr
 Medium vacuum: 25 to 1×10-3 Torr
 High vacuum: 1×10-3 to 1×10-9 Torr
 Ultra-high vacuum: 1×10-9 to 1×10-12 torr
 Extremely high vacuum: Less than 1×10-12 Torr
 Classification of Vacuum Range & Pump

 By analyzing the values of n, λ, τ and D ( characteristic dimension of the chamber ), we can

classify vacuum into three types, however, The international standard usually divides the
vacuum into four levels: low vacuum, medium vacuum, high vacuum, and ultra-high vacuum :
1. Low (medium) vacuum: The number of gas molecules in the enclosed volume is much larger
compared to that covering the surface of a given chamber. While 760-0.5 Torr is known as
low vacuum, 0.5 to 0.001 Torr is referred to as medium vacuum. In these ranges of vacuum
the molecules in the chamber collide more with each other than with the covering surface
and hence the molecular mean free path λ is smaller compared to the characteristic
dimension D. i.e. λ < < D. The flow of gases under such vacuum condition is viscous and is
governed by collisional and diffusion processes.
2. High vacuum: The gas molecules in the system are located principally on surfaces as the
mean free path is larger than the characteristic dimension D. Particles can freely travel in
the vacuum enclosure colliding more with the walls of chambers than with other molecules.
The range extends from 10−3 to 10−7 Torr and is characterized by the relationship λ > D.
The flow of gases under such condition is molecular without any viscous drag effects.
 Classification of Vacuum Range & Pump
3. Ultra high vacuum: The range covers the pressure from 10−7 to 10−16 Torr, where the time
to form a monolayer τ is larger than the usual time for laboratory measurement, thus clear
surface can be prepared and their properties can be studies. In this range λ>>D and the
associated gas flow is purely molecular.
 Characterization of Good Vacuum Pump :
• Simple and compact structure, insensitive to dust and water vapor in the pump gas
• The compression is relatively low and the effect on hydrogen extraction is poor.
• The rotor surface is curved cylinder with a more complex shape, which is difficult to
process and inspect.
• The pump cavity does not need to be sealed and lubricated with oil, which can reduced
the pollution of the vacuum system by oil vapor.
• There is no compression in the pump cavity and no exhaust valve.
• There are gap between the rotor and the housing , no lubrication , small friction losses,
which can greatly reduce the drive power, so as to achieve higher speeds
 Vacuum Pump - types
 A vacuum pump is a piece of equipment capable of generating a partial or low-pressure
vacuum by pushing gas or air molecules out of a sealed chamber.
 Low and medium vacuums are commonly seen in industrial systems such as vacuum
grippers, vacuum cleaners, incandescent bulbs, painting, sandblasting, vacuum furnaces,
and negative pressure ventilation. Higher vacuum systems are used for laboratory
applications such as particle reactors and accelerators.
Vacuum Pump - types
Vacuum Pump - types
 Rotary Pump
 Rotary pump is designed for producing a high vacuum and the exhaustion of vessels of large
capacity.
 It works directly from atmospheric pressure and being entirely immersed in oil the leakage of
air into the high vacuum is prevented.
 The pump consists of an outer steel casing through which is bored a cylindrical chamber.
 A shaft, runs through the chamber, its axis being parallel to but eccentric from the axis of the
chamber.
 This shaft revolved about its own axis and always touches the periphery of the chamber at
the point .
 On each side of this point is a part, one an inlet and the other an outlet, which is fitted with
a spring loaded valves H.
 In the shaft is a slot in which two plates.
 These two plates are kept apart and their extreme edges forced against the periphery of the
chamber by a series of springs placed at right angles to the axis of the shaft, one of the
which is shown in sectional view.
 Rotary Pump
 To understand the action of the pump let us consider the position shown in the diagram. The
shaft is rotating in an anticlockwise direction and the effective space between the chamber
and the shaft is divided into two portion.
 As the shaft rotates, remembering that the plate is touching the wall of the chamber the
portion enlarges and air is drawn in from the vessel to be exhausted through the inlet pipe .
 The portion is getting smaller and any air in it will be compressed.
 When the pressure is sufficiently great this air escapes through the exhaust valve.
 Thus the pump will exhaust air from the vessel to which the inlet pipe is connected.
 Another form of rotary oil pump is shown in fig.
 A rotor mounted eccentrically on its shaft, moves in the direction of the curved arrows inside
the cylinder at 200 to 300 revolutions per minute.
 In stage a of the figure, gas from the chamber to be evacuated enters the chamber ,which it
continues to fill in different stages.
 As the cylinder continues its rotation, this gas occupies the chamber which becomes smaller
in the successive stage.
 Rotary Pump
 In this way the gas is compressed and forced out through the valve .
 The inlet and the outlet chambers are isolated from each other by the oiled vane , which is
held in close contact with the rotor by a spring at the top.
 Two such pumps are mounted on the same shaft with a small phase in oil.
 A valve is provided at the inlet to prevent oil being sucked back into the evacuated system.
Such pumps can reduce the pressure to 0.001mm.
Rotary Pump
Read from the following & Thanks…