HIPIMS Decorative Hard Material Layers Homogeneity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing decorative hard-material layers with homogeneous color appearance using reactive sputter or HIPIMS processes is challenging due to target poisoning and gas partial pressure variations, leading to inhomogeneous coatings, especially in large coating chambers.
Innovation Solution
Regulating power pulses and sequences in the HIPIMS process with an energy content of at least 0.2 Joule/cm² per pulse or sequence, ensuring high stability and homogeneity of the hard-material layers, which prevents target poisoning and reactive gas partial pressure variations, and allows for durable, smooth, and color-stable coatings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If reactive sputter or HIPIMS processes are used to deposit decorative hard-material layers, then the layers can achieve high hardness and durability, but the color appearance becomes inhomogeneous due to target poisoning and gas partial pressure variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic power pulses with specific duty cycles (10-90% ON-time ratio) to the HIPIMS process. This periodic action prevents target poisoning by periodically resetting the target surface, ensuring homogeneous color appearance while maintaining high hardness. The pulsed regime creates reproducible coating characteristics that eliminate inhomogeneities caused by continuous sputtering.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the energy content parameter of power pulses to at least 0.2 Joule/cm² per pulse, which fundamentally alters the deposition process. This parameter change ensures sufficient energy input to prevent target poisoning and maintain homogeneous color appearance, while simultaneously achieving high hardness and durability of the decorative layers.
2Manufacturing precision
If high power pulses are applied in HIPIMS process to prevent target poisoning, then color homogeneity improves, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by using power pulses with energy content of at least 0.2 Joule/cm², which is sufficient to prevent target poisoning and achieve homogeneous color appearance without excessive energy input. The duty cycle optimization (10-90% ON-time ratio) ensures that energy is applied only when necessary, avoiding waste while maintaining color homogeneity.
3Ease of manufacture
If reactive gas flow is increased to control layer color, then color appearance changes, but target poisoning worsens and process stability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic power pulses with optimized duty cycles to control the interaction between reactive gas and target material. This periodic action allows precise color control through pulse parameters rather than simply increasing reactive gas flow, thereby maintaining process stability and preventing target poisoning while achieving desired color appearance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method achieves highly homogeneous, hard, and smooth decorative layers with durable color appearance and high hardness, suitable for large-scale applications without process instability, maintaining color consistency across extended substrate surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
the decorative hard-material layer is deposited by means of a reactive HIPIMS-process (High Power Pulse Magnetron Sputtering)
Implementation Method 2
at least one target of a material which may react during operation of the HIPIMS-process with the reactive gas in such a manner, that thereby a predetermined layer color is produced
Data Source
AI summary
A method for coating substrates with a decorative layer of hard material which is guided into a vacuum coating chamber. The decorative layer of hard material is deposited by a reactive HIPIMS-process, and the energy content in the power pulses is controlled in such a manner that the deposited layer of hard material has a homogeneous colour, a high degree of smoothness and a high strength.