Click here to open the special supplement on vacuum science and technology that was published with the October 2005 issue of Physics World (10.5 MB pdf file).
Reliability and innovation are touchstones for the vacuum industry in the 21st century. Reliability is needed to get the most out of expensive manufacturing equipment, while innovation is essential to cope with the increasingly complex demands being placed on the suppliers of vacuum equipment by a wide range of customers. This special Physics World supplement starts with a general introduction to vacuum science and technology by Ugo Valbusa, president of the International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Applications (see p5). This is complemented by a summary of the broad field of vacuum coating, including the crucial process that goes by the name of “sputtering” (p11), advice about how a Master’s degree can improve your career prospects in the vacuum industry (p9), and a trio of case-studies from different vacuum companies (pp7, 15 and 17). This is the fourth year in a row that Physics World has published a vacuum supplement. We hope you enjoy it as much as you did the previous three.
Vacuum around the world
The International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Applications (IUVSTA) represents all sections of the international vacuum community, as its president, Ugo Valbusa, explains
Rising to the uniformity challenge
Building a “showerhead” for a gas reactor presented a number of challenges, as Paul Brooker of Creative Group describes
Mastering the vacuum
An MSc in vacuum technology is a passport to a career in many different industries. Philip Parsons recounts how he landed a job at GV Instruments
The secret world of vacuum coating
What do drill bits, food packing and architectural glass have in common? They all rely on vacuum coatings, as David J Christie of Advanced Energy Industries reports
Innovative approaches to pumping
Architectural glass production places big demands on pumping systems. Willijan Vissers of Varian Incorporated describes what is involved
Model shows how to turn one pump into two
How do you convert an ordinary turbo pump into a split-flow version? Andy Pearce of Oxford Vacuum Science explains all
Diary
