For over 25 years, the thermal evaporation of aluminium onto thin poly
meric webs, such as polyester (PET) and polypropylene (PP), has genera
ted large volumes of barrier packaging films, decorative films, capaci
tor films and some window films. During the 1980s, the experience of w
ide web handling was combined with deposition technologies, such as el
ectron-beam evaporation, magnetron sputtering and plasma-enhanced chem
ical vapour deposition (PECVD), to create a large number of new, excit
ing, coating materials, including oxides and nitrides of most elements
. More particularly, combinations of these coating layers into a compl
ex coating stack Led to new products, such as low emissivity, solar he
at reflecting, architectural glazing films, electrochromic devices and
high performance optical reflectors. With these technologies, unique
coating characteristics can be realized, e.g. transparent electrodes,
transparent, flexible glassy barriers for moisture and gases and amorp
hous soft magnetics for security devices. Having their beginnings in e
xclusive markets, these new, exciting products are now finding their w
ay into larger consumer markets.