Abstract

Vacuum coated plastics, and more specifically, sputter coated flexible webs of polymeric are the subject of this review paper. While vacuum coating of flexible webs has been a commercial reality for over 50 years, it is only since 1979 that webs have been sputter coated using planar magnetron sputtering. After presenting a brief history of the December 1972 Chapin invention of the planar magnetron, and the development path for application of planar magnetrons to coating of large areas, this paper will chronicle the experiences of this author in the creation of a useful technology for the production of products based upon the deposition of metals and dielectrics in one continuous process onto a flexible polyester web.

© 1998 Optical Society of America