|
Brookhaven National Laboratory Chooses SAES Getters’ Ultra-high Vacuum Technology
IntegraTorr™ non-evaporable getter thin film provides a distributed UHV pumping solution for the vacuum chambers of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider machine
Lainate (Milan), Italy – March 24, 2005
The SAES Getters Group today announced that the Brookhaven National Laboratory at Upton, Long Island, NY has chosen its IntegraTorr™ non-evaporable getter thin-film technology to coat 108 vacuum chambers of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) machine.
The world-class scientific research facility attracts about 1,000 physicists each year from around the world who gather at RHIC to investigate what the universe may have looked like in the first few moments after its creation. RHIC drives two intersecting beams of gold ions traveling at 99.995% the speed of light head-on to create subatomic collisions, which cause the matter to heat to more than a billion times the temperature of the sun. Phenomena originating from these heavy ion collisions help scientists study the fundamental properties of the basic building blocks of matter, deepening understanding about the laws of the physical world, from the smallest subatomic particles to the largest stars.
The worldwide market leader in getter components for cathode ray tubes and vacuum tubes, SAES Getters is a technology forerunner of getter solutions for ultra-high vacuum (UHV) applications, including particle accelerators. Dozens of machines around the world, encompassing electron and positron storage rings, synchrotrons, ion colliders and nuclear radiation facilities, employ SAES’ NEG technology for primary pumping of their vacuum chambers and systems.
RHIC has recently implemented a two-year vacuum upgrade plan which includes NEG-coating and activation of most of its warm straight sections, to provide extra linear pumping and reduce secondary electron yield (SEY) and electron stimulated desorption (ESD). Two-hundred-sixty meters of NEG-coated chambers have already been installed and additional chambers are scheduled to be coated by SAES by May 2005. Once installed, total NEG-coated pipes at RHIC will exceed 520 meters, covering 40% of the total warm sections.
The technique of sputtering NEG thin films for use as vacuum pumping for particle accelerators was originally developed and patented by CERN in Geneva, to meet specific requirements of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project. Thanks to a license agreement and a successful technology transfer, this sputtering technique has become part of SAES Getters’ NEG product portfolio under the IntegraTorr trademark.
IntegraTorr is a highly innovative way to integrate non-evaporable getter pumping into a particle accelerator vacuum chamber. It is achieved by depositing a sputtered NEG film about 1 micron thick onto the vacuum chamber, thus providing a very effective barrier to the gas species which would otherwise desorb from the chamber surface.
The NEG film also acts as a powerful, fully distributed “in situ” pump, efficiently absorbing molecules and keeping extremely low pressures, unmatched by other techniques. If the whole vacuum chamber is coated, a distributed pump with huge sorption speed is created: under these conditions, IntegraTorr has the potential to achieve pressures in the extreme high vacuum (XHV) range, below 1 x 10-12 mbar.
“Thanks to its unique features, IntegraTorr significantly improves the ultimate dynamic vacuum in high energy machines, allowing the achievement of stable beam conditions and improved current parameters”, said Paolo Manini, Business Area Manager for Vacuum Systems at the SAES Getters Group.
“SAES’ in-house capability to supply coating for chambers up to six meters long represents another key advantage for the specific application field, since it reduces the risk of possible leaks due to vacuum chamber welds and ensures a more homogeneous film deposition”, concluded Mr. Manini.
“An intense electron-cloud effect has been observed in RHIC during the recent physics run. The IntegraTorr NEG coating will suppress the secondary electron yield and provide extra linear pumping by removing one of the major limiting factors for the RHIC luminosity upgrade,” said Dick Hseuh, RHIC Vacuum Group Leader.
About the SAES Getters Group
Pioneering the development of getter technology, the SAES Getters Group is the world leader in a variety of scientific and industrial applications where stringent vacuum conditions or ultra-high pure gases are required. For 60 years its getter solutions have been supporting innovation in the information display and lamp industries, in technologies spanning from large vacuum power tubes to miniaturized silicon-based micromechanical devices, as well as in sophisticated high vacuum systems and in vacuum thermal insulation.
The Group also holds a leading position in ultra pure gas handling for the semiconductor and other hi-tech markets.
Starting in 2004, by leveraging the core competencies in special metallurgy and materials science, the SAES Getters Group has expanded its business into advanced material markets, with the introduction of new optical crystal, shape memory alloy and metalorganic precursor product lines.
A total production capacity distributed at 8 manufacturing plants across 3 continents, a worldwide-based sales & service network, nearly 1,000 employees allow the Group to combine multicultural skills and expertise to form a truly global enterprise.
SAES Getters is headquartered in the Milan area (Italy) and has been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange Market, STAR segment, since 1986.
About Brookhaven National Laboratory
One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE’s Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.
Visit Brookhaven Lab’s electronic newsroom for links, news archives, graphics, and more: http://www.bnl.gov/newsroom
Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements which are based upon current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by the Company. These factors include the Company’s ability to introduce new products at planned costs and on planned schedules, the Company’s ability to maintain key client relationships and the environments of the various economies in the countries where the Company conducts business. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revision to these forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
|
PR contact:
SAES Getters Group
Marina Perino
Group Marcom Manager
Ph. +39 02 93178267
Fax: +39 02 93178320
e-mail: Marina Perino |
Product technology contact:
SAES Getters Group
Paolo Manini
Business Area Manager Vacuum Systems
Ph. +39 02 93178284
Fax: +39 02 93178320
e-mail: Paolo Manini |
|