Vacuum Science World - Blog

How Vacuum Technology Supports COVID-19 Vaccine Efficacy

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 10:45:00 GMT

The storage and transport of COVID-19 vaccines has to be managed in a cold chain, with the first approved vaccine by Pfizer-BioNtech requiring storage temperatures of -70 C. Besides using dry ice (solid carbon dioxide at -75.8 C), Vacuum Insulated Panels and vacuum insulation have become attractive solutions.

The key working principles of High and Ultra-High vacuum pumps

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 11:30:00 GMT

High Vacuum (HV) and Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV) levels can only be effectively and efficiently obtained by using a main pump that has the functional capabilities. Choosing which pump to use depends on a number of factors, such as noise/vibration, cost (initial and on-going), tolerance to contamination, footprint, maintenance schedules, and resilience to shock.

Introduction to Vacuum Coating by Thermal Evaporation

Thu, 07 Jan 2021 11:15:00 GMT

In our previous blog post, Introduction to Vacuum Coating Technology, we shared various PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) methods and showed typical products being coated using vacuum technologies. Thin films can be adhered to metal, glass, plastics, ceramics, or paper. In this blog post we will focus on Thermal Evaporation techniques.

How to reduce outgassing in vacuum systems

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 13:30:00 GMT

This blog is based on the article in Applied Science and Convergence Technology 26 (5): 95-109 (2017) R Grinham and A Chew.

There are four main ways you can reduce outgassing in your vacuum system. These are: cleaning and handling, surface treatment, passivation, and purging and backfilling. In this blog, we will take a closer look at each of these methods.

Introduction to outgassing

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 11:00:00 GMT

This blog is based on the article in Applied Science and Convergence Technology 26 (5): 408-310-7557 R Grinham and A Chew.

There are several contributions to the gas load of a system. At pressures below ~0.1 mbar, the most dominant is often ‘outgassing’. Outgassing is the result of desorption of previously adsorbed molecules, bulk diffusion, permeation and vapourisation. Adsorption occurs via two main processes, physisorption and chemisorption, and can be described using five (or six) classifying isotherms.

When to Use Direct vs Indirect Gauges

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:30:00 GMT

Measuring vacuum pressure is a fundamental element of all vacuum applications, but there’s no such thing as a universal vacuum gauge.

When it comes to measuring vacuum pressure, no single gauge will respond accurately throughout the entire vacuum range (from atmospheric pressure to 10 ^-12 mbar). That’s why a clear understanding of the differences between the types of gauges is essential to match them to the right operational contexts.

5 Ways Vacuum Contributes to Space Simulation & Research

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 11:30:00 GMT

Space technology and research would be nowhere without vacuum technology. But, with such complex work, it’s easy to lose sight of where (and how and why) vacuum plays such an important role. So we’ve published a new eBook that unpacks the most common applications of vacuum technology in space — with details on how it supports space flights, space simulation and vacuum testing and fundamental space research.

Introduction to Vacuum Coating Technology

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 14:30:00 GMT

Vacuum Coating — also called ‘Thin Film Technology’; or Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) — represents an impressive share among the various applications of vacuum technology. In this blog post, we share an overview of the historical development, the various basic principles underpinning the generating of thin films, and the general layout of coating devices.

100 Years of the Holweck Vacuum Pump

Mon, 19 Oct 2020 09:30:00 GMT

2020 marks the centenary of the development of the Holweck pump by the French physicist Fernand Holweck. As well as a stand-alone pump the Holweck design is used as a compound pumping stage in the widely employed TURBOVAC, nEXT and STP pumps. In this respect the Holweck design has been utilised to make significant advancements and improvements to the development of turbomolecular pumps over the last half century.