Optical coatings for large area applications are provided by high performance PVD technologies. Both the techniques reactive Electron Beam (EB) Evaporation and reactive Dual Magnetron Sputtering are applied for high rate deposition of optical multilayers. The challenges of such optical oxide coatings are to provide excellent uniformity over the substrate width of several meters with high productivity. For these kinds of production plants, longsize Dual Magnetron sputter sources are advantageously implemented. Not only does reactive evaporation or sputtering have to be considered to maintain precise deposition of optical multilayers on continuously moving substrates, but the beneficial adaptation of different in-situ measurement techniques play a vital role and are indispensable to control such long term processes.
