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1 NEWSLETTER Please visit us December 2012 online to join the IPSI Group

2 Welcome to the Ion and Plasma Surface Interactions (IPSI) Group Newsletter A message from the Chair: At our AGM in June this year we had changes in the Committee, which were documented in the minutes. One of our longest serving committee members, Zoe Barber left, as did our treasurer Adrian Leyland, together with Greg Clarke and Graham Cooke. Zoe served on for one year after Chairing the Group to ensure a smooth transition and Adrian has handled our budget with meticulous precision over the years and ensured that we have come in for a smooth landing at the end of each financial year. We welcome new members Yolanda Gonzalvo from Hiden Analytical and Arutiun Ehiasarian from Sheffield University and also Mike Walls, although he has been coopted to the Committee in the past and is no stranger to the IPSI Group, James Walsh has kindly stepped into the Treasurers role. The whole committee has been working hard over the last year organizing, hosting and helping manage meetings. Our annual meetings have taken place and have been well supported. Details and reports on these can be found in this newsletter. Having an efficient Group Secretary makes the running of the Group look easy. Brian Jones has done a great job over the last year and made my life easier, so a big thanks to you Brian! Collaboration with the other Institute Groups remains strong and is always a rewarding experience. With the disappearance of the Divisions, we have taken it upon ourselves to initiate bi-lateral arrangements with the Groups we have worked very closely with in the past. This involves inviting a member of the group committee to our committee meetings and hopefully a reciprocal arrangement then ensues. This will ensure strong links are maintained. It does, of course mean more meetings to attend, which could jeopardise our predicted budget, as this was not taken into account when we submitted it to HQ. We hope for a sympathetic response if our expenses budget goes into the red. Thanks, in particular, to the Vacuum Group, Plasma Group and the Thin Films & Surfaces, Group. Groups that we have particularly strong links and are continuing to co-sponsor our meetings. Our joint meeting Vacuum and Plasmas in Industry with the Vacuum Group, was very well attended and was enjoyed, we are told, by all those that attended. This was

3 held as part of Vacuum Symposium 3, held at The Ricoh Arena in October. A report can be found in this newsletter. The Group has continually supported The UK s only major annual technological plasma meeting, The Technological Plasma Workshop (TPW). The last of which was held in Manchester, January This year it will be hosted by The Open University in Milton Keynes, on 16th and 17th December. The web site is open for registration. Supporting students to help attend, not only our meetings, but other relevant meetings to the group, is still part of our remit. We still encourage attendance and participation. If anyone has any thoughts, ideas on topics or specific issues they wish to pursue, please let us know. We can co-opt you to work on them yourself, or you can pass the ideas over to any of the committee. Contact details of any committee members can be found in this newsletter, or find us through the IOP web site. Please encourage your colleagues, friends and work mates to join the Group and get involved with the Group activities. The more we are, the more we can do Thank you all for your continued support. Alan Webb (IPSI Chair ) IPSI News & Events Advances in Photovoltaics 19 th September 2012, Institute of Physics, London, UK Organised through the Ion & Plasma Surface Interactions Group, this meeting was co-sponsored by the IOP Vacuum Group, the Energy Group, Thin Films & Surfaces, and Printing & Graphics Science Professor Sampath of Colorado State University opened the event with a keynote talk on manufacturing issues and scalability of thin film CdTe photovoltaics. Thin film CdTe modules are cost competitive with crystalline silicon and are being used in utility scale installations and delivering power at grid parity in locations such as California. Mikhail Van Hest from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), also in Colorado, outlined the latest research on using atmospheric processing methods

