Pharmaceutical and medical research provides new
an innovative treatments for improving health and well-being. Pharmaceutical
R&D, as well as product and medical devices manufacturing is a technically
demanding industry, and utilizes vacuum technologies in numerous essential applications.
Solar cells or photovoltaic arrays are fabricated
in vacuum based technology processes. A solar panel or a photovoltaic array
is a linked collection of photovoltaic modules which are made of multiple
interconnected solar cells. Photovoltaic (PV) solar systems generate electricity
from sunlight without noise, pollution, or moving parts, producing clean and
reliable electricity used in commercial, residential and industrial facilities,
including the International Space Station.
Biofuels are alternative fuels produced from renewable
resources. For a fuel to be classified a biofuel it must contain over 80 percent
renewable materials. The most common use for biofuels is as liquid fuel for
automotive transport, such as ethanol, or biodiesel. New forms of biofuels
are also under research and experimentation for renewable jet fuel for aircraft
flight. Biodiesel is obtained via a transesterfication proces commonly from
either newly grown sustainable farm products such as palm oil, rapeseed oil,
and soy bean oil, or from recycled cooking oils, fats, and fatty acids.
Ethanol is produced via fermentation from various biological materials, s
uch as sugar cane. The research and manufacturing of sustainable biofuels,
such as biodiesel, is expanding worldwide with the goal to replace more of
the fossil based petroleum products.
Physics is the scientific research of matter and energy and
how they interact with each other. Energy takes the form of motion, light,
electricity, radiation, and gravity, among many forms. As an experimental science,
physicists create theories which are tested against observations. Broadly,
its goal is the understanding how the universe behaves from the sub-atomic
level to entire galaxies.
Chemistry is a physical science concerned with the
structure, composition and properties of matter, and the changes during chemical
reactions. Chemistry can be viewed as a complex application of physics. Disciplines
within chemistry include: Inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry,
physical chemistry i.e. the energy-related studies of chemical systems at macro,
molecular and submolecular scales, and analytical chemistry, dealing with analysis
of material samples. Vacuum technology is used extensively within all the disciplines
of chemistry. Vacuum conditions and methods are especially important to chemists
who specialize in experimental research and theory, and in new phenomena and in
new discoveries.
The demand for high performance vacuum pumps is greater
than ever for analytical instrumentation. Electron Microscopy (SEM, TEM), Focused
Ion-beam Systems (FIB) and Surface Analysis Modern focused-beam systems such as
SEMs, TEMs and FIBs utilize columns that project electrons or ions onto microscopic
samples for analysis. Turbo molecular pumps are a key component in modern focused-beam
systems because they offer fast, oil-free air evacuation of large sample chambers.
Oil-free operation is a major requirement of many modern analysis applications.
Vacuum metallurgy takes place with melting, shaping,
and treating of metals and alloys under reduced pressure that ranges from subatmospheric
vacuum pressure to ultra-high vacuum. The process of separating pure metal from mixed
metallic particles, alloys, intermetallic and refractory metals by vacuum metallurgy
is that the vapor pressures of various metals at the same temperature are different.
The metal with high vapor pressure and low boiling point can be separated from the
mixed metals through distillation or sublimation. There are three basic reasons
for vacuum processing of metals: Elimination of contamination from the processing
environment, reducing of the level of impurities in the product, and deposition
with a minimum of impurities.
Electron Beam Welding (EBW) is a welding process producing
a coalescence of metals with heat from a concentrated beam of high velocity electrons.
The EBW process is made possible by the use of vacuum pumps fitted for a vacuum
chamber which houses the electron beam gun and the metals to be joined. The kinetic
energy is transformed into heat on impact on the metal, instantly vaporizing it to
a molten stage. Near 25,000 °C heat is generated in the metal as it is bombarded
by a stream of high-velocity electrons. This makes it possible to weld much
thicker workpieces than is possible with most other welding processes. As the
electron beam from the electron gun is tightly focused, the total heat input
is much lower than that of any arc welding process. As a result, the effect of
welding on the surrounding material is minimal, and the heat-affected zone is
small in comparison. The metals most often welded are the super alloys, the
refractory metals, the reactive metals, and the stainless steels.
Tool coatings are used to improve hardness and wear
resistance of tools. Tool coatings are applied in a high production environment
requiring a reliable and robust vacuum solutions.
The prevention of technological surprise is key aspect
of maintaining this superiority. By sponsoring revolutionary, high-payoff research
and bridging the gap between fundamental discoveries and their military use,
the U.S. defense research is at cutting edge of innovation. Vacuum pump technologies
are used extensively for research within all the branches of military
contributing to maintaining its technological edge.