Leybold Aktiengesellschaft

Siegfried Schulz

Christoph Daube

Uwe Kopacz

Andreas Rack

Alfred Belz

For the production of a coating formed by cathode sputtering, a target made from an alloy of gold and preferably vanadium is used. During the cathode sputtering, nitrogen gas is used as the reactive gas. The result is the formation of vanadium nitrides on the substrate to be coated. By varying the nitrogen content, the proportion of the vanadium nitrides can be changed thereby causing the appearance and the hardness of the coating to also change. This change in coating characteristics can accommodate a broad range of requirements avoiding the necessity of using different targets for different coating characteristics.

Method for producing a decorative gold alloy coating

Coating of components and shapes by cathode sputtering of target material of a first cathode system (6) with concentration of a first discharge space (plasma cloud) in the vicinity of the target surface by a spatially closed magnetic field (plasma trap) opposite the target (12). The field strength is reduced in front of the target surface by an additional magnet associated with a lateral boundary of the target.

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Hanau, Germany

Siegfried Schulz