Reactive dc magnetron sputter deposited Al2O3: large area coatings for industrial application
Stoichiometric Al2O3 films are produced with a pure Al source in the metallic state in an O2+Ar gas mixture using reactive d.c. magnetron sputtering. Substrates as large as 70×100 cm2 are uniformly coated at room temperature while moving in front of the cathode. The key to the success lies in utilizing a sufficiently high working gas pressure and a sufficiently large source-to-substrate distance.