Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/09/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I don't mean to be argumentative. But I think it's a plasma rather than a vapor and I think you mean 10 to 100 micron. Bruce: I didn't take your response as being argumentative. However, let me be more complete in my response and our discussion. What we are really talking about is Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) processes. In other words, a deposition process in which atoms or molecules of material are vaporized from a solid or liquid, transported in the form of a vapor through a vacuum or low pressure environment, and condensed on a substrate. PVD processes consist of the following techniques: 1. vacuum evaporation 2. sputter deposition in a plasma environment 3. sputter deposition in a vacuum 4. ion plating in a plasma environment with a thermal evaporation source 5. ion plating in a plasma environment with a sputtering source 6. vacuum ion plating or ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD)in a vacuum environment with a thermal evaporation source and ion bombardment from an ion gun. (See: Metal Finishing Handbook '97 - PVD Processes by Donald Mattox - Society of Vacuum Coaters - pg399) PHEWWWWWW! But, as you can see from above, all are vapor deposition techniques of which some will use a plasma. You are probably correct in assuming the use of a plasma technique with titanium. But it is not always the case. By the way, a micrometer IS a micron. See the same reference book above, on page 812 for verification. My company makes two glow discharge (plasma) optical spectrometers for quantitative depth profiling of coatings on substrate materials. Best Regards, Rick