*Angela Bertuna, Tommaso Ceccatelli Martellini, Gerardo Coletta, Fabrizio Pitacco, Michele Tosti, Protec Surface Technologies, Brescia, Italy
Nowadays Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) technology is required to be applied in broader fields of applications. PVD is often not applied on very small substrates for the main following reasons: • Samples positioning on frames would take unacceptable time (cost wise) • Creation of specific frames would be extremely difficult or too costly. • Difficult to ensure a good or acceptable film uniformity and thickness. In electrochemical process previous issues have been overcome carrying out barrel (or mass) coating process. In literature, specifically designed special PVD machines to perform such mass / barrel coatings can be found. Protec Surface Technologies R&D department studied a different approach, the so called “PVD Mass Finishing,” thus being able to use standard batch PVD machines performing a mass coating process. The “PVD Mass Finishing” solution is a combination of innovative PVD process together with special designed new frames family. Using the “PVD Mass finishing” solution we have been able to: • Use standard PVD machines. • Reduce coating costs. • Improve uniformity. • Achieve maximum flexibility both for substrate shapes and dimensions. • Apply PVD coating on very low value-added substrates. • Maximize the number of samples treated each batch.