7/14/22, 10:45 PM What Is PVD Coating?

Physical Vapor Deposition Coatings

What is PVD Coating?

Written By Matt Hughes – President – Semicore Equipment, Inc.

PVD stands for Physical Vapor Deposition. PVD Coating refers to a variety
of thin film deposition techniques where a solid material is vaporized in a
vacuum environment and deposited on substrates as a pure material or
alloy composition coating.

As the process transfers the coating material as a single atom or on the

molecular level, it can provide extremely pure and high performance
coatings which for many applications can be preferable to other methods used. At the heart of
every microchip, and semiconductor device, durable protective film, optical lens, solar panel and
many medical devices, PVD Coatings provide crucial performance attributes for the final product.
Whether the coating needs to be extremely thin, pure, durable or clean, PVD provides the
solution.

It is used in a wide variety of industries like optical applications ranging from eye glasses to self-
cleaning tinted windows, photovoltaic applications for solar energy, device applications like
computer chips, displays and communications as well as functional or decorative finishes, from
durable hard protective films to brilliant gold, platinum or chrome plating.

The two most common Physical Vapor Deposition Coating processes are Sputtering and Thermal
Evaporation. Sputtering involves the bombardment of the coating material known as the target
with a high energy electrical charge causing it to “sputter” off atoms or molecules that are
deposited on a substrate like a silicon wafer or solar panel. Thermal Evaporation involves
elevating a coating material to the boiling point in a high vacuum environment causing a vapor
stream to rise in the vacuum chamber and then condense on the substrate.

What Makes PVD Coatings Highly Durable, Corrosion and

Scratch Resistant?
Being able to apply coatings at the atomic level using PVD allows control of structure, density and
stoichiometry of the films. Using certain materials and processes, we can develop specifically
desired attributes of the physical vapor deposited film like hardness, lubricity, adhesion and more.

These coatings can reduce friction and provide a barrier

against damage. The applications for these coatings are
ever expanding. Aerospace, automotive, defense,

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manufacturing and more where long lasting durability is

crucial.

This type of physical vapor deposition coatings can also be

highly resistant to tarnishing and corrosion, enabling them
to be used for a wide range of decorative finishes with
colors that do not fade. A PVD gold or platinum coating
produces brilliant finishes that make watches highly PVD Coating Equipment

resistant to scratches and scrapes that cause less resilient FAQs Video
processes to wear off.

Titanium nitride and similar coatings offer beautiful finishes that are also very resistant to
corrosion and wear. This makes them widely used on household items such as door handles,
plumbing fixtures and marine fixtures as well as machining tools, knives, drill bits, etc. It produces
coatings with superior hardness, durability and resistance to wear.

Are PVD Coatings Safe?

Physical Vapor Deposition processes are an
environmentally friendly or “plating” technique that greatly
reduces the amount of toxic substances that must be
used, manage and disposed of as compared to other “wet”
processes that involve fluid precursors and chemical
reactions used to achieve the same result. Because it is
capable of producing extremely pure, clean and durable
What is Sputtering? Video
coatings, Physical Vapor Deposition is the technology of
choice for the surgical and medical implant industry.

How are PVD Coatings Applied?

Whether the specific application process is Sputtering or Thermal Evaporation, both physical
vapor deposition processes are fundamentally high vacuum techniques, vaporizing a source
material to a plasma of atoms or molecules and depositing them on a wide range of substrates.
Carried out in a high vacuum chamber with a pressure approximating outer space at 10-2 to 10-6
Torr (102 to 104 millibar), the process usually takes place between 50 and 500 Degrees C.

The object to be coated is secured in a fixture and placed in the vacuum deposition chamber. The
chamber is pumped down to the optimum pressure depending upon the coating materials,
substrate and process requirements used, and the object to be coated is often preheated and
plasma cleaned.

What are Common PVD Coating Target Materials?

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The coating material that is going to be sputtered or vaporized is known as a “target” or “source
material”. There are hundreds of materials commonly used in PVD. Depending on what the end
product is, materials range from metals, alloys, ceramics, compositions and just about anything
from the periodic table.

Some processes require unique coatings like carbides,

nitrides, silicides and borides for specialized applications.
Each have special qualities tailored to specific
performance requirements. Graphite and titanium for
example are often used in high performance aerospace
and automotive components where friction and
temperature are crucial success factors.
CAPOS-CT PVD

Sputtering System Video

To achieve a uniform thin film coating thicknesses that are
often a few atoms or molecules thick, parts to be coated
are often rotated on several axis at a uniform speed, or placed on conveyor belts moving past the
deposition material’s plasma stream. Single or multi-layered coatings can be applied during the
same deposition cycle.

Why is Argon Gas Used for PVD?

Argon is an inert gas which means it cannot chemically combine with other atoms or compounds.
This assures that the coating material remains pure when it enters the vapor phase in the
vacuum chamber before it is deposited on the substrate.

Additionally, reactive gasses such as nitrogen, oxygen or

acetylene can be introduced into the vacuum deposition
chamber to produce compounds that create a very strong
bond between the coating and substrate when it’s
deposited. Although the thin film depositions can be
several angstroms to many microns thick, they form an
extremely adherent coating that performs well in many Perkin-Elmer

applications like decorative finishes, electrical and other Sputtering System Video
functional coatings. The applications are limitless!

Of all of the benefits of the PVD Coating process that produce some of the toughest, most brilliant
and cutting edge technology of our time ranging from microchips to solar panels, none is more
important than the fact that PVD Coatings can be applied with no toxic residues or byproducts
which degrade our planet’s environment.

Matt Hughes is President of Semicore Equipment Inc, a leading worldwide PVD Equipment
Manufacturer for the electronics, solar energy, medical, optical, automotive, and related high tech
industries. Let our helpful support staff answer any questions you have on how to implement the

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best techniques and equipment for your specific needs by contacting us at sales@semicore.com
or by calling 925-373-8201.
 

Related Articles

What Is Thin Film Deposition?

The two most common techniques of Thin Film Physical Vapor Deposition or
PVD are Thermal Evaporation and Sputtering.  Thermal Evaporation involves
heating a solid material that will be used to coat a substrate inside a high
vacuum chamber until it starts to boil and evaporates producing vapor
pressure. Sputtering involves the bombardment of a target material with high energy particles that
are to be deposited on a substrate like a silicon wafer or solar panel.  Each thin film deposition
process has advantages and disadvantages depending upon the specific application…. Read
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What Is Thermal Evaporation?

Thermal Evaporation involves heating a solid material inside a high vacuum
chamber to take it to a temperature which produces a vapor pressure. Inside
the vacuum chamber, even a relatively low vapor pressure is enough to raise
a vapor cloud. This evaporated material now constitutes a vapor stream,
which traverses the chamber and hits the substrate, sticking to it as a coating or thin film…. Read
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What Is Sputtering?
Sputtering is a thin film coating technique where a target material to be used
as the coating is given an electrical charge causing it to be bombarded with
ionized gas molecules in a vacuum environment causing atoms to be
“Sputtered” off into the plasma. These vaporized atoms are then deposited
when they condense as a thin film on the substrate to be coated…. Read More

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USA

TEL: 925-373-8201

FAX: 925-373-8202

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