No Atmosphere

No Atmosphere, that's meant literally. This is a lab with a big ultra-high vacuum system. The pressure in the system is below 10e-8 mbar, and in the analysis chamber even better. (Look at the panel of the rack to the left! 2.6e-9 mbar, falling)

Such a system has to run 24/7 year-round to keep the ultra-high vacuum. If the spectrometer (that's the one where you can look inside through the viewport) has to be vented for repair or service, it takes minimum half a week (including a bake-out process) until the ultra-high vacuum is back.

The location: Technical University Darmstadt, Department of Materials Sciences, Surface Science Division of Prof. Dr. Jaegermann.

This big system of connected vacuum chambers has been built for research on thin-film solar cells. Each evaporation step of the different materials has its own chamber and from each chamber you can get to the other chambers or to the spectrometer for analysing the films and back without leaving the vacuum.

At the moment two of our guest researchers from India are taking spectra from their sample which you can see through the viewport nearby inside the vacuum chamber.

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Europe / Germany

Lat: 49° 51' 38.04" N
Long: 8° 40' 54.52" E

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: High. Pinpoints the exact spot.

Coolpix 5000 with the fisheye FC-E8 set to full frame, Manfrotto QTVR Kit 302+, stiched with PTMac / MakeCubic, Nadir inserted with PaintShopPro on a PC.