Vacuum coating is a technique in which thin-film materials are produced by physical methods. The atoms of the material in the vacuum chamber are separated from the heating source and hit the surface of the object to be plated. This technology was first used to produce optical lenses, such as marine telescope lenses. Later extended to other functional films, record aluminum plating, decorative coating and material surface modification. For example, the watch case is plated with imitation gold, and the mechanical knife is coated to change the processing redness and hardness.
Introduction:
The film layer is prepared in a vacuum, including plating crystalline metal, semiconductor, insulator, and other elemental or compound films. Although chemical vapor deposition also uses vacuum means such as reduced pressure, low pressure or plasma, vacuum coating generally refers to the use of physical methods to deposit thin films. There are three forms of vacuum coating, namely evaporation coating, sputtering coating and ion plating.
Vacuum coating technology first appeared in the 1930s, industrial applications began to appear in the 1940s and 1950s, and large-scale industrial production began in the 1980s. It has been widely used in industries such as electronics, aerospace, packaging, decoration, and hot stamping. Vacuum coating refers to the deposition of a certain metal or metal compound on the surface of a material (usually a non-metallic material) in the form of a gas phase in a vacuum environment, which is a physical vapor deposition process. Because the coating is often a metal film, it is also called vacuum metallization. In a broad sense, vacuum coating also includes vacuum deposition of non-metallic functional films such as polymers on the surface of metal or non-metal materials. Among all the materials to be plated, plastic is the most common, followed by paper coating. Compared with metals, ceramics, wood and other materials, plastics have the advantages of abundant sources, easy control of performance, and convenient processing. Therefore, a wide variety of plastics or other polymer materials are used as engineering decorative structural materials and are widely used in automobiles, home appliances, and daily use. Packaging, craft decoration and other industrial fields. However, most plastic materials have defects such as low surface hardness, insufficient appearance, and low wear resistance. For example, a very thin metal film can be deposited on the plastic surface to give the plastic a bright metal appearance. It can greatly increase the wear resistance of the surface of the material, and greatly broaden the decoration and application scope of the plastic.
The functions of vacuum coating are multifaceted, which also determines that its application occasions are very rich. In general, the main functions of vacuum coating include imparting a high degree of metallic luster and mirror effect to the surface of the plated parts, making the film layer have excellent barrier properties on the film material, and providing excellent electromagnetic shielding and conductive effects.
Post time: Jul-31-2021