IAD – Ion assisted deposition
IAD | PIAD
During ion or plasma assisted deposition electron beam evaporation (EBE), the process is enhanced with assisting ions or plasma. This upgrade increases kinetic energy of condensing particles due to moment transfer. IAD modification allows 3photon engineers to increase density of the coating, strongly suppressing main disadvantage of traditional electron beam evaporation (EBE) process – limited process stability, repeatability, as well as manufactured coating sensitivity to changes in environmental conditions. 3photon engineers well mastered IAD/PIAD process and can produce very complex multi-layer coatings.
- Main advantages
- Disadvantages
- Dense layers and high environmental stability of the coating;
- Stress compensated coatings with optimized process parameters;
- Cost effective – deposition rates are close to EBE technology;
- Higher coating stress (tensions) limits substrate material choices (e.g. IAD/PIAD cannot be used when applying coating on soft and sensitive materials)