Newsletter - August 2007

Welcome to the August 2007 issue of the CSMA newsletter

XPS Open Days

In previous issues of the newsletter we have been highlighting some of the new capabilities of the Kratos XPS, including both elemental and oxidation-state imaging and quantified depth profiling. To showcase the XPS further a series of open days will be held on Tuesdays and Thursday in August and September. These days will consist of a demonstration of the instrument on a sample of the customer choosing and will be based on only one customer on-site per day to ensure confidentiality. Places on these open days are limited - for further information or to reserve your place please contact Justine Bentley on justine.bentley@ceram.com

Introducing Clive

Clive Jones joined CSMA on the 2nd July. An experienced scientist Clive previously worked for Evans Analytical and AMD in the US as well as Millbrook Instruments in the UK. Clive is a graduate of Sheffield University with a PhD in Physics. He also did postdoctoral research in mass spectrometry at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg as well as the Physics Department, UC Berkeley. Based in Silicon Valley for many years working both for contract surface analysis laboratories as well as on site FAB support facilities, his main focus has been on the technology sector, especially semiconductors and nano-technology.

CSMA Launches New Website

CSMA's new website was officially launched on the 27th July. The new site has been designed to make accessing information on CSMA services easier. A number of new case studies have been added with the techniques section expanded.

ACTECO

The EU funded ACTECO project are hosting their autumn meeting in October at CSMA. The ACTECO project comprises 25 partners from 8 European Countries.  This public project is concerned with the applications of plasma technologies for the functionalisation/coating of materials which are used in the textile/yarn, food packaging/processing and biomedical industries.

As part of the project an educational day will be held on the 17th October. The training day is open to the public and will include presentations from a number of the ACTECO partners to highlight the industrial benefits of the ACTECO project including reduced usage of water, solvents & chemicals (including toxic compounds); reduced waste/hazardous products; reduced energy and raw material consumption and controllable highly specific reactions for tailored, often innovative, surface engineering.

For further information, details on attending and a detailed program please click here.

Workshop Update

Further to the details in the last CSMA newsletter, the 2008 workshop will take place on the 27th February 2008. The day will once again be split between presentations and laboratory demonstrations as well as time set aside for confidential one-to-one discussions.

To register your interest please contact Justine Bentley, e-mail justine.bentley@ceram.com

Plasma Rig

To compliment CSMA's extensive analytical facilities a Chemex Plasma Rig has recently been set-up at the Stoke-on-Trent laboratory.

CSMA's clients can now assess the effect of plasma treatments, RF or DC, on samples without the need to transport samples to the laboratory following treatment-especially important when the plasma effect is time dependent. Samples can be plasma treated and then surface analysed after pre-determined storage times. This can mimic the client's manufacturing/logistics procedure.

Cleaning plasma based on Oxygen and Argon are available as standard with more sophisticated plasmas (for surface modification) available on request.

The combination of plasma treatment with quantified XPS (X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) is a key feature of biomedical device development. The concept is now being adopted by other industries such as packaging, automotive and electronic.

For further information please contact Justine Bentley, e-mail justine.bentley@ceram.com

Events 2007

CSMA are exhibiting at a number of forthcoming events:

Biotech Forum 24-26th September, Stockholm International Fairs, Sweden

Manufacturing Technology Ireland 7-8th November, National Show Centre Dublin

For further details or to arrange to meet a CSMA representative please follow the links above.