NOVEL IN-SITU METHOD FOR LOCATING VIRTUAL SOURCE IN HIGH-RATE ELECTRON-BEAM EVAPORATION

The concept of virtual source simplifies calculation of thickness distribution on extended substrates in high rate vacuum coating employing electron-beam heating. The height of the point (virtual source), from which vapor can be assumed to emanate in accordance with Knudsen's cosine law, to yield the experimentally obtained thickness distribution, is calculated and this establishes the position of virtual source. Such as post facto determination is cumbersome as it is valid for the prescribed material evaporating at a certain rate in a specified geometry. A change in any of these entails a fresh measurement. Experimenters who use a large number of materials and deposit at different rates therefore have to carry out a number of trials before they can locate the virtual source at the desired deposition parameters. An in situ method for obtaining virtual source position can go a long way in reducing the labor of these experiments. A novel in situ method is described to locate the virtual source.