4 such as inkjet for depositing layers in thin film PV. The aim of this research is to produce PV at the lowest possible cost. This theme was continued by Adam Brunton of M-solv Ltd, an innovative UK company, who have just launched a laser ablation/inkjet interconnect process for thin film PV modules. The advantage of their patented technology is speed and since the process can be carried out after all the layers in the PV stack have been deposited, it also has the significant advantage that there is no need to interrupt the module manufacturing line to scribe down to the glass substrate. Roger Smith outlined a new powerful multi-scale modelling package developed at Loughborough University that allows the atomic scale mechanisms responsible for defect formation during thin film growth to be identified and provided examples for TiO2 and ZnO deposition. This capability is now being extended to mainstream thin film PV materials and it is anticipated that once the defect forming mechanisms are identified, deposition processes can be developed to overcome them and higher device efficiencies will result. Progress in the development of third generation PV devices was covered by David Lidzey of Sheffield University who presented the latest work on organic PV and Henry Snaith of Oxford University who covered exciting recent advances in solid state Dye Cells. The event was well attended with over 70 participants and included an excellent exhibition and poster session. Michael Walls, Loughborough University (Organiser) The 9 th Technological Plasmas Workshop (TPW) 5 th to 6 th January 2012, University of Manchester, UK Organised through the Ion and Plasma Surface Interactions Group, Plasma Physics Group, British Vacuum Council, Henniker Scientific, Hiden Analytical and Oclaro The 9th Technological Plasmas Workshop was held at the University of Manchester on 5th 6th January 2012 organised by Philip Martin and Mark Bowden. The Workshop followed the previously successful format of a lunchtime start on the first day through to a mid afternoon finish on the second day with oral and poster presentations. This year the invited talks had an overall theme of plasma processing. Dr Sophie Bouchoule of the Laboratoire de Photonique et Nanostructures, CNRS, France

5 (sponsored by Oclaro) gave the first invited talk entitled: Chlorine-based inductively coupled plasma etching of InP material and related compounds for photonic applications: etching and passivation mechanisms. Dr Niall MacGearailt, of Intel Ireland gave the second invited talk entitled, The challenges of plasma processing in high volume factories. The final invited talk was presented by Dr Deborah O Connell of the York Plasma Institute, University of York with a talk entitled, Optical diagnostics of transient ionization wavefronts at atmospheric pressure. A poster session was held before and during lunch on the Friday with some impressive contributions amongst the 27 on show. There was a discussion amongst the technological plasmas community about the recent affiliation to the IOP Plasma Group. Also the timing of the meeting was discussed. It was suggested that early January was not a good time for industrialists to attend but on the other hand it was more convenient for academics and students. Alternative proposed dates clashed with larger national and international conferences. The conference dinner was held in the Staff House on the University Campus followed by stimulating scientific discussion amongst other things at the Lass O Gowrie watering hole which was only a short walk from the workshop venue and accommodation at the Manchester Conference Centre. Overall there were 60 participants including 23 students. There were 7 industrial delegates. The overall numbers were slightly down on last year s meeting in Bristol, which was held at the same time of year. Sponsorship was gratefully received from the IOP Ion and Plasma Surface Interactions Group, IOP Plasma Physics Group, British Vacuum Council, Henniker Scientific, Hiden Analytical and Oclaro. This enabled the student registration fee to be substantially reduced and also to sponsor one of the invited speakers. Overall the workshop was a success and it is planned to continue with the same format and timing next year at another University location. Dr Philip Martin, University of Manchester Plasmas, Surfaces & Thin Films 8 th June 2011, Institute of Physics, London, UK The IPSI student poster prize was judged and awarded during the one day meeting Plasmas Surfaces and Thin Films, held last June, when both oral and poster presentations were made. The prize was awarded to Randi Ramjattan and Maeva Roberto from Manchester Metropolitan University for the paper entitled Phase separation and max phase growth in Ti 3 SiC 2 thin film ceramics.

6 The PSTF poster session Vacuum & Plasmas for Industry - essential ingredients for manufacturing success 17 th October 2012, The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, UK Organised through the Ion and Plasma Surface Interactions Group and the Vacuum Group as part of the Vacuum Symposium 3 (VS-3) The theme of the meeting was to highlight areas where vacuum and the use of plasmas are important (and often essential) ingredients in industrial processes. Plasmas provide a unique environment for industrial processes, provided that they are excited with gases admitted into a quality vacuum. Attention to cleanliness and contamination plays an important part in achieving the optimum vacuum and plasma conditions. The common theme of vacuum and plasmas was emphasised in the presentations to demonstrate the importance to manufacturing success. The meeting consisted of 9 oral presentations, divided into 4 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon session. Poster papers were presented in the Exhibition Arena together with the posters from the other technical meetings taking place on the following day, amounting to 16 posters in all. Each of the morning and afternoon sessions opened with talks from the well-known companies, Intel and Seagate.

