WSEAS Transactions on Applied and Theoretical Mechanics
Print ISSN: 1991-8747, E-ISSN: 2224-3429
Volume 7, 2012
Simulation and Modeling of Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Process
Author:
Abstract: The deposition of thin film layers from the vapor phase is accomplished through several techniques. We review the physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques and equipment that are in common use in the high-volume production of coatings that find application in the optical, display, decorative and tribological. Specific PVD processes and coating materials have been developed and optimized for each application. It is well established that low pressure physical vapor deposition processes such as thermal evaporation and the many variants of sputtering utilize nearly collision less vapor transport to a substrate. This results in line-of-sight deposition. The deposition of uniform coatings on complex shapes using these approaches therefore requires substrate rotation or a multiple evaporation source strategy. In many cases, the line-of-sight requirement precludes the use of these processes entirely. Recently, developed rarefied gas jet based deposition processes, however, operate at much higher pressures where many gas phase collisions occur. Direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) simulations have been used to understand the fundamental phenomena involved and to identify the role of the process conditions on the coating’s uniformity.