Magnetron sputtering explained.

Technological advances are wondrous

I'm an admirer of all things technological, and especially super innovations that make the world a cleaner and safer place. Sometimes I scout around the web just to see what's new and I came across this odd video that to me looked like it was a very slow game of pong, which it wasn't. It turned out to be a video explaining in laymans terms what magnetron sputtering is.

Honestly, if you had asked me before what Magnetron sputtering was, I would have guessed that it's the sound your microwave makes if you forget to take the little twistie off your reheating food, you know, the kind that has just a little bit of metal in it so it makes you microwave all sparky and, if it goes unchecked quite broken as well? Well, it turns out that I would have been very wrong.

Playing Pong!

How magnetron sputtering differs from galvanization

Magnetron spluttering is a technique by which a tiny coating is created on a substrate. The process is used to make all kinds of usefull stuff, for instance in micro-technology, parts of batteries, electronics (coatings put over printplates to protect them) and a myriad of other applications ranging from childrens toys to motorcycle components.

There's a big difference between the technology I remember from physics class growing up and this sputtering. Back then you would use a big vat of fluids and loads of electricity and I believe some chemicals as well and you could galvanize things. That meant a “thin”layer of zinc would be deposited on your metal object. In Holland our traditional garbage cans were galvanized, which meant the were more durable than just plain iron ones because they wouldn't rust (or at least not while the zinc was in place. You could also galvanize with chromium (making things nice and shiny) and you could copper, silver or goldplate stuff in much the same way. Commercial galvanisation used large quantities of Chromium 6, and even cyanide which of course have a rather desastrous effect on the environment. So, thank goodness they've come up with an alternative!

Pong, the simple explanation

So how does it work? The pong video shows the process in a very simplified way. Something that is the base for the coating (the bottom piece in the pong game) is put inside a chamber. The chamber is then filled with Argon, which as I understand it is like a catalyst, it doesn't get used up in the process but it does help it along. The electrons play their little pong game and a thin layer of the agent (at the bottom) is deposited onto the target (at the top in the ponggame). It sticks there and a tiny film of the material from the bottom is now stuck to the material at the top. The smart part is that there is a magnet at the top that catches any stray electrons so that all those that are knocked free from the bottom actually make it to the top.

So that's the basic process, a really simple explanation of it anyway. But this Magnetron sputtering is at the heart of many of our modern instruments. It's in our batteries, our cars are coated with it, it's used in sporting goods and childrens toys, in cutting tools and TV screens. And of course it's still used to protect metal from corrosion and to decorate all things that look better when the shine!

Vacuum coatings as a way to improve durability

Coating for all your vehicle parts

Whether you're a hobbyist or a professional builder of bikes, trikes and other sporty vehicles, the best part about the designing process is getting yourself a custom paint job. For the ultimate in durable and beautiful but above all thin coating there is nothing that can beat vacuum coating. Instead of relying on paints and airbrush systems that can be tricky and have the risk of chipping the paint unless you're having it done by a (high paid) professional who layers on 5 ultra thin coats of paint, you can have the machines set to the finest details and layer on just one ultra thin layer that is more durable than anything your professional airbrush artist can. There's just no comparison.

What thin coatings make possible

Imagin being able to create a coat as thin as a few molecules and using it in aerospace technology. You could significantly reduce the amount of paint needed on an airplane which reduces the weight dramatically. On a jumbo-jet this would save on fuel expenditure, but in sleek fighter jets it could mean the difference between life and death as the lighter the plane, the more possibilities, the easier turns will be.

Refurbishing guns can really create a super fine coat that is resistant to the heat and other specifications that go with guns and gunpowder. A very specialized job that requires the utmost of care.

In aeronautics it could eventually mean space becomes more accessible to us. In lifting a spaceship out of our gravitational field every ounce counts.

In automotives it could help save energy in the same way, but the application can be used to lay a coating on the windows helping prevent being blinded by a low hanging sun, or even, in the future, garnering solar energy to feed the cars electrical systems.

Less use of materials, in particular the solvents that are so damaging to our environment that are generally used in the classic paintjob means we are doing less harm to our planet. As such it's a great way of caring for our environment as well. As you can tell, I'm a big fan of vacuum coating.

The process of vacuum coating

You can choose all dimensions of the coating, ranging from thickness, complexity to color and shinyness. You can have a metalized coating or just layer of several molecules thickness of your favorite coloring agent. The possibilities are endless.

It's not just vehicles that you can customize in this manner. You can apply the coating on virtually any object. A great gift item is a metalized babyshoe. Art objects can be coated top to bottom to create a really shiny finish that can add to beauty of the object you've given shape. Another area where these coatings can be instrumental is the finish of medical equipment which needs to be strong, easy to clean and durable.

Buying coating equipment

Another option, if you're in manufacturing is to buy the coating equipment itself and have it set to create your particular coating for your specialized manufacturing item. Vergason sells the equipment for such operations as well als delivering the finest custom coating finishes on demand. Wether you're in sporting goods (weightlifting components) or the novelty industry (like the babyshoes or winners prizes, cups, etc.) or you're in the automotive industry (think about the shiny parts of the car, like the lights, the chrome). The finest, thinnest coat can be ordered at Vergason or made by your own sputtering systems.