Vacuum arc deposition of protective layers on glass and polymer substrates

Abstract Vacuum arc deposition allows one to deposit various coatings on insulating and temperature-sensitive substrates (like polymers). An advantage of the vacuum arc deposition technique is the low substrate temperature during the deposition process. A vacuum arc deposition apparatus for the coating of large-area substrates has been developed. Ti, TiN, TiO 2 and diamond-like single and multilayer coatings have been deposited on plastic and glass substrates. The vacuum arc technology permits formation of multilayer colour filters of high uniformity on substrates with dimensions up to 2000×1400 mm 2 . The microstructure, chemical composition and optical properties of the deposited coatings have been characterised with the aid of secondary-ion mass spectrometry, optical and Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy.