Introduction

1. Resources
1.1 Personnel organisation
1.2 Financial resource

2. Equipment
2.1 Design area
2.2 Manufacturing area
2.3 Inspections, tests and measurements

3. RMP Srl activities
3.1 Synchrotron radiation beamline
3.2  Front ends
3.3  Enea – Frascati
3.4  Scanning probe microscope
3.5  Other significant activities

4. Reference

5. Contact
 
 
 
 

 RMP Srl, established in 1986, designs and manufactures high tech mechanical apparatus.
 Company’s capital has been increased in May 1995 up to Lit. 199.000.000.
 In 1997 RMP Srl has started, an enlargement program of its whole structure, whose main aspects are:

 - new factory construction in Acilia (Rome), now fully operational;
- UNI ISO 9001 Quality System certification obtained in February
1999; the program has been officially started in January 1997 (deed of
registration performed).
  -   appointing of 30% more employees.

 The following paragraphs describe in detail the organisation, infrastructures and personnel qualification of RMP company, as well as previous experiences and activities as evidence of our scientific and technological capabilities.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1.1.  Personnel Organisation
RMP Srl is organised in the following functional areas:
 - Research and Development;
 - Design;
 - Manufacturing;
   Workshop;
   Tests and Measurements;
  Quality Assurance;
- Marketing and Sales;
 - Administration.
In the following  is described the personnel distribution associated with qualification degrees.

. AREA: Research and Development
 - R&D supervisor    physics doctor degree
 - R&D employee    data processing engineer

. AREA: Design
 - Design supervisor    graduate aeronautical engineer
 - # 3 CAD operators mechanical engineer (CAD certificate)

. AREA: Manufacturing
 - Manufacturing supervisor   graduate mechanical engineer

 .Workshop
 - Welding operator    TIG welding certificate (EN 287.1)
 -  # 3 numeric control machine-driven
  tool operator     milling machine operator certificate
 -  machine-driven tool operator  turner operator certificate
 -  # 2 machine driven tool operator mechanical deviser certificate
 -  finisher and fitter operator mechanical fitter operator
 

 .Tests and Measurements
 - T&M employee    mechanical technicians
 - Assembly employee    mechanical technicians
 - Instrumentation operator   electromechanical engineer

 . Quality Control
 - QC employee    mechanical technicians

. AREA: Marketing and Sales
 - Marketing manager    physics doctor degree

. AREA: Administration
 - Administrative supervisor   RMP Srl managing director
 - Accountancy employee   chartered accountant
 - Secretariat and Purchase employee  chartered accountant

1.2. Financial resource

Capital   Lit.    199.000.000
1997 billing  Lit. 1.809.000.000 export of about 50%
1998 billing  Lit. 1.534.000.000 (unofficial)

2.1. Design Area
 The following hardware and software facilities equip the design activity:
  - #2 computer PC (Pentium166, Pentium 6x200 - 32Mb RAM);
  - #3 workstation RISC Hewlett Packard 700 series (Unix);
  -  all stations and peripherals are connected in a local net;
  - #1 plotter HP-Design Jet (size A0);
  - #1 laser printer HP LaserJet 5Si (size A4-A3);
  -  software CAD 2D/3D Personal Designer by ComputerVision (PC);
  -  software CAD 2D Hewlett Packard ME10 (Unix);
  -  solid modelling software Hewlett Packard ME30 (Unix);
 Solid modelling software allows the realisation of 3-D virtual models that can simplify all verifications  on mechanical solutions adopted, such as:
  - analysis of mechanical interference of the assembled pieces in different working    configurations;
  - estimate of weight and clearance in all kind of configurations even very complicated;
  - identification of axes of inertia;
  - analysis of manufacturing and assembling problems.

2.2. Manufacturing Area
 For the manufacturing of designed mechanical items, different machine-driven tools are available, such as:
  - #1 CNC HURCO Mod. 4020;
  - #1 lathe COMEV range Pico Auto-Memory;
 - #1 NC milling machine;
  - #3 traditional milling machine;
  - #4 lathe;
  - #1 boring machine;
  - #1 calender;
  - #4  vertical drill;
 Also available the following:
  - #1 TIG welding station;
  - #1 plasma-arc cutter;
  - #1 smoothing mill;
  - #2 ultrasonic cleaning tank;
  - #1 drying oven;
  - #1 peening machine;
 - #1 sterile hood Steril-Oasis (class 100 , according to Federal Standard 209 B)

 Standard accuracy grade for manufacturing is: “accurate” (according to UNI 5307).

