Drystar Application: Coating

Introduction and definition

Vacuum coating is the deposition of a film or a coating made under vacuum or a low-pressure
plasma environment. Generally the term is applied to processes which deposit atomic (or
molecular) monolayers; such as physical vapour deposition (PVD), low-pressure chemical vapour
deposition (LP-CVD) processes or plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD).

In PVD processes, the material being deposited comes from the vapourisation of a solid or liquid
surface. i.e. by Thermal Evaporation (resistance heated evaporation, electron beam evaporation)
or Sputter Deposition (DC, RF, reactive)

In CVD processes, the material being deposited comes from a chemical vapour target species
that is decomposed by reduction or thermal decomposition - mostly on a hot (1000K) surface. In
some cases the material being deposited reacts with the gaseous environment or a co-deposited
species to form a film of a compound material such as an oxide, a nitride, carbide, or a
carbonitride. In CVD processing, the use of a plasma to fragment the chemical vapour target in
the vapour phase allows the decomposition or reduction processes to proceed at lower
temperatures than with thermal activation alone.
(Edwards manufactures a range of pumps for CVD applications at specific temperatures and gas
purges. Please contact Edwards for more details)

Edwards Ltd, Crawley Business Quarter, Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9LW, UK. T:
+44 (0) 1293 52 88 44
© Edwards Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Registered in England and Wales No. 6124750
Edwards and the Edwards logo are trade marks of Edwards Limited.
Coating examples:

• Roll coating requires a good vacuum combined with well controlled deposition sources
depositing coatings onto equally well defined web surfaces. Barrier coatings are used on
flexible polymer films and paper for food packaging to reduce the water vapour and
oxygen transmission through the paper or polymer film

• Glass coating of variety of metals and oxides which have a wide range of uses, from
decorative to IR reflection or transmission

• HDD drive manufacturing: hard drives store data by writing the data to a rotating hard
disk known as a platter which is coated with a thin film magnetic material

• Optical Filters, lenses and mirrors usually multilayer films (“stacks”) that affect the optical
transmission or reflection of a surface

• PVD wear and corrosion resistant coating used to increase the operational life of cutting
tools and to maintain the dimensional tolerances of components used in applications
where wear and corrosion can occur, such as injection moulds

• Research and development and pre-production coating in areas such as optics,

electronics, electrical and electron microscopy applications

• Metallization of conductor lines used in hybrid microcircuit technology and in the

manufacture of semiconductor devices. Often, the electrical conductors are multilayer
films (stacks) where each layer has a function

• Decorative coatings applications vary from coating polymer webs - which are then
converted to decorative uses such as balloons and labels - to the metallization of three-
dimensional articles, such as sports trophies, zinc die cast and molded polymer
decorative fixtures, and cosmetic containers

Vacuum requirements
The GV and GV/EH combinations are used for roughing and process steps in combination with
secondary turbomolecular, diffusion or cryo pumps as necessary.

Drystar Installation
To ensure optimum performance and reliability of operation of Drystar 80 pumps the following
should be considered when planning installation:

Purge Gas
N2 or CDA is required as a purge gas to ensure cleanliness to the dry swept volume and no
ingress of process material into the low vacuum gear box. The Drystar 80 is supplied with an in-
line pressure regulator and gauge. The maximum supply pressure is 100 psi, when regulated
down to 8 psi the Drystar 80 will deliver 15 slm to the shaft seal area. In clean applications an Deleted: ¶
optional atmospheric shaft seal purge kit is available, however the continuous operating pressure
of the system must be below 100 mbar to allow suitable operation.

Edwards Ltd, Crawley Business Quarter, Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9LW, UK. T:
+44 (0) 1293 52 88 44
© Edwards Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Registered in England and Wales No. 6124750
Edwards and the Edwards logo are trade marks of Edwards Limited.
The atmospheric seal purge is not recommended for dusty, corrosive, toxic or PFPE fluid
applications. N2 purge gas only should be used when pumping flammable gases.

Inlet Isolation Valve - should be utilised in the following circumstances (1) to prevent chamber
venting and/or high turbomolecular pump back pressure in the event of pump shut down, either
planned or unplanned (2) to prevent solids or liquids built up in the pump exhaust or silencer from
being drawn back into the pump when shut down. (Edwards supplies a variety of valve options,
please consult with our sales staff on the option best suited for your application and installation).

Exhaust Backpressure - attention on installation should be paid to the exhaust provision to

ensure that exhaust back pressure is not created. This relates specifically the management
and/or prevention of condensate* and solid accumulation.

*See application note on drying applications

Performance benefits for coating with Dry Pumps

Oil sealed pumps Dry Pump

Contamination of process/product from
backstreaming of oil
Speed and ultimate performance can degrade
with increasing age of oil
Water vapour builds up in oil during chamber
and load-lock pumping, causing extended
pump down times
Oxidants give flammable/explosion risk with
hydrocarbons (expensive PFPE solution)
Large gas flows can accelerate the degradation
of the oil and oil return kits are required
Particulates from reaction by-products can
result in wear and blockage of internal
passages
Clean vacuum, no backstreaming of oil
No performance degradation for continuous
and reliable performance
Drystar pumps have no water vapour residency
and provide faster and repeatable pump down
No mineral oils in vacuum space (no need for
special fluids)
No oil; large gas flows (gas, vapour and
ballast) supported up to 3 x that of oil pumps
No lubrication channels, good particulate
handling. Non-contacting mechanism no
wearing parts

Maintenance, Environment, Safety

Oil sealed pumps Dry Pump

Particulates from reaction by-products can
result in wear and blockage of internal
passages
Corrosive gases and vapours degrade oil and
attack pump materials
Regular oil state and level monitoring required
Regular oil changes required
Oil filters required with requisite maintenance
No lubrication channels, good particulate
handling. Non-contacting mechanism no
wearing parts
No mineral oils in vacuum space. Dry
mechanism with purge/ballast maintains
corrosives in vapour phase
Hot running avoids condensation
No oil/level monitoring
No oil changes; no oil to dispose of
No filters needed – no oil mist exhausted to
atmosphere

Edwards Ltd, Crawley Business Quarter, Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9LW, UK. T:
+44 (0) 1293 52 88 44
© Edwards Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Registered in England and Wales No. 6124750
Edwards and the Edwards logo are trade marks of Edwards Limited.
Oil leaks can contaminate and present safety
hazard
Skilled personnel required for maintenance
Large flows can accelerate the degradation of
the oil and oil return kits required
No oil used, no backstreaming of oil to process
chamber and assured vacuum cleanliness
No onsite maintenance required
No oil; large flows (gas, vapour and ballast)
supported up to 3 x that of oil pumps

Explosion proof motors/ATEX versions – information on request

Edwards Ltd, Crawley Business Quarter, Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9LW, UK. T:
+44 (0) 1293 52 88 44
© Edwards Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Registered in England and Wales No. 6124750
Edwards and the Edwards logo are trade marks of Edwards Limited.