Coatings

Depth profile analysis by GDOES. Pulsed RF Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometry offers ultra-fast elemental depth profiling capability for the investigation of thin and thick films. Thanks to the use of a pulsed RF source, coupled with a high resolution optical spectrometer, the GD Profiler 2 provides an excellent depth resolution, allowing the fast evaluation of the coating quality. In this application note, we focus on a MoS2/Pb composite multilayered sample, used as a solid lubricant. The analysis of such a sample shows the excellent performance of this instrument for the study of nm-thick complex coatings.

Pulsed Radio Frequency Glow Discharge-Optical Emission Spectrometry was used to study different electroplated samples. The flexibility of the spot size, the use of a pulsed RF source and the introduction of the differential interferometry profiling make RF GD-OES a key technique for the electroplating industry.

Pulsed RF GDOES is a companion analytical tool for magnetron sputtering deposition. Magnetron sputtering is a type of Plasma Vapour Deposition. The vacuum chamber of the PVD coating machine is filled with an inert gas, such as argon. By applying a high voltage (RF, HIPIMS etc), a glow discharge is created, resulting in acceleration of ions to the target surface and a plasma coating. The argon-ions will eject sputtering materials from the target surface (sputtering), resulting in a sputtered coating layer on the products in front of the target.