A 2-Source Thermal Evaporator (often called a co-evaporation system) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) tool designed to heat and evaporate two different source materials simultaneously or sequentially within a high-vacuum chamber. This setup is essential for creating alloy thin films, doped layers, or multi-layer coatings without breaking vacuum.
The thermal evaporation process relies on passing a high electrical current through a resistive heating element (the "source") which holds the coating material. (1) Vacuum Environment: The chamber is pumped down to high vacuum (typically 10^{-5} to 10^{-7} Torr) to ensure the evaporated atoms have a long mean free path and do not oxidize. (2) Dual Source Configuration: Two independent power supplies control two separate heating elements (boats, filaments, or crucibles). (3) Evaporation: The materials reach their sublimation or melting point and turn into a vapor. (4) Deposition: The vapor travels in a line-of-sight path and condenses onto a substrate located above the sources.
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| Power |
- AC380V±10%, three-phases, 50/60Hz, 3000 W
- AC220V±10% can be supplied upon request.
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| Vacuum System Features |
- Vacuum Chamber: SS304, L260*D260*H450mm
- Two doors (front and back), and an observation window
- Turbo pump, gate valve, vacuum gauge, and gas filling valve, and angle valve are installed at chamber side.
- Vacuum Level: 5*10^(-5) Pa, normally it takes 40 min to approach this target.
- Sample change and addition can be conducted without stop of turbo pump.
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| Sample Loading System |
- The sample loading stage adopts the "insertion" structure and the maximum sample size is 60mm*60mm.
- Distance between mask to sample is 0.2 mm.
- Sample stage rotation speed: 30 rpm
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| Deposition System |
- Two evaporation sources that cover metal, organic, and inorganic materials. Each evaporation source has individual cooling system.
- Vertical distance between source and substrate is ~300 mm.
- Separation plate is designed for avoiding cross-contamination.
- DC power source: 8V-180A, 1.5 kW.
- Max. Temperature: 1500℃ (adjusting current to control the heating temperature and heating rate for evaporation).
- A thickness monitor (GT ITC-5) with quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) unit is installed for tracking the in-real thickness.
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| Control System |
- HMI touch screen control.
- Automatic and manual control on/off of the mechanical and turbo vacuum pump, valve, and electrode switch.
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| Accessories (Optional) |
- A water chiller (EADTCWC) within 10-25 ℃ and 0.1-0.3 MPa is required for cooling the evaporation electrodes and turbo pump.
- A gas compressor (EUQOFGC) is needed to provide gas pressure of 60-80 psi for controlling pneumatic valves.
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| Certification |
- CE certified
- UL and CSA certification is available upon request at extra cost
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| Dimension |
- L900 * W700 * H1500 mm
- It can be integrated with Ar-filled glovebox for air/humidity-sensitive materials (eg: Li) evaporation and deposition.
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| Weight |
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References:
E. Adhitama, et al., On the Practical Applicability of the Li Metal-Based Thermal Evaporation Prelithiation Technique on Si Anodes for Lithium Ion Batteries, Adv. Energy Mater., 2023, 13, 2203256
L. Fallarino, et al., On the practical applicability of thermal evaporation technique to fabricate Na thin metal anodes for Na-metal batteries, Journal of Power Sources Advances, 2024, 26, 100137
B. Acebedo, et al., On the role of ultrathin lithium metal anodes produced by thermal evaporation, Journal of Power Sources, 2024, 618, 235218.
