Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) is an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) thin-film deposition technique. MBE is widely considered the most controllable and highest purity form of deposition and is currently used in both R&D and high volume production. Most MBE growth results in high-quality, epitaxial thin films.

Solid sources of high purity (5 nine or better) growth material are placed in crucibles, typically made of pyrolitic boron nitride (PBN). These crucibles are heated to the required evaporation temperatures for the given material, resulting in directed vapor flow of the evaporated material towards the substrate to be deposited on. Mechanical or pneumatically-based shutters are placed just above the crucibles, allowing for abrupt and accurate start/stop control of the deposition process.

Because of the purity of the source materials and the ultra-high vacuum environment (typically base pressures in MBE are 1 x 10-10 mbar or less), the deposited material is of the highest purity. Combined with accurate control of the substrate temperature, true atomic layer-by-layer deposition can be achieved, along with atomically abrupt interfaces between layers.

Using the right tools to measure and control this process is crucial for quality and efficiency.

While there are a number of vacuum companies that make custom MBE systems, there are only a handful of commercial MBE reactor manufacturers worldwide. k-Space works with Veeco, Riber, DCA, SVT, Omicron, Eiko, and Anelva to ensure proper fitment and even advanced I/O communications into the growth control software. k-Space tools can be found worldwide on all these reactors.