Letter 12049

Cleaning  before PVD

Dear Sir,

Can any one please tell me the procedure for cleaning the materials before PVD coatings......Is there any special cleaning process to be done??

Vasudevan Swaminathan
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu, INDIA

I wouldn't say that you need any special cleaning. The parts must be free of grease, including fingerprints. The degree depends on the purpose of the coating, and the PVD process used. The level of cleanliness can be much lower if you are using cathodic arc than e-beam or sputtering, due to the higher level of ionization. In all cases, you must sputter clean the samples just prior to deposition to remove the native oxide. Most PVD systems have this capability.

Jim Treglio
- San Diego, California

Dear Jim Treglio,

Thanks for you reply....Is there any specific cleaning for Sputter deposition? and is there cleaning after coating?? I facing a continous problem of finger print... is there any solution for the same... like any solvent that can prevent finger print after coating?

Vasudevan Swaminathan
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu, INDIA

I have been noticing this discussion for several months and several useful suggestions have been made at this (finishing.com) forum. Would it not be easier if you just investigate where the fingers are coming from? If not in your plant, may be it is from a vendor's facility.

Mandar Sunthankar
- Fort Collins, CO

WHAT IS PVD ?

Luis Santiago
- New York, NY

PVD is physical vapor deposition, a process where the metal or other material you want to coat something with is vaporized in a vacuum in order to deposit it on the part which you want coated.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey

Post a question on a different subject.

 

Answer or follow-up on this subject (in non-commercial fashion).