Thickness Distribution of Evaporated Films 

The emission distribution characteristics of an evaporation source can be used to define the correct geometry in the vacuum chamber for the production of uniform-thickness coatings.

We first measured the thickness of coatings on test pieces positioned at known radial distances on a single rotation flat rack in the vacuum evaporation chamber and used these data in a computer program which found the source emission function, in the form cosQ φ , which provided the best fit to the data. φ is the emission angle of the evaporant stream from the source, measured from the vertical. The known emission function was then used to determine the source offset and calotte curvature which produced the best thickness uniformity over the diameter.