The equipment will be used for research to develop and create nanodevices.

Edgar Patiño, Ecuadorian Research Professor of Yachay Tech and Luis Corredor, laboratory technician of the same institution installed an ultra-vacuum sputtering system on last December 29. Not so long ago, Ecuador did not have these type of equipment that is used to develop and create micro and nanodevices. This equipment is in the campus of Yachay Tech University. It will allow developing state of the art research in the micro and nanodevices field, and creating new materials with application in sensors, transductors, and information storage devices.

The importance of this equipment mainly relies on its ability to create a vacuum. Vacuum or absence of air inside the chamber is necessary to create high purity materials. The “quality” of the vacuum is determined by the amount of pressure on the controlled environment of the sputtering therefore, it is crucial to reach very low-pressure levels. On Friday, December 29, 2017, through very advanced pumping systems, the sputtering was able to reach a pressure level that is comparable to the outer space vacuum, in the near future, this pressure level can be decreased.

Research on these areas has been already developed abroad, thus generating many benefits for the industries. For instance, many technological devices, like modern cell phones, computers, sound equipment, among others have been possible thanks to the invention of the transistor and microprocessor, macro and nanodevices that can be developed in the ultra-vacuum sputtering. Today, research continues with the development of micro and nanodevices, electronic elements with a size that can reach the millionth part of a millimeter, that is, 100 thousand times smaller than the average human hair.

The purchase of the ultra-vacuum sputtering system will allow developing state of the art research in Yachay Tech University on the fields of micro and nanodevices and new materials with use on sensors, transductors, and information storage devices.

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Edgar Patiño:
Nowadays, Edgar is an Associated Professor at Yachay Tech University and Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia). He got his Bachelor’s degree in Physics in Escuela Politécnica Nacional (Ecuador). He moved on to continue his research in Superconductivity and Magnetism in Finland. Edgar studied his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge (England) and his postdoctoral research in the Laboratory of Physics of Solids (France). His main research areas are experimental condensed matter and nanotechnology. He assembled two top research laboratories for Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia.  The laboratories are dedicated to the study of micro and nanometric devices of magnetic materials, semiconductors, and superconductors. He also directed the development of “Microscopy Laboratory” of the same University. Currently, he is the leader of his research field; this has allowed him to direct the assembly and running of one of the first experimental research laboratories of Yachay Tech University.