This equipment, unique in Alsace, will allow researchers to design all kinds of heterostructures based on thin films with nanometric precision. In a high vacuum environment, the acceleration of Argon atoms allows the etching of thin films with a controlled rate. Also, equipped with an in situ diagnostic tool of the material etched from the substrate (SIMS), it is thus possible to obtain an ideal control of the etching. The system is equipped with a second chamber that will allow the deposition of thin oxide layers by sputtering without the need to vent the sample after etching. This new tool completes the portfolio of processes available at STnano and will allow for new advances in fields such as spintronics, nanomagnetism, unconventional electronic devices, and nanosciences in general.

This equipment was acquired within the framework of the regional project RANGE thanks to the support of the Grand EST Region, the ITI Qmat, Unistra and CNRS