Vakuumbeschichtung – Heutiger Stand und zukünftige Trends

Thin films have changed the world. Many products of our modern life, like powerful PC's, the Compact Disc, or energy-saving architectural glazings would not exist without vacuum coating technology. During the past 20 years PVD and PECVD processes for deposition of thin films have spread into a huge variety of different applications. Besides microelectronics, the major fields for the near future are flat panel displays, data storage, optics/glass and surface protection. The article outlines today's market situation and tries to characterize present status and future trends in vacuum coating technology on the basis of some selected examples.