2.3. Inspections, tests and measurements
 Instruments available for measurements and calibrations:
  - #3 PC for instrument control and data acquisition;
 

- control software for instruments management under VEE (Hewlett Packard),
   DOS and WINDOWS;
  - #2 Heidenhain digital length gauge MT25;
 - #2 Trimos vertical 3 digital length gauge;
  - #2 granite optical bench;
  - #1 atomic force microscope;
  - #1 optical CCD microscope (x550).
 - #1 step motor controller (4-phases)
 - #1 laminar air flow modular system (class 100  air quality, according to Fed. Std. 209 D)
 Agreements with “Istituto di Struttura della Materia” (National Council of Research Roma) and “Sincrotrone Trieste SCpA” make available also:
  - interferometers;
  - autocollimators;
  - step motor controllers (5-phases).
 It is also possible to execute bake-out processes and create UHV environment:
  - #8 heating configurable controllers (Gefran 3300);
  - #2 VG mass spectrometer;
  - #2 turbo-molecular pumping unit (TSU180H Balzers, V150HT Varian);
  - #1 UHV-He leak tester (HLT150 Balzers);
  - #2 High-Vacuum gauge (Penning Balzers);
  - #1 Low-Vacuum gauge (Pirani Balzers);
  - #1 vacuum meter (TGP300 Balzers).

 Most part of the activities of our company has been devoted in satisfying research laboratories needs. Major areas can be distinctly identified:
 - design and realisation of entire as well as parts of synchrotron radiation beamlines ;
 - design and realisation of front ends for synchrotron radiation facilities;
 - design and realisation of measurement and mechanical apparatus strictly connected with  research activity of the Research Centre  ENEA (Frascati and Casaccia, Italy);
- design and realisation of Scanning Probe Microscopes (AFM/STM).
- design and realisation of Magneto-Plasma-Dynamic Space thrusters and their test vacuum  chambers;
- design and realisation of vacuum chambers for grow techniques as MBE and Laser Ablation.
 

3.1. Synchrotron radiation beamline
A beamline is a complex structure  with the aim to transfer the radiation emitted from a synchrotron source to an experimental chamber. The radiation energy emitted by the electrons travelling at relativistic speed in a synchrotron ring ranging from hard X-ray to infrared light.
Generally a beamline is mainly composed by  mirrors, diaphragms and  monochromators vacuum chambers.  Mirrors chambers contain mirrors used to focalise and divert the radiation. Diaphragms chambers contains highly precise variable dimension apertures that define the accepted portion of the radiation beam. Monochromators chambers contain one ore more diffraction elements able to divide the radiation in its energy components. All the chambers are connected via pipes and fittings. Inside the entire length of a beamline a pressure since to about 10-10 mbar could maintained in operative conditions. Total  beamline length can reach 28 m.
The principal challenges in the realisation of a beamline are the design, manufacturing and tests of high precision mechanical motion systems that could be mounted inside or outside the vacuum chambers. These assemblies must guarantee up to  three axis position mechanism (less than 1µm of linear positioning precision and less than 2 ?rad of angular positioning precision) with the aim of precisely manage the optical elements positions along the radiation path (example of optical elements are: diffraction gratings or crystals, spherical or aspherical mirrors, with a linear dimensions up to 1000 mm). These motion systems could be hand or motor driven, with integrated computer controls.
Because of beam high energy, the optical elements are often cooled using water circuits which must preserve UHV environment and elements motion possibilities.
 
 
 

Main realisations:

Elettra  Laboratory, Trieste, Italy

  VUV Photoemission Beamline
  ESCA Microscopy Beamline
  Spectromicroscopy Beamline
  Gas Phase Photoemission Beamline
  Circular Polarization Beamline
  X-ray Diffraction Slits Chamber
  SuperESCA Prefocalisation chamber
 
 
 

LURE Laboratory, Orsay, France

  SB7 Beamline
  SU8 Beamline
  SU5 Monochromator
 

ESRF Laboratory, Grenoble, France

  BL22 Monochromator
  ID17 Monochromator
 

INDUS Laboratory, Indore, India

  TGM  Monochromators, 3 versions with different arms

POHANG Laboratory, Pohang, Korea

Fixed entrance and moveable exit slits chambers

3.2. Front ends
With the word front end is usually intended the ensemble of vacuum pipes, fittings and chambers that connect one synchrotron radiation ring with each synchrotron radiation beamline. It proceed tangential to the ring and is mainly used to insert radiation blocks to stop the light emitted from the electrons as well as to define and control the accepted solid angle of  the emitted radiation and last but not least to protect, via remote controlled valve, the vacuum condition of the ring from any accident that could happen along the beamlines. The front end is completed with pneumatic actuator, water cooling system and power cable.
RMP Srl realised three front ends for the ELETTRA synchrotron radiation undulator sources.
 
