Noah Landefeld U Houston Week 2

My Second week at the University of Houston is now over. This week, I continued to work on creating the thin metal films (The Featured image shows the thermal evaporator setup). It works by placing copper between two electrodes so that electricity can flow through it and heat it. The copper and the electrode are placed within a vacuum so that the vaporization temperature of copper is lower, making it easier for it to evaporate. This evaporated copper travels to the silicon substrate held above it, depositing a thin film onto it. I have mastered creating films in the 100 to 150 nm thickness range using the traditional basket that holds the copper. I also began to try to use other baskets as a way to hold more copper and create larger films. However, I haven’t been able to create a successful film using them. I have also been working on some side projects, such as setting up a four-point probe to measure the resistivity of the films. I rewired the entire probe since the original wire melted from a short circuit. Then I tested it using a gold film and resistors. I have been thoroughly enjoying this internship so far. I started the week off by going to the rec center and playing badminton with Wyatt, Lishan, and Matthew. They are all here as part of the Welch Summer Scholars program and are from all around Texas. This internship has kept me very busy, so much so that I haven’t been able to do much besides go to the rec center after work. See you next week!