Simon Mansbridge of the Switzerland-based exhibitor and Expo stakeholder VAT Vacuum says that the event, for which Physics World is a sponsoring partner, “is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the creation of a new conference and exhibition dedicated to vacuum technology in the UK”. Bringing together representatives from industry, research and development, academia and the key suppliers in the industry, Mansbridge adds that Vacuum Expo “will be a valuable platform for exchanging information and establishing new links and contacts for all”.

The conference programme for Wednesday 3 November includes a meeting entitled Innovations in Vacuum Deposited Functional Metal Oxide Coatings, which will run from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The meeting will open with a session on “novel deposition techniques and processes”, which will include presentations from leading academics and members of industry. The session will kick off with a lecture by Andrew Flewitt of the University of Cambridge, who will speak on the low-temperature deposition of metal oxides for transparent microelectronics. Other speakers in that session will include Alistair Kean of Mantis Deposition Ltd, who will talk about the production and application of thin film nanoparticle coatings.

Running concurrently on Wednesday from 11.00 a.m. to 3.30 p.m is the Optical Micro & Nano Fabrication meeting, which is organized by the Optical Group of the Institute of Physics, which publishes Physics World. Speakers at this event include Patrick Salter of the University of Oxford who will describe the parallel optical fabrication of 3D micro-structures. A series of business seminars on innovation and investment will also be held on Wednesday.

Leak detection and RGAs

Anyone running a vacuum system needs to know about leak detection and residual gas analysers (RGA) – which is why the Institute of Physics Vacuum Group and RGA User Group have joined forces to organize a meeting on leak detection and RGA that will run from 10.30 a.m. to 3.10 p.m. The gathering includes an invited lunchtime lecture on “vacuum in the semiconductor industry” by Alan Webb of the optical components manufacturer Oclaro. Other speakers include Hugo Shiers of Diamond Light Source who will talk about the role of RGAs at the UK synchrotron lab and consultant David Hucknall of Low Pressure, who will provide an introduction to leak detection.

Doors to the trade exhibition open at 10.00 a.m. on Wednesday 3 November and firms with products and services on show will include UK-based Chell Instruments, which will be exhibiting a wide range of products including its precision CMV needle valves. Chell’s engineers have been designing and building custom UHV chambers and systems for over 30 years, and the firm has produced vacuum solutions for some of the most demanding applications. Chell also supplies thermocouples and cold cathode gauges from Hastings Instruments and capacitance manometers made by Barocel. These products are supplied complete with ISO17025 calibration in Chell’s UKAS laboratory, which the firm says has the lowest uncertainties for vacuum in the UK.

Manipulating and cooling

Also on hand will be UK-based UHV Design, which will be showcasing its instrumentation for the manipulation, heating and cooling of samples and devices within ultrahigh vacuum environments. UHV Design specializes in the development and manufacture of instrumentation for the manipulation, heating and cooling of samples and devices in ultrahigh vacuum environments. UHV Design’s product range includes linear shift mechanisms; magnetically coupled rotary drives; sample transfer probes; XYZ stages, analysis stages; and deposition stages for sputtering, CVD and MBE. All stages are available with manual or motorized actuation.

The Kurt J Lesker Company (KJLC), which is a manufacturer and global distributor of vacuum technology, will also be at Vacuum Expo 2010. UK-based customers of the firm are served by its European Headquarters in Hastings, UK, and the company has five global warehouse locations and a broad network of dedicated sales staff through the world. KJLC will showcase its new products and as well as its customization capabilities. KJLC’s experts will be on hand to answer questions about the company’s vacuum solutions.

MDC Vacuum Products LLC will be represented at the expo by its European division, UK-based MDC Vacuum Ltd. The company will be exhibiting its vacuum products worldwide including flanges, fittings, and valves. MDC staff will be on hand to discuss the firm’s manipulators, electrical feed-throughs, view ports, electron-beam evaporation and special fabrication technologies.

The exhibition runs until 5.00 p.m. on Wednesday 3 November and from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. on Thursday 4 November.

Vacuum Expo 2010 will run alongside the Photonex Exhibition, which will play host to over 100 suppliers of photonics technology and services. Also running at the same time are a number of photonics-related meetings, a “technology investment forum” and the Machine Vision and Imaging Sciences (MVIS) meeting and exhibition.