Torr International, Inc. - Thin Film and Nanotechnology

LVC-76 Sputter Coater

The Economical Choice for Tabletop
SEM Thin Film Deposition

The LVC-76 sputter coater is designed to uniformly apply soft metal coatings such as gold, gold/palladium over a circular sample stage 7.6 cm in diameter. A unique sputter source design allows low voltage operation, thus reducing the possibility of sample damage from heat load or over-voltage. The unit features simple controls. Both plasma current and voltage are displayed on one switchable meter. Vacuum is displayed on the second meter. SEM specimen holders can be mounted in this chamber.

Click to view our LVC-76 SEM Sputter Coater

Technical Overview
The LVC-76 uses a unique planar magnetron design to achieve low voltage sputtering. Ionization occurs initially by applying a high (700-1000 volts) voltage between the cathode (target) and the anode of the sputter head. A magnetic field captivates the electrons, which cause ionization to continue at a relatively low voltage as long as power exists between cathode and anode. Due to the relatively low power of the sputtering head, heat damage will not occur.

Plasma current is held constant at 25 to 30 mA. Coatings can vary according to plasma voltage and current, or distance from the target. Uniformity of coating is affected by the distance from the sample to the target.

Carbon Coater
Attachment to LVC-76: Carbon evaporation with an arc source - Carbon ribbon source.