Enriching Science Education with Thin Films | PNNL
“The instrument,” as it’s called, seems to take up the entire room. The sprawling molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system is all tubes, bolts, stainless steel components, and air-tight glass. It can create an ultrahigh-vacuum environment, a space nearly devoid of matter, a space similar to that outside the International Space Station.
The main chamber is about the size of a wine barrel and looks as durable as a tank. Tiffany Kaspar, however, makes sure it’s treated with the care befitting an instru