7 Niall Macgearailt from Intel, Ireland, started the meeting with Plasma Process Control in the Semiconductor Industry, which described the challenges of volume production world-wide and keeping control of the plasma processes to keep the yield high and the production line moving. The lunch break was scheduled to provide enough time to visit the exhibition and the associated meeting posters. Denis O Donnell from Seagate opened the afternoon session with Plasma-based Processes for Volume Manufacture of Magnetic Recording Heads, Other highlights included a comprehensive description of the importance of vacuum and the control of pressure in freeze-drying by Kevin Ward of Biopharma Technology Ltd. and the use of plasmas was emphasised in the treatment of textiles by Delwyn Evans from P2i Ltd. The meeting drew sizable audiences, in keeping with the quality of the presentations. It is rare that so many speakers from industry, were assembled within one programme and we, the organisers, are grateful to all speakers and their companies and organisations for their contributions, which made the day so successful. The meeting was co-ordinated by Vacuum Symposium UK Technical programme organisers : Alan Webb and John Colligon 30% more visitors to Vacuum Expo & Conference th to 17 th October 2012, The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, UK Effingham, November 7th, 2012: Organisers, Xmark Media report on the success of this year s event and announce the dates for 2013 With twelve new exhibitors at last month s Vacuum Expo 2012, Coventry, the sheer breadth of technology and range of equipment on show proved be a big draw for visitors.the third Vacuum Expo event was the biggest and best event in the series to date. Reports from the show floor indicated that not only had the organisers increased visitor numbers, the visitors were there to do business. Many exhibitors said they had an excellent event with increased prospect numbers and plenty of high quality discussions taking place on their stands. Post show analysis has confirmed this visitor growth to be 30%. Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum had a novel attraction the dismantling and reassembly of the largest dry vacuum pump for industrial application ever seen at the exhibition. Marketing Manager Anna Newitt enthused: Vacuum Expo is one of the best shows we ve ever done.

8 Vacuum Expo organiser Laurence Devereux commented on the event: I m convinced that exhibitions will always be popular when there is a strong, high quality technical programme run in parallel which is offered free to all attendees. This is the winning formula for a UK event. We are very grateful to the people who have contributed to the Vacuum Symposium and have worked tirelessly to put together the excellent scientific sessions. It is good for the UK to be the host to a meeting of this calibre. The Vacuum Symposium has developed into a must-attend event. The well thought-out meetings attracted speakers and delegates from far and wide; Canada, Denmark, Norway, Japan, Switzerland and Germany. The Thin Films meeting programme was led by Hayley Brown of Plasma Quest and the University of Surrey. It focused on metal oxides and optical thin films. Dr Glen West of the Surface Engineering Group at Manchester Metropolitan University said of the meeting The thin films programme was perhaps the most interesting that I have seen at a technical session in recent years. The speakers were of a high quality, and provided a well-balanced mix of technical expertise and industrial experience. The one-day Vacuum and Plasmas for Industry meeting drew a sizable audience. Niall Macgearailt from Intel, Ireland, opened the meeting with a talk on the Plasma Process Control in the Semiconductor Industry. He described the challenges of volume production world-wide and keeping control of the plasma processes to keep the yield high and the production line moving. Niall commented after the meeting The combination of the Vacuum Expo and technical sessions provide an excellent networking opportunity. The large number of UK and European based suppliers offering innovative products and solutions is extremely encouraging. Meeting organiser, Alan Webb of the Ion and Plasma Interactions (IPSI) Group of the IOP, commented on the quality of the meeting: It is rare to have speakers from so many different industry sectors all speaking in the same programme. It is significant that in the world of vacuum that one industry can learn from the experience of another. We are grateful to all speakers and their companies and organisations for their contributions which made the day so very successful. Pfeiffer Vacuum found the exhibition a great way to meet existing and potential customers. Paul Davies, Sales Manager, commented at the close of the show; A significantly busier show than previously. We have met a wide selection of people on our stand from all industries and from all over the country confirming Vacuum Expo as the #1 event for Vacuum Technology in the UK, possibly in Europe. More details about Vacuum Expo can be viewed at Dates for next year s show will be 16 th to 17 th October 2013, at Ricoh Arena, Coventry.

