Oerlikon Surface Solutions Ag, Pfaffikon

Oerlikon Trading Ag, Truebbach

Unaxis Balzers Limited

Oerlikon Trading Ag, Trubbach

Oerlikon Surface Solutions Ag, Trubbach

Oliver Gstoehl

Siegfried Krassnitzer

Juerg Hagmann

Jürgen Ramm

Beno Widrig

Mauro Pedrazzini

Daniel Lendi

Markus Esselbach

A method for coating substrates in an arc vaporization source for generating hard surface coatings on tools is provided. The method includes providing an arc-vaporization source with at least one electric solenoid and a permanent magnet arrangement including marginal permanent magnets and a central permanent magnet. The method further includes adjusting the position of the central and marginal permanent magnets relative to the target surface in at least three settings, adjusting the strength of the generated magnetic field based on the position of the central and marginal permanent magnets among the at least three settings, and coating the substrates by an ARC vaporization coating process performed by the ARC vaporization source at each of the at least three settings.

Modifiable magnet configuration for arc vaporization sources

The present invention relates to an arc vaporization source for generating hard surface coatings on tools. The invention comprises an arc-vaporization source, comprising at least one electric solenoid and a permanent magnet arrangement that is displaceable relative to the target surface. The vaporization source can be adjusted to the different requirements of oxide, nitride, or metal coatings. The rate drop during the lifespan of a target to be vaporized can be held constant or adjusted by suitably adjusting the distance of the permanent magnets to the front side of the target. A compromise between the coating roughness and rate can be set.

This invention relates to an arc-based method for the deposition of insulating layers and to an arc-based method for low-temperature coating processes, in which an electric arc discharge, ignited and applied on the surface of a target in an arc source, is simultaneously fed a direct current and a pulsed or alternating current. The invention further relates to an arc source in which the target is connected to a power supply unit that encompasses either a minimum of one pulsed high-current power supply' and an additional power supply&#x2033;, or a power supplydesigned with switchable combinatorial circuitry.

Method for operating a pulsed arc source

The present invention relates to an ignition device for igniting a high-current discharge of an electrical arc evaporator in a vacuum coating system. Ignition is performed by means of mechanically closing and opening a contact between the cathode and the anode. Contact is established by means of an ignition finger that can move on a forced path. On account of the forced path, the ignition finger can be moved by means of a simple mechanical drive to a park position, which is protected against coating, and said ignition finger can also be used to ignite a second target.

Ignition apparatus for arc sources

Planetary carriers () for workpieces mounted on a carousel () are provided within a vacuum chamber. A source () for a cloud comprising ions (CL) is provided so that a central axis (A) of the cloud intercepts the rotary axis (A) of the carousel (). The cloud (CL) has an ion density profile at the moving path (T) of planetary axes (A) which drops to 50% of the maximum ion density at a distance from the addressed center axis (A) which is at most half the diameter of the planetary carriers (). When workpieces upon the planetary carriers () are etched by the cloud comprising ions material which is etched off is substantially not redeposited on neighboring planetary carriers but rather ejected towards the wall of the vacuum chamber.

Method for manufacturing workpieces with ion-etched surface

The invention relates to an arc source or a source for vaporizing or sputtering of materials and a method for operating a source. The source comprises an insulated counter-electrode and/or an AC magnet system. Thereby, dependent on the requirement, any desired potential can be applied to the counter-electrode and/or the source can be operated with different magnet systems, in particular as arc or sputter source.

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Balzers, Liechtenstein

Oliver Gstoehl