Process for manufacturing coated plastic body

• US 6,383,573 B1
• Filed: 05/17/2000
• Issued: 05/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Oerlikon Trading AG (OC Oerlikon Corporation AG)
• Original Assignee: Unaxis Balzers AG (Oerlikon USA, Inc. (Florida))
• Inventors: Zimmermann, Heinrich, Ramm, Jürgen, Beck, Eugen
• Primary Examiner(s): PIANALTO, BERNARD D
• Application Number:
  US09/572,089
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• Field of Search: 427/536, 427/540, 427/558, 427/575, 427/488, 427/491, 427/296, 427/585, 427/525, 427/255.26, 427/255.28, 427/255.23, 427/96, 427/162, 427/531, 427/576, 427/580, 427/123, 427/124, 427/250, 427/304, 427/322, 204/192.1, 438/474, 438/475, 438/584, 438/758
• US Class Current: 427/491
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/022 by means of bombardment with energetic particles or radiation
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/0245 by etching with a plasma

Abstract

A process is provided for producing coated synthetic bodies during which, before the coating, the surface to be coated is subjected to a pretreatment in an excited gas atmosphere. The surface is then coated. The gas atmosphere is predominantly formed of a noble gas and nitrogen and/or hydrogen, and the ionic energy in the gas atmosphere and in the are of the surface to be coated is not more than 50 eV. The ionic energy is selected to be not more than 20 eV, preferable not more than 10 eV. The gas atmosphere is excited by means of a plasma discharge or by means of UV radiation.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing coated synthetic bodies, comprising subjecting a surface of said bodies to a pretreatment in an atmosphere of excited gas at least predominantly formed by a noble gas and at least one of nitrogen and of hydrogen, limiting the ion energy of ions of said excited gas upon said surface to be coated to at most 50 eV, and coating said pre-treated surface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said coated body is one of an optical disc, an optical component, a printed circuit board, and a part for manufacturing a semiconductor device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said surface is coated with one of a semiconductor, a metal and a metal compound.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said surface to be coated consists of one of PMMA, BT and FR4.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing said coating by reactive or non-reactive vapor coating.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing said coating by reactive or non-reactive sputtering.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising performing said reactive or non-reactive sputtering by reactive or non-reactive magnetron sputtering.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing said coating by one of plasma polymerization, reactive or non-reactive PVD or a PECVD process.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing said coating with a vacuum coating process.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising exposing said pretreated surface to ambient before performing said coating.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing argon as said noble gas.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising exciting said gas with UV-radiation with H and N lines.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising exciting said gas with a low-voltage discharge.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising limiting said ion energy to be at most 20 eV.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising limiting said ion energy to be at most 10 eV.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising exciting said gas with a plasma discharge or with UV-radiation.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising exciting said gas with a microwave discharge.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising exciting said gas with an ECR-discharge.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising exciting said gas with a RF discharge.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising exciting said gas with a chopped DC-discharge.