9 The British Vacuum Council web site gets a makeover See it all here : Over the past two years discussions have been taking place to move the British Vacuum Council (BVC) web site to a new server. The offer from IOPP to host it as one of their micro-sites was accepted and, whilst the move was in progress, an upgrade was also undertaken. A BVC sub group of the Committee met to identify areas that could be improved and also, where new material could be added. A large amount of material, including photo images, reports and documentation was held by individuals, collected over the years and not submitted to the web site. This was all gathered, collated and sent through to the web editors. The new site contains the BVC mission statement, remit, activities, events, members, the current committee, and a whole lot more! There is a leaflet to download, explaining the purpose of the BVC, that can be folded into a third the size of A4 and can be used at conferences and meetings for delegates to read. Additionally, there is a power point presentation of What the BVC is and what it does. This can be further used as an educational tool to give a brief introduction to the history and workings of the BVC. The BVC can award two prizes annually, The Senior and Junior prize. Within the web site there are lists of former recipients and details of how to nominate a candidate for a current prize. Nomination is always open, so if the deadline is missed one year, the nomination can be submitted the following year for consideration by the Committee. The BVC is a link to IUVSTA (The International Union for Vacuum Science Technique an Applications), and this is an ideal way to trace this link. The site can directly link you electronically to the IUVSTA web site. The IUVSTA Divisional Representatives can be found, who are your link to IUVSTA activities within your field, via the web site. Alan Webb July/2012 BVC The British Vacuum Council Your link to IUVSTA

10 Forthcoming Meetings Interdisciplinary Surface Science Conference (ISSC-19) 25 th to 28 th March 2013, East Midlands Conference Centre, University Park, Nottingham, UK ISSC-19 is the latest meeting in the series of interdisciplinary surface science conferences covering all experimental and theoretical aspects of surfaces, interfaces and nanoscale physics and chemistry. Advances in Photovoltaics Meeting 24 th September 2013, IOP HQ, London, UK This one day meeting provides a forum to help assess the current state of the art. It brings together a list of distinguished invited speakers whose expertise covers the range of photovoltaic technologies. High-speed imaging for dynamic testing of materials and structures 18 th to 20 th November 2013, IOP HQ, London, UK An understanding of the dynamic behaviour of materials is essential for informing structural performance for e.g. crashworthiness, manufacturing capability, blast mitigation. Numerical simulation has seen spectacular progress with the advent of faster and cheaper computing power. However, such computations require detailed material models for which parameters have to be identified experimentally. Technological Plasma Workshop (TPW) 17 th to 18 th December 2012, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK The scope of the workshop includes all areas of technological plasma science, the first day will be focused on technologies for low pressure processing plasmas, with the general theme of non-invasive techniques for plasma monitoring.

11 Invited speakers include Jean-Francois de Marneffe (IMEC, Belgium), Mike Hopkins (Impedans, Ireland) as well as speakers from Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology (UK) and Hiden Analytical (UK). Registration deadline is Friday 23 November For a full listing of events organised by the IPSI Group Committee please visit: IPSI Student Funding The IPSI committee has awarded several bursaries to students over the past year. Here are reports written by the students detailing how they benefited from this funding. Materials Research Society Spring Meeting & Exhibit 9 th to 13 th April 2012, San Fransisco, California, USA PhD student Maniscalco Biancamaria of Loughborough University contributed the following about their experience at the conference: Highlights of the conference: The attended conference was organized by MRS, the Materials Research Society. Two meetings are usually planned through the year; the one I have attended was the Spring meeting. MRS conferences cover different fields within the materials science; this year there were 55 symposia to be attended. The ones which directly interested my research were included in Materials Science and Materials Chemistry for Energy, as Advanced Materials Processing for Scalable Solar-Cell Manufacturing II and Nanostructured Solar. I had the chance to listen to keynote speakers in photovoltaic (PV) research, such as Martin Green from University of New South Wales and all novelties from the PV world. Key outcomes of the event: The key outcomes consisted in understanding how material science plays a major role in creation of new technology and optimisation of existing processes. Energy represented a key field in nowadays society. Discussion on renewable energies

