Optics and Vacuum Systems
Full course description
Almost all findings in modern astronomy, chemistry, physics, biology, and medicine require data to either establish a hypothesis or verify a conclusion. In most cases, the data in these fields are acquired with an instrument that requires either an optical or a vacuum system (or both).
Almost every scientific instrument related to molecular imaging will employ optics and (if applicable to the molecular imaging technique) vacuum systems. Understanding these methods (and thus how the experiments were performed) usually requires understanding how the relevant optical and vacuum systems work, as well as their limitations and strengths. This course helps you to understand the basic technological concepts related to scientific instrumentation design, read academic methodological papers and improve your comprehension of academic papers that concern vacuum and optical systems.
A continuously active area of research is working to improve these vacuum and optical systems for improved molecular imaging instruments. This course provides you with a foundation in creating optical and vacuum systems, which is needed for future research endeavours such as a PhD or industrial research. In particular, instrumentation manufacturers are in dire need of young engineering professionals that understand the basic concepts of (ion) optics and vacuum system design. Most scientific instruments require at least one of these systems to function. When instrumental problems arise, it is very helpful to have a proper mental model of the optical and vacuum systems of the instrument to help troubleshoot such problems. This course makes you more competent designers, trouble-shooters and academic users in the areas of optical and vacuum systems.
Course objectives
After completing this course, you are able to:
- Develop an accurate mental model of the theoretical underpinnings of optical and vacuum systems used in most commercially-available molecular imaging instruments (e.g. how charged particles behave at different pressures) and especially the interplay between charge particle optics and vacuum systems.
- Apply knowledge of modern (best) practices for vacuum and optical system design, including common system components and interface, and by designing and developing an engineering solution for common problems.
- Critically assess existing optical and vacuum systems and find flaws or areas that should be optimized, by for instance, predicting and estimating the effects that specific changes to a molecular imaging instrument will have on the data collected.
- Use knowledge of the mathematical formulas, principles, and models (e.g., Laplace’s equation, Earnshaw’s Theorem) used to simulate and design vacuum and optical systems to provide solutions and explanations to unfamiliar problems and systems.
- Apply software to produce simple diagrams of vacuum and optical systems, and to design and simulate charged particle optical experiments that meet a specified set of requirements.
Recommended reading
Mandatory:
Selected readings on vacuum systems and pressure measurement:
- Yoshimura, N. (2008). Vacuum Technology: Practice for Scientific Instruments. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74433-7
- Selected readings for charged particle and light optics:
- Skoog, D.A., Holler, F.J., & Crouch, S.R. (2018). Principles of Instrumental Analysis (7th ed.) Cengage Learning.
Articles to be read in full:
- Wollnik, H. (1999). Ion optics in mass spectrometers. Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 34(10), 991-1006. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9888(199910)34:10%3C991::AID-JMS870%3E3.0.CO;2-1
- Miller, P.E., & Denton, M.B. (1986). The quadrupole mass filter: Basic operating concepts. Journal of Chemical Education, 63(7), 617-622. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed063p617
Recommended:
The following books, websites, and articles are recommended if you are interested in some of the materials discussed. These are not obligatory for the course and are also not representative of the course (for example, the signal processing portion of the course is very minor, but there are two signal processing resources listed below).
Interactive discussion of the mathematics behind signal processing:
- Schaedler, J. (2020). Seeing Circles, Sines, and Signals: A Compact Primer on Digital Signal Processing. https://jackschaedler.github.io/circles-sines-signals/
In-depth discussion of chemical signal processing:
- O’Hayer, T. (2021). Pragmatic Introduction to Signal Processing: Applications in scientific measurement. https://terpconnect.umd.edu/~toh/spectrum/
Information on vacuum systems at extremely high vacuum:
- Redhead, P.A. (1999). Extreme High Vacuum. In S. Turner (Ed.) Proceedings of the CERN Accelerator School: Vacuum Technology (pp. 213-226). CERN. https://doi.org/10.5170/CERN-1999-005.213
Information on vacuum measurement systems:
- Hansen, S.P. (2009). A primer on vacuum pressure measurement. Vacuum Coating & Technology, 2009(5), 36-42.
Information on outgassing and bake-out:
- Grinham, R., & Chew, A. (2017). A Review of Outgassing and Methods for its Reduction. Applied Science and Convergence Technology, 26(5), 95-109. https://doi.org/10.5757/ASCT.2017.26.5.95