In the reactive sputtering process, the parts in the vacuum chamber for
coating are first heated. They are then ion etched by bombardment with
argon ions. This renders the metal surface pure and clean, free from
any atomic contamination - an essential condition for coating adhesion.
A high negative voltage is then applied to the sputtering sources
which contain the coating material. The resulting electrical gas
discharge leads to the formation of positive argon ions that are
accelerated in the direction of the coating material, which is atomised
by the bombardment. The evaporated particles of atomised metal react
with a gas that is introduced to the chamber and contains the
non-metallic component of the hard coating to be deposited.
The result is the deposition on the substrates of a thin, compact coating with the desired structure and composition.
1 Argon
2 Reactive gas
3 Planar magnetron evaporation source (coating material)
4 Components
5 Vacuum pump
|
