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V O L . X X I N O. X I J U N E 1 , 2 0 1 5 16 Most of the Soleras sputtering targets are rotary for high-end applications, but the com- pany does make fl at, or planar, targets for specifi c applications. In the overall market, planar technol- ogy is used more frequently, but because sputtering debris tends to fall back onto a fl at surface, rotary technology is starting to replace it in large, coated- glass production. Edel says about 20% of demand today is for the rotary sputtering targets that Bekaert devel- oped in the late 1990s. ose targets compose 98% of Soleras' business. To date, Soleras has produced more than 260,000 targets. Glass makers use the sputtering targets to coat their glass. During the coating process, argon gas is placed in a vacuum chamber and is ionized (gets a charge) so that magnetic fi elds can drive the argon atoms at high speed against the rotating sputtering target within a chamber. e argon atoms knock material loose from the sputtering target. is pro- cess occurs as a large piece of glass passes through the vacuum chamber. e loose material coats the glass. e glass coating is built up in layers by mov- ing the glass back and forth. "Our customers in the United States are primar- ily people who produce architectural glass…and sell that glass to window producers," says Edel. Cardinal Glass Industries and Guardian Industries are exam- ples of glass company customers, he says. "You tend to see broader demand in markets like Europe where the cost of energy is higher, and 1-800-447-4559 bathsavings.com » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Methods for depositing or 'sputtering' thin films S O U R C E : Soleras Advanced Coatings Sputtering, also called physical vapor deposition, is a process for laying down very thin coatings of materials, such as metals, evenly across a substrate, such as glass. The two main methods are either planar (left) or rotating targets. Planar is a more widely used and less costly technology typically employed now for coating smaller items like integrated circuits, while the new rotating, or rotary, technology costs more but leaves less post-production debris on the substrate, and thus is used in high-end glass and computer displays. Both technologies use a gas such as argon in a vacuum chamber. The gas is given a charge, or ionized, so a magnetic fi eld can drive the argon ions at high speed against the sputtering target. When the argon ions hit the sputtering target, they dislodge small metal particles that become a vaporized material that in turn coats the glass or other substrate. Soleras uses mostly the rotating method for glass customers who need to make typically very large and high-end architectural glass or computer displays. vaporized material planar target substrate rotating target vaporized material ionized gas substrate ionized gas film growth film growth