At the Society of Vacuum Coaters Conference in the USA, Hauzer presented new developments concerning PVD hard coatings used for scratch resistant, decorative purposes.

PVD colour coatings are widely spread since the early 1990’s due to their high hardness in comparison with galvanic coatings, thus protecting the colour for much longer periods of time then ever achievable with galvanic coatings or lacquers. Because decorative PVD coatings are relatively thin (0.5 micron), their high hardness is only advantageous when deposited on a adequate support layer. For plastics this support is often provided by a galvanic coating, while for stainless steels it is provided by a thicker PVD base layer. DLC’s can be used as  an alternative, since they also exhibit high hardness, and generally have smooth surfaces. If the technology is mastered in the proper manner, these coatings can be produced with relatively low costs and high growth rates. These properties make DLC coatings suitable candidates to serve as a base layer for decorative coatings on relatively soft substrates. The problem related  to adhesion between the DLC base coating and the decorative top coating has been mastered, as shown in the SVC presentation of 2008. The process parameters for depositing adequate DLC support layers on plastic substrates will be addressed in the current presentation.