Advanced technologies / Coating techniques /
Principle of magnetron sputtering
Physical vapor deposition
General description
Physical vapor deposition presents a group of deposition techniques (evaporation, magnetron sputtering, and pulsed laser deposition) for preparation of thin films and coatings with thickness in the range from several nanometers to micrometers.Principle of operation
Magnetron sputtering represents one of the mostly used PVD deposition techniques. Magnetron sputtering is a plasma coating process whereby sputtering material is ejected due to bombardment of ions to the target surface. The vacuum chamber of the PVD coating machine is filled with an inert gas, such as argon or reactive gas, such as nitrogen or oxygen. By applying a high voltage, a glow discharge is created, resulting in acceleration of ions to the target surface. The argon-ions will eject sputtering materials from the target surface (sputtering), resulting in a sputtered coating layer on the products in front of the target.Typical applications
- hard, wear resistant coatings
- low-friction coatings
- corrosion resistant coatings
- decorative coatings
- superconducting coatings
- coatings with specific optical, or electrical properties
- protective coatings for high-temperature applications
Principle of magnetron sputteringEquipment
- Lab-scale facility with two-steps vacuum pumping system (rotary and turbomolecular pump), mass flow controllers, two gas inlets, 4” unbalanced magnetron, biased and heated substrate holder, DC power supply for magnetron and for bias.