Abstract: Apparatus for the generation of a plurality of ion beams for use in vacuum sputtering methods is disclosed comprising: a discharge chamber, defined by a plasma confinement vessel, for generation of a plasma therein; and a plurality of facets located on the discharge chamber, each facet comprising acceleration and extraction means for extracting ions from the plasma in the discharge chamber in an ion beam.

Abstract: A vacuum sputtering apparatus capable of depositing a plurality of thin film layers on a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a vacuum chamber (1) having gas inlet means and gas evacuation means; a substrate support table (2) arranged to be rotatable about at least one axis perpendicular to the plane of the table; means for rotating the substrate support table about said at least one axis; a plurality of sputtering targets (5) spaced around the walls of the chamber, each sputtering target having electrode means associated therewith; and means for altering the position of the substrate support table relative to each one of the plurality of sputtering targets (4) such that in use a substrate placed on the substrate support table may have a film deposited thereon of atoms sputtered from at least one of the said plurality of targets and subsequently, following alteration of the position of the substrate support table, have at least one further film deposited thereon by exposure to atoms form at least one other of

Abstract: Methods and devices for detecting the interaction of single molecules with surface-bound reagents are disclosed. The methods utilize synchronized techniques for controlling the interaction between labeled molecules in a flowing solution with reagents supported on a surface, and incorporate optical detection techniques such as fluorescence measurements. One application of the disclosed methods and devices is the detection of chemical reactions in which the nucleobases of labeled NTP molecules become incorporated into the DNA of a surface-bound enzyme-DNA complex with release of the labels.

Abstract: Methods and devices for detecting the incorporation of NTPs into immobilized enzyme-nucleic acid complexes are disclosed. The methods and devices can be used to genotype or sequence nucleic acids, including DNA and RNA, and are capable, in preferred embodiments, of detecting single incorporation events.