 
 

3.3. ENEA - Frascati
Langmuir probes
 RMP Srl  realised Langmuir probes (with up to 36 electrodes) capable of quick introduction and extraction (cycle time t ? 0.1s) for  the FTU (Frascati Tokamak Upgrade). Motion system is hydraulic with remote controls.
Laser
 RMP Srl realised an X-ray pulse source (200 Hz) used as pre-ionizator. The technological main problems solved in the realisation of such a source were the cooling system design and the welding techniques used to join different substances.
 RMP Srl has also realised an excimer laser chamber (100W beam power) completely manufactured with stainless steel (AISI 316L) with nickel covered internal wall (chamber dimension: 1500x1000x500 mm). The internal environment is XeCl composed and the working pressure is 4 atm. Radiographs of all the chamber join weldings have been executed respecting strict security parameters.
 Cooling system and gas regeneration unit are 15 m long, the heat exchanger has a diameter of 1500 mm.
Neutron source
 RMP Srl realised a 14 MeV neutron source. Particular technical solutions were used to guarantee cooling system security and electron accelerator assembling (2.5 m long).
 Electric isolation has been assembled on a 6 meter height support made by carbon composite structure.
Multicollimator
 RMP Srl developed the design of a multi-collimator for X-ray and neutron beams to be introduced in a Tokamak.
Graphite
 RMP Srl realised an UHV chamber for graphite desorption analysis. Chamber internal walls were completely treated to guarantee an extremely low environment pressure.

3.4. Scanning probe microscopy
RMP Srl started since 1992 the production of Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPM) which represent a compendium of high technologies in the sector of mechanics, electronics and software (piezo-electrical motion systems, high gain I/V converters, etc.).
The main aspect of our product is the capability to perform both AFM and STM techniques with the same instrument.
Our collaboration with the most important research laboratories in Italy make it possible to improve microscope performances by means of feedback information coming from on field operators.
On March 1996 RMP submitted to the European Commission a proposal for financing a whole upgrade of SPM electronics by means of FUSE (First User Application Experiment) program. RMP received on 4th June 1996 the official approval for the program (program n. 23099). The program started on 1st October 1996.
Nowadays our SPMs are installed in the following research laboratories:
 - n. 2 AFM+STM   Istituto di Struttura della Materia – National Research Council - Frascati (ROME).
 - n.1 AFM+STM   Biomedical Sciences and Technologies Dept. - University of Milan - MILAN.
 - n.1 STM   Biophysics Dept. - University of Pisa - PISA;
 - n.1 AFM+STM   Physics Dept. - 2nd University of Rome - ROME.

3.5.  Other significant activities
RMP Srl has realised a test chamber for Magneto-Plasma-Dynamic (MPD) space thrusters (environment pressure: 10-6 mbar, plasma energy: up to 3 keV). This chamber is installed in the Mechanics and Aeronautics Dept. of the University of Rome. MPD thrusters has been designed and realised in collaboration with the Electric Propulsion Lab. of the same Dept.
For the same Laboratory, RMP Srl is designing a 3-axis motion system for Langmuir probes (remote controlled) to be inserted into the chamber.
 RMP Srl has realised the MBE (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) technique advance material grow chamber for “Istituto di Struttura della Materia” (CNR - Frascati).

RMP Srl references can be confirmed by all our Clients. We would underline:

- ELETTRA  Scientific Dep. of Sincrotrone Trieste SCpA (Trieste, Italy)
Dr. M. Bertolo, Dr. Eng. A. Gambitta, Dr. M. Kiskinova, Dr. Eng. F. Mazzolini, Dr. G. Paolucci, Dr. K. Prince, Dr. A. Savoia  and  Dr. Q. Chen (SLS-PSI).

- LURE Laboratory (Orsay, France)               Dr. F. Pollack, Dr. F. Sirotti.

- ESRF Laboratory (Grenoble, France) Dr. J. Susini.

- ENEA/Frascati (Rome, Italy)   Dr. R. Bartiromo, Dr. G. Letardi;
ENEA/Casaccia (Rome, Italy)                      Dr. Eng. A. Galli.

- Istituto di Struttura della Materia, CNR-Frascati (Rome, Italy)
 Dr. P. Perfetti, Dr. C. Quaresima, Dr. N. Zema.

- Istituto di Metodologie Avanzate Inorganiche, CNR-Montelibretti (Rome, Italy)
Dr. R. Camilloni, Dr. L. Avaldi.

- University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Mechanics and Aeronautics Dept. (Rome, Italy)
Prof. L. De Socio, Prof. G. Paccani.