Metallization of Plastics by Physical Vapor Deposition Techniques

Common physical vapor deposition techniques, such as vacuum evaporation and magnetically enhanced sputtering as used in the metallization of common plastics, are described and compared for different applications. Typical applications range from the metallization of various types of plastics used for trophies, automobile dashboards and compact discs to the deposition of cermet coatings onto aerospace parts fabricated with fiber impregnated polyimide composites or other moldable high temperature polymeric materials.