Sputtering
Sputtering or PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) is the last frontier of product colouring. It consists in physical vapour deposition: the material is evaporated from a solid source in the form of atoms or molecules and carried as vapour through a high-vacuum environment to the medium (metal, ceramics, plastics, glass) that needs to be coloured.
The term Metallization refers to the deposition of a thin metal film on a medium in vacuum conditions. Vacuum allows the metal molecules to move from the evaporation source to the surfaces that need to be coated without being hampered by air or other gaseous particles. The best-known industrial application of Metallization occurs by means of aluminium deposition. Vacuum Metallization allows to coat all types of materials, whatever their shape, geometry, and size, and to obtain bright, reflecting, metal-like, as well as multi-coloured technical and ornamental objects. Moreover, the high resistance of the surfaces thus obtained gives a durable look to the products.
