Materials such as Fe, Co, Ni, Pt, Ag, Au, Al, Mo, Ta, W, and also non-conducting materials or semiconductors, e.g. silicon, can be evaporated. Delicate or reactive materials can be precisely and cleanly deposited. Using a stainless steel crucible with a nozzle, a gentle Knudsen evaporation of C60 and many other aromatic compounds is achieved with minimum loss of material. An integrated flux monitor enables reproducible real-time control of the deposition rate and, once calibrated, removes the need for a quartz thickness monitor.
The degassing state of the evaporant and the start of the real flux are also shown more accurately than by temperature measurement. The flux is displayed on the control unit and is also available for computer-controlled evaporation processes. A built-in shutter with manual or optional computer controlled motor activation governs the deposition time. The desired flux can be monitored and adjusted with the shutter closed. The EFM evaporators are designed to effectively focus the heating power onto the evaporant with minimum heat dissipation. To absorb the heat radiation and maintain an ultra high vacuum (to below 10-10 mbar), the evaporant is completely surrounded by a water-cooled shroud. The rear-loading feature of the EFM evaporators enables crucibles to be exchanged without detaching the EFM from the vacuum chamber for deposition of different materials with identical source alignment. Low stray magnetic fields at the sample enable the evaporator to be used during RHEED or LEED analysis.