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How to Apply Metal Oxide Coatings to Plastic

Thin film coatings are used in many technological applications such as optical lenses, magnetic sensors and semiconductor technologies. There are many ways to deposit a thin film coating; these methods include thermal evaporation, pulsed laser deposition and sputtering. Sputtering is a versatile technique and allows the deposition of thin films with nanometer precision. Sputtering is also capable of depositing metals or metallic oxides on a wide range of substrates such as plastic materials.

Things You'll Need

Radio frequency sputtering system
Metal oxide sputter target
Precision screwdriver

Instructions

- 1
  Open a sputtering system. Remove the sputter gun shield and unscrew the ring that holds your sputtering target in place. Place the metallic oxide target onto the sputter gun and screw in place the target ring with a precision screwdriver. Replace the sputter gun shield. Place the plastic substrate into the substrate holder. Close the sputtering system.
- 2
  Pump the sputtering system down to a suitable pressure setting such as 10^-6 millibars. Ensure that the shutter is closed so the substrate is not exposed to a deposition until needed. Introduce the system's argon gas into the chamber until a pressure of about 5 millibars is reached.
- 3
  Switch on the radio frequency power supply. Wait until a visible plasma can be seen within the sputtering chamber. Open the shutter. The plastic substrate is now being exposed to a deposition of metal oxide molecules. Close the shutter when the desired thickness has been obtained.

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