12 and most efficient sustainable systems was carried out both on technical and social points of view. Research has been presented as way to make a difference in society. Specifically for PV, the presentations were mainly focused on both enhancing the efficiency of the cells and the systems and making solar technology an applicable alternative to fossil fuels. Industries representatives gave some interesting presentations and most of the projects were founded by different companies all across the world. It was interesting how industries present their work compared to academia, with a different focus on time schedule, costs and applicability. Strengths and weaknesses of the conference: The big scale of the conference could be interpreted as both strength and weakness. There were lots of different presentations, so that it was almost impossible to not find something interesting. On the other hand, sometimes it was necessary to make a choice between the talks, missing something which might be useful for my research area. Breaks were appropriate to carry out brief discussions with the presenters, to exchange experiences and ideas. Specific benefits obtained from attending the conference: In this conference, I had the chance to enlarge my knowledge not only in my research field, but also for the various PV technologies and other material science applications, related to energy production. I also had the chance to present my work in front of a technical audience, receiving feedback both for my research and my presentation skills. There was also possibility for networking and discussion with both important researchers and other PhD students like me. I can say that taking part of MRS Spring 2012 was an overall success for my career. International Conference on Metallurgical Coatings and Thin Films (ICMCTF) 23 RD to 27 TH APRIL 2012, San Diego, California, USA A report has been provided by Josephine T Lawal (PhD Student, the University of Sheffield): This report summarises my experience of the recent American Vacuum Society (AVS) sponsored International Conference on Metallurgical Coatings and Thin Films (ICMCTF) held in San Diego, California, USA for which IOP kindly provided me with RSCF support to attend.

13 This year s ICMCTF Conference was the 39th in a series dating back to 1974; it has long been held in high regard as the main annual research meeting worldwide for vacuum surface treatment techniques. The conference attracted over 500 attendees from all over the world, promoting a global exchange of the latest information among scientists, technologists and manufacturers involved in the science and engineering of metallurgical coatings and thin films. The conference included a plenary session, keynote sessions, symposia and technical sessions, focused topics, short courses, an industrial exhibition and other attractions. The highlights of the conference for me were the opportunities I had to: Attend technical sessions which gave me new ideas concerning my research. Hear invited talks directly related to my area of research (e.g. a review of claims for ultra hardness in nanocomposite coatings, A. FISCHER-CRIPPS, Fischer-Cripps Laboratories Pty Ltd, Australia). Listen to Prof. Stan Veprek whom I have heard so much about and whom I have used many of his publications in my PhD literature review. At the poster presentation session, I had the opportunity to present and discuss my work with eminent Academic and Industrial professionals in the field, most of who found my work to be of considerable scientific interest and relevant to current commercial issues in Surface Engineering (e.g. replacement of toxic and environmentally-damaging processes and substances). During the exhibition, I had discussions with manufacturersand people that can provide technical support for my current studies as well as future research ventures. Apart from the theoretical and technical knowledge gained at the conference, San Diego is a warm and beautiful city and I enjoyed every moment I stayed in it. Without any doubts, I will say that the 39th International Conference on Metallurgical Coatings and Thin Films was a huge success. Finally, I would like to express my profound gratitude to the Institute of Physics for their financial support towards my presence at the ICMCTF The Research Student Conference Fund can provide financial support to research student members to attend international conferences and major national meetings. Apply for up to 250 during the course of your PhD. If you would like to apply, please visit:

14 The Committee Chairman Alan Webb Hon. Secretary Brian N. Jones Treasurer James Walsh The Open University, University of Surrey, University of Liverpool, Adam Brierley Brinell Vision Ltd., Arutiun P. Ehiasarian Nanotechnology Centre for PVD Research, Sheffield Yolanda A. Gonzalvo Hiden Analytical, Ashley Knowles Yorkshire Photonic Technology Ltd., Adrian Leyland University of Sheffield, Roger Smith Loughborough University, Michael Walls Applied Multilayers Ltd., LEICS, Glen West Manchester Metropolitan University, Ideas for future meetings: The Group welcomes ideas from members for topics for future events, including conferences, meetings and workshops. Please contact the Chairman or Secretary. This newsletter is also available on the web and in larger print sizes The contents of this newsletter do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Institute of Physics, except where explicitly stated. The Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, W1B 1NT, UK. Tel: Fax: Cover picture: Atmospheric pressure plasma jet array operating in helium, provided by J. Walsh.