Join us for the first webinar of 2023 as we introduce the HEX- our highly modular, benchtop thin-film coating system. Learn how the HEX’s open-frame architecture allows panels, sample tables, sources and in-situ measurement instruments to be interchanged with no specialist tools, providing a unique level of freedom to those in the thin-film R&D sector. Our novel, modular design offers researchers unmatched flexibility in retrofitting this PVD system with upgrades and third-party components. 

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) is a method widely used across industry to deposit a very thin layer of a material on a surface to alter its properties. The technique has been utilized in various areas of battery research, including solid-state batteries.

A key challenge with solid state batteries is the high impedance at the interface between the cathode and the electrolyte. PVD is ideally suited to develop model systems to study and look to improve this problem.

PVD also allows high throughput screening of different materials to accelerate new composition developments with enhanced electrochemical properties.

The HEX series of PVD instruments is ideally suited for battery research. It is a cost-effective solution that is mounted below the glovebox, allowing use of the glovebox for other purposes and easy access to the vacuum chamber for modification and cleaning. The highly modular nature allows configuration changes without specialist tools, enabling changes in research direction without additional costs.

Thin-film coating processes are ubiquitous across the scientific world. They have historically been used to design optical cavities, coatings for SEM and give materials useful cosmetic or practical properties. More recently, they are gaining ground in the world of solid state batteries and thin-film perovskite solar cells. Join us for an overview of thin-film deposition techniques, including PVD, CVD, roll-to-roll coating and much more.