Vacuum coaters and methods of operating a vacuum coater

摘要

A vacuum coater for coating a polymeric web with metal or metal oxide comprising an unwind, deposition and rewind portion; the coater further comprises a gas injector 16 in the rewind portion for providing gas to the metallised web 18 prior to rewinding the web onto the rewind roller 17. The gas may be cold and/or ionised. Preferably, the coater supports the web after the deposition portion solely on the polymeric surface of the metallised web. The injector may span the entire width of the web and inject gas between the metallised web and the rewind roller; it may be displaceable to allow for the increasing size of the rewind roll. The coater may have a plurality of gas injectors located along the web path wherein at least one injector may inject ionised gas to passivate the web and another injector injects cold gas to cool the web. A plasma source may also be included after deposition and before the gas injector. Also disclosed is a method of operating said vacuum coater.