18/09/2026
What is Vacuum Coating? PVD vs CVD: Principles & Application Scenarios
Vacuum coating is a branch of surface treatment technology. In a high-vacuum environment, metallic, non-metallic or compound materials (coating materials) are converted into gaseous or plasma states via physical or chemical methods, then deposited onto the surface of solid substrates such as glass, metal, ceramic, plastic and organic materials to form thin films.
After thin films are prepared by vacuum coating, the material surface gains new composite properties to support innovative engineering applications. It endows the surface with new mechanical, decorative, acoustic, electrical, magnetic and conversion functions, such as radiation shielding, anti-reflection, conductivity/insulation, magnetism, oxidation resistance, wear resistance, high-temperature and corrosion resistance. It improves the original performance of products, enhances quality and extends service life.
Compared with traditional electroplating and hot-dip coating, vacuum coating has three core advantages:
1.It will not damage the base material. The heating process does not require ultra-high temperature, so the workpiece will not deform geometrically or degrade in material properties.
2.No damage to the substrate: Heating for the coating process does not require high temperatures, so the workpiece undergoes no geometric deformation or degradation of material properties.
3.The coating process has less environmental impact than electroplating and hot-dip coating.
Vacuum coating technology is mainly divided into two categories: **Physical V***r Deposition (PVD)** and **Chemical V***r Deposition (CVD)**.
PVD: Physical V***r Deposition
PVD includes vacuum evaporation coating, sputtering coating and ion plating.
**Evaporation Coating **: Under vacuum conditions, targets are heated and vaporized. The gas molecules deposit on the substrate surface. It is split into thermal evaporation and electron beam evaporation according to different heating methods.
**Sputtering Coating **: High-energy particles bombard the target, knocking atoms off the target surface and depositing them onto substrates. It includes DC sputtering, RF sputtering and magnetron sputtering.
- DC sputtering: Uses DC electric field plasma, suitable for conductive materials only, low cost but relatively low efficiency.
- RF sputtering: Excites plasma via high-frequency electric field, works for conductive & insulating materials. It delivers uniform films with strong adhesion, ideal for high-quality optical thin films.
- Magnetron sputtering: Magnetic field is added near targets to restrain electron movement, raise plasma density and speed up deposition. Widely used for multi-layer precision films such as high-reflection mirrors and optical filters.
**Ion Plating**: Plasma ionization technology ionizes coating materials under vacuum. The substrate is applied with high negative bias. Ionized target molecules move toward the substrate under deep negative bias and form thin films after deposition.
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