Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

Tender description

Glove Box upgrade. It should be fully compatible and integrated with the existing MBraun system and provide additional capability relating to materials deposition and processing. This includes the sequential spin-coating, thermal deposition and sputtering of materials that include polymers and organic complexes, metals and insulators to form advanced structures and devices. The ability to undertake such processes without exposure of the samples and materials to air/oxygen at any stage is required. It must provide capability for the rapid screening of functional materials based on their performance in fabricated devices. Critically, fabrication will be undertaken using inert atmosphere processing and encapsulation thus removing/minimising the deleterious effect of oxidation that when present typically compromises early-stage materials triage. The University of Manchester will be home to a new national research and innovation centre in advanced materials, the Henry Royce Institute (HRI). The £293M Institute will grow the UK’s world-leading research base in advanced materials research and development, which is fundamental to all industrial sectors and the national economy. The new Institute, supported by industrial partners, will have its Hub in Manchester. The founding partners, comprise the Universities of Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College London, along with National Nuclear Labs (NNL) and the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE).