architeCtural Glass - key components

VON ARDENNE manufactures all key components for its equipment in-house. As early as in 1972, the first glass coater for heat insulating architectural glass in formats of 1 m x 2 m was developed and put into operation as prototype. Back then, the coating technology was still based on vacuum evaporation of metals and dielectric substances. This technology was soon to be replaced by large-area magnetron sputtering. Right from the start, the magnetron sputter sources required for this technology have been developed and manufactured at VON ARDENNE. It is on these grounds that we bring in several decades of understanding and a wide knowledge and experience of all process-related topics.

Overview

Equipment Platforms

Key Components

Layer Systems

magnetron sputter sources

Magnetron sputter sources enable the highly precise deposition of complex layer systems with high uniformity and on large areas. Accordingly, magnetron sputtering is the technological basis for every architectural glass coating application. All layers customary in the branch can be manufactured at high rates and with good uniformity, including:

Functional layers for LowE (Ag)
Reflective layers (Cr, SSt , Ti,…)
Dielectric layers (ZnO, SnO₂, TiO₂, Si₃N_4...)
Asorber layers (CrN, TiN, NiCr, ...)

With magnetron sputter sources, a magnetic field enhanced plasma discharge is generated in high vacuum and in Ar-atmosphere. By bombarding coating material (targets) operated as cathode with positive Ar-ions, single atoms are knocked out of the target surface. These atoms condense on the substrate to be coated as a continuous thin film.

Longitudinal magnetrons with planar targets or with rotable targets of up to 3.75 m length are used for large-area coating. Depending on the application, different system configurations can be chosen, such as magnetrons with single or double targets at AC or DC voltage.