The primary objective of this project is to make available to undergraduate physics majors and other students the equipment necessary for fabricating material samples by means of sputtering technology. The Department of Physics and Astronomy at CSUS is presently revising its program to include more emphasis on applied topics, especially in the areas of Solid State Physics and Optics. The preparation of material samples and the subsequent characterization of their electrical and optical properties is an important basic skill in any such program. Students are being introduced to the theory and practice of sputtering and then using the technology to fabricate and characterize samples with interesting electrical and optical properties in several upper-division courses.The physics department is in the final stages of modernizing and adding elective concentrations in the BA and BS degree programs. These changes make the programs more closely match the career goals of present-day students and introduce subject matter into the curriculum of more relevance to the semiconductor and optics industries that are moving into the Sacramento area in ever greater numbers. Eventually the department expects that this will attract more students to a physics major. The purchase of this sputtering equipment makes it possible to offer students hands-on experience in a very important area of solid state physics and optics which is of particular importance to those pursuing an advanced degree or a job in experimental research or industrial work.NSF grant funds are being matched with funds from non-federal sources.
