September 2007 De Montfort University is part of the East Midland Universities (Nottingham, Leicester, Nottingham Trent, Lincoln, Loughborough, Northampton and Derby) collaboration with Eminate. Eminate is being set-up as a nano-technology company in Bio City, Nottingham. It will be independent of Nottingham University.

Eminate have already secured a multi-million pound grant from DTI for equipment which includes:

• SEM with EDX and WDX and coating unit(s)
• X-ray fluorescence
• X-ray diffraction
• Powder atomiser and classifier – this can make powders of most metals and metal alloys and the classifier can give you size distributions.
• Physical Vapour Deposition – Sputtering is a physical vapour deposition, PVD process whereby atoms in a solid target material are ejected into the gas phase due to bombardment of the material by a plasma of energetic ions. Commonly used for thin-film deposition, in which films are deposited atom (or molecule) at a time onto various surfaces
• Custom built Teer UDP650 4 magnetron PVD coating unit with fully computer controlled, menu driven processes offering repeatability
• 6 kW DC and RF power supplies/substrate bias units for deposition of metallic and ceramic species onto a variety of substrates
• Optical Plasma Emission Monitor for deposition of reactive coatings
• Inert sample handling load lock for O2 sensitive materials
• 700 ºC heater allows in-situ recrystallisation of coatings
• Variable jigs for even coating, with 1 and 2 axis sample rotation
• GMP Sterile suite for making sterile products for Phase I and II clinical trials

Possible purchase of
a twin screw extruder
Particle sizing kit from Malvern Instruments
Gas and Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry