Apparatus and method for vacuum deposition

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11319626-B2
Application number	US-201716318563-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 27, 2017
Priority date	Jul 27, 2016
Publication date	May 3, 2022
Grant date	May 3, 2022

Abstract

A vacuum deposition facility is provided for continuously depositing on a running substrate coatings formed from metal alloys including a main element and at least one additional element. The facility includes a vacuum deposition chamber and a substrate running through the chamber. The facility also includes a vapor jet coater, an evaporation crucible for feeding the vapor jet coater with a vapor having the main element and the at least one additional element, a recharging furnace for feeding the evaporation crucible with the main element in molten state and maintaining a constant level of liquid in the evaporation crucible, and a feeding unit being fed with the at least one additional element in solid state for feeding the evaporation crucible with the at least one additional element either in molten state, in solid state or partially in solid state. A process is also provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for coating a substrate, comprising the steps of:
feeding a metal alloy bath with a main element in a molten state;
heating at least one additional element in solid state above the metal alloy bath and feeding the metal alloy bath with the at least one additional element either in a molten state, a solid state or a partially solid state from above the metal alloy bath;
evaporating the metal alloy bath including the main element and the at least one additional element, thereby supplying a deposition chamber with a vapor including the main element and the at least one additional element by barometric effect;
spraying a substrate with the vapor; and
continuously depositing a metal alloy layer including the main element and the at least one additional element on the substrate.

2. The method for coating a substrate as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one additional element is fed to the metal alloy bath in at least a partially solid state.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the vapor is sprayed on the substrate at a sonic velocity.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the metal alloy bath is continuously fed with the main element.

5. The method as recited in claim 4 , wherein the continuous feeding of the main element to the metal alloy bath is done by barometric effect.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of:
removing oxides present on a surface of the at least one additional element before heating the at least one additional element above the metal alloy bath.

7. The method as recited in claim 6 , wherein removing oxides is done by chemical pickling.

8. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the metal alloy bath is discontinuously fed with the at least one additional element.

9. The method as recited in claim 8 , wherein the at least one additional element is in a form of ingots.

10. The method as recited in claim 8 , wherein the metal alloy bath is maintained at a constant composition over time by controlling a size of ingots or a feeding frequency.

11. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the metal alloy bath is continuously fed with the at least one additional element.

12. The method as recited in claim 11 , wherein the at least one additional element is in a form of a wire.

13. The method as recited in claim 12 , wherein the metal alloy bath is maintained at a constant composition over time by controlling a diameter of the wire or a feed speed.

14. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one additional element has a lower density than the main element.

15. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the main element is zinc.

16. The method as recited in claim 15 , wherein the at least one additional element is magnesium.

17. The method as recited in claim 16 , wherein the metal alloy bath is a zinc-based metal alloy bath having a magnesium content by weight between 8% and 43% and wherein the metal alloy layer continuously deposited on the substrate includes a magnesium content by weight between 0.1% and 20%.

18. A method for coating a substrate comprising the steps of:
evaporating a metal alloy bath including a main element and at least one additional element, thereby supplying a deposition chamber with a vapor including the main element and the at least one additional element by barometric effect;
spraying the substrate with the vapor; and
continuously depositing a metal alloy layer including the main element and the at least one additional element on the substrate, the metal alloy bath being fed with the main element in a molten state and with the at least one additional element in an at least partially solid state from above the metal alloy bath.

19. The method as recited in claim 18 , wherein the metal alloy bath is fed with the main element by barometric effect.

20. The method as recited in claim 18 , wherein the main element and the at least one additional element have vapor pressures at the bath temperature not differing by more than 10%.

21. The method as recited in claim 16 , wherein a pressure in the evaporation crucible of around 5.10 −2 bar and the pressure in the deposition chamber of around 10 −4 bar are maintained when the metal alloy bath is at 700° C.

22. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising modifying a composition of the metal alloy bath by adjusting a feeding frequency of the at least one additional element.

23. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising modifying a composition of the metal alloy bath by adjusting a quantity of the at least one additional element.

Assignees

• Arcelormittal

Inventors

• Pace Sergio
• Silberberg Eric
• Wilders Dimitri
• Bonnemann Rémy
• Gaouyat Lucie

Classifications

• C23C14/562

  for coating elongated substrates · CPC title

• C23C14/24

  Vacuum evaporation · CPC title

• C23C14/16 Primary

  on metallic substrates or on substrates of boron or silicon · CPC title

• C23C14/14

  Metallic material, boron or silicon · CPC title

• C23C14/56

  Apparatus specially adapted for continuous coating; Arrangements for maintaining the vacuum, e.g. vacuum locks · CPC title