Gilbert Group

We worked with our industrial partner, Ametek, to develop methods to prepare metallic thin-film coatings inside cylindrical semiconductor. The senior design students, in a two-semester project, developed and assembled a UHV thermal evaporator (aluminum) with in-situ linear translation in order to achieve a uniform coating. Samples were compared against films grown by sputtering (Cr) and electroless deposition (Ag).

We hosted a team of five undergraduate MSE seniors in the design and construction of a high-voltage electrospinner, then the fabrication, testing and optimization of electrospun textiles for Covid-19 response. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation RAPID program, which is tasked with developing a scientific response to the Coronavirus pandemic with improved testing and prevention tools and techniques.

In the Spring of 2019 we hosted a team of five undergraduate MSE students (Melanie Buziak, Cullen Pearson, Caitlin Harpell, Morgan Yount, Trent Charnock) tasked with building a thermal evaporator system. The design required an intricate understanding of vacuum systems, high-power electronics, and thermal management. As a consequence of the Coronavirus pandemic, the project was cut short, ending in mid-March (two months into a four month project). At the end of the project, the students had assembled the vacuum system, designed and fabricated a custom hearth and installed it in the chamber, installed the high-power feedthroughs, designed a custom sample holder, installed the pumps and manometers, and were able to pull pressures of <1 mTorr (from a roughing pump only). An extremely talented team of researcher with a bright and exciting future!