A large aperture Hall current accelerator has been developed for cleaning g
lass sheets before vacuum are deposition of decorative layers. Hall current
source advantages towards Kaufman's one in industrial processes are emphas
ized. Source 'sputter profiles' are given for silica glass and poly(methyl
metacrylate). Sputter cleaning of aluminum has been characterized in terms
of roughness and microhardness variation. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. Al
l rights reserved.