Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV) Experiments

There are two options for experiments requiring UHV sample conditions: the large UHV chamber in EH2 or the "baby chamber" in EH1.

The second experimental hutch houses a diffractometer with a large UHV chamber. The hutch allows longer term UHV setup and in-situ sample preparation to take place while other users take beam in the first hutch.

This chamber houses a wide range of UHV surface science, preparation and characterisation equipment including sputter guns and LEED/AES optics. Additionally, a number of ports (CF38) are available for mounting evaporation sources, enabling in-situ growth dynamics to be studied as well as well ordered surface arrangements.

Typical operating conditions:

Details of equipment in EH2:

• (2+3)-circle diffractometer with hexapod sample stage for use with the sample vertical (surface normal horizontal)
• Large ultra high vacuum sample chamber for in-situ preparation and characterisation using standard surface science techniques
• LEED/AES
• Pressure ~ 1x10^-11 mbar
• E-beam heating up to ~2300 K in analysis chamber
• Resistive heating up to ~ 900 K in buffer chamber
• Heating in pressures up to 10^-4 mbar of oxygen
• Pilatus 100K detector

Some studies are best carried out in the small baby chamber in EH1. Samples that have previously been prepared in the Surface and Interface village offline UHV facilities can be transferred under vacuum into this system. Samples can then be exposed to high gas pressures (<1bar) or humid atmospheres. Liquid droplet studies and in situ electrochemistry using this chamber are also in development.

Typical operating conditions: