Coating of substrates using HIPIMS

US9416440B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• CemeCon AG · DE

Inventors

• Lars Hultman · Säter, SE
• Grzegorz Greczynski · Säter, SE
• Werner Koelker · Herzogenrath, DE
• Oliver Lemmer · Aachen, DE
• Stephan Bolz · Pfatter, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 25, 2012
• Grant date: Aug 16, 2016
• Expiry date: Dec 2, 2032

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10T428/265
• WIPO field: Surface technology, coating
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

A process and a device for coating a substrate (22) are described. In a vacuum chamber (10), a first magnetron cathode (24) is provided with a sputtering target (28) of a first metal composition comprising predominantly aluminium. A second magnetron cathode (26) is provided with a sputtering target (30) of a second metal composition comprising at least 50 at-% of a second metal selected from groups IVA-VIA of the periodic table. In order to obtain coatings with improved properties, electrical power is supplied to the cathodes (24, 26) such that the targets (28, 30) are sputtered, where electrical power is supplied to the first cathode (24) as pulsed electrical power according to high power impulse magnetron sputtering with a first peak current density, and to the second cathode (26) with a second peak current density lower than the first peak current density. The substrate (22) is arranged within the vacuum chamber such that particles from the plasma deposit onto the substrate forming a coating.