Process Description:
The PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) process converts a solid, generally metallic substrate material, called the target, to an ionized gaseous state. The resultant ionized vapor condenses onto the substrate, forming a thin film coating. Ionization can be achieved through the use of thermal processes (electron beam or light arc, known as cathodic vacuum arc evaporation) that directly vaporize the surface of the target, or through kinetic energy (cathodic sputtering) using a plasma, usually a noble gas such as argon, to impact the surface of the target. The PVD process is carried out in a vacuum chamber, to facilitate travel of the vaporized coating material to the substrate, control the rate of deposition and prevent contamination.

Sulzer Metaplas MAXIT® PVD System

As the PVD-sputtering process is not evaporative in nature, it is especially useful when the coating material is a compound comprised of components that would vaporize at different rates. It is also useful for parts that could not be exposed to the higher temperatures of the PVD-arc process.

An important advantage of the PVD-arc process compared to the PVD-sputtering process is that it produces considerably higher plasma energy density during the deposition process with 100% ionization of the vaporized target material possible. This produces coatings of significantly higher hardness and density with better adhesion to the substrate compared to the PVD-sputtering process, which is capable of only 10 to 40% degree of ionization.

Physical vapor deposition is a very flexible process and has found wide-spread use in industry as a cost-effective coating process to prevent wear of machine tools and produce surfaces with excellent frictional characteristics.

PVD Sputtering Process	PVD Arc Process
The metal atoms are forced out of the target by the argon ions and partially ionized.	The metal is evaporated by the arc in a single step, and ionized and accelerated within an electric field

Features of the MAXIT® Process:
• Flexible choice of coating materials
• Produces surfaces for a variety of applications, including wear resistance, corrosion resistance, desirable frictional characteristics and decorative surfaces
• Excellent control of coating thickness and surface characteristics
• High deposition rate
• High bond of the coating to the substrate
• Low coating temperatures starting at less than 180 °C (350 °F)
• High volume, batch production capability with excellent economics
• Excellent flexibility of system configurations for many different component configurations, sizes and production quantities