Chamber
The sputtering chamber is a vacuum device that uses a high voltage cathode with a magnet array to generate a plasma which emits atoms of the desired coating material. This method of coating has advantages in that it can coat almost any non-volatile material including organic material. I’ve been working on this with the ultimate goal of of plating a banana in gold. If you asked me why I would want to do that, I don’t think I could explain, except for the fact that its sound fun. I refined the running parameters (argon gas flow, vacuum level, power level etc) through trial and error. This design does have a flaw which limits run time. The main gasket between the electrode and the ground plate is thin, and within the line of site of the electrode, leading to a short after extended plating runs.
First Success - Copper on Glass
This was the 6th attempt in plating. A glass bottle was plated in copper. It initially was very shiny, and was able to conduct electricity. Over time, corrosion left a dull surface. The primary breakthrough was paying close attention to contamination in the chamber, and performing a “cleaning” run of the electrode, prior to exposing the glass. Subsequent runs with silver produced similar results.
Coating Parameters
Voltage: 600 [V]Vacuum: -30mmHg (my gauge is not accurate enough, just waited 5 minutes after -30mmHg was achieved)Argon Flow: 0.2 SCFHExposure Time: 6 Minutes
Silver Oreo
This was the first “esoteric” coating I succeeded with. The coating parameters where the same as above. Initial trials were not successful because of outgassing. On this trial I let the Oreo outgass in the chamber for a couple hours prior to coating. If you work for Nabisco and want a commercial prop, go to my contact page. It is not edible.