TurboQ ES

Automated turbo pumped sputter and carbon coater

In February 2025, Quorum launched a completely new range of sputter coaters, incorporating advanced features to meet users’ needs.

The TurboQ ES is a secondary vacuum system designed for the preparation of samples for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A redesign of the vacuum system makes it ideal for applications requiring high vacuum and high grain fineness, particularly for very high resolution requirements. The TurboQ S achieves a vacuum set point of 1×10^-6 mbar, measured with a hybrid gauge combining Pirani and Penning technologies.

This versatile system can be used for both noble metal or oxidizing metal sputtering and carbon evaporation, with two deposit heads that can be interchanged in less than ten seconds. Accessible to both new and experienced users, it features pre-recorded protocols and an intuitive control screen to make it easy to use.

The TurboQ ES automatically detects which deposit head is installed and adjusts settings and protocols to suit the chosen configuration, making it simple to use.

Its sample holder is height adjustable and tiltable to ensure uniform deposition, even for complex 3D structures.

Its magnetron head and deposition modes reduce sample heating, allowing heat-sensitive samples to be processed.

A dedicated thickness control allows the system to stop deposition when the desired thickness is reached.

Equipped with a turbomolecular pump in the chassis, the TurboQ ES can achieve an optimum operating vacuum of 10^-6 mbar, enabling, among other things, very fine sputtering of oxidizing metals (Cu, Cr, W, Al, etc.) suitable for ultra-high resolution imaging, with adjustable current from 1 to 150 mA and up to 75 A for carbon evaporation.

Vacuum sequences are automatic and start when the system is switched on, without operator intervention, helping to preserve valves and extend equipment life.

The TurboQ is also available in a sputter coater version (TurboQ S) or a carbon coater version (TurboQ E).