Vacuum System Design

Date:

8:30am-4:30pm, Monday, June 3rd, 2019, Sheraton Albuquerque Airport Hotel, Albuquerque, NM

Course Objectives

  • Learn how to select materials and fabricate vessels and components.
  • Learn how to maintain a proper in-chamber environment.
  • Understand the calculations and steps for vacuum pumping system design.
  • Learn about the design and fabrication of vacuum systems.

Course Description:

This course deals with the principal aspects of system design, including materials selection, fabrication techniques, pump selection, sizing pumps and vacuum piping to a chamber, determining pumpdown time, leak rate specification, and surface preparation procedures. Methods for determining ultimate pressures are also discussed.

The course demonstrates that establishing the vacuum environment is the primary criterion for designing, constructing, and operating a vacuum system. A wide range of vacuum environments is discussed, from rough to ultrahigh vacuum, with emphasis on achieving a well-defined degree of vacuum.

The course compares calculated results from both hand calculations and commercially available computer software (not included with course material).

Who Should Attend?

Those familiar with the fundamentals of vacuum technology who are responsible for vacuum system design or fabrication and control of the in-chamber environment.

Instructor:  Timothy Gessert, EPIR

Timothy Gessert is the Managing Member of Gessert Consulting, LLC (Conifer, Colorado, USA), and a former/retired Principal Scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  Tim received degrees in physics from University of Wisconsin – River Falls (B.Sc, 1982), Colorado School of Mines (M.Sc, 1984), and University of Wales – College of Cardiff (Ph.D, 1996).  His 35+ years of research includes synthesis and characterization for photovoltaic and other thin films including GaAs, InP, Si, CuInGaSe2, CdTe, and transparent conducting oxides (TCOs).  Interests also include mentoring graduate students from institutions such as Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, University of Toledo, Vanderbilt University, and University of Illinois at Chicago.  Tim has collaboratively published over 230 papers, 6 book chapters, and has over 30 awarded or pending U.S. patents.  He is active in developing and teaching short courses for various institutions and societies as related Vacuum Technology, Contamination Control, Transparent Conducting Oxides, and Thin-Film Photovoltaics.  Tim has been a long-term member of the American Vacuum Society (AVS), Society of Vacuum Coaters (SVC), the Materials Research Society (MRS), the IEEE, and the Institute of Physics (IOP).  He has served on numerous Conference Committees and Editorial Boards, and is an Associate Editor of the scientific journal Thin Solid Films.

Course Materials

Course notes

Cost:  $690.00

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