{"id":5196,"date":"2026-06-11T17:28:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T15:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/?p=5196"},"modified":"2026-06-11T17:28:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T15:28:21","slug":"vacuum-pvd-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Vacuum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Vacuum in PVD Processes: Purpose, Measurement, and Management<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the context of<a href=\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/treatments\/pvd\/\"> <em>PVD<\/em><\/a> processes, <strong>vacuum<\/strong> indicates the condition in which the pressure inside the <strong>deposition chamber<\/strong> is reduced to values much lower than atmospheric pressure. It is not an optional or secondary condition: vacuum is the fundamental <strong>physical prerequisite<\/strong> without which the process cannot occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two main phases are distinguished:<strong> rough vacuum<\/strong>, achieved with rotary pumps, and <strong>high vacuum<\/strong>, reached with turbomolecular or cryogenic pumps. High vacuum levels, typically in the range of 10\u207b\u2075 \u2013 10\u207b\u2076 mbar, are the ones relevant for PVD deposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/PVD_LEM_1-1-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"PVD_LEM_1\" class=\"wp-image-1440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM_1-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM_1-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM_1-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM_1-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM_1-1-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM_1-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><em><em><em>The Purpose of Vacuum in PVD<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vacuum serves two fundamental and inseparable functions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ensuring particle transport.<\/strong> By reducing the density of residual gases, the <strong>mean free path<\/strong> of the vaporized particles is increased, meaning the average distance they travel before colliding with another molecule. Under high vacuum conditions, this path is long enough to allow the deposited species to reach the substrate in a <strong>straight line<\/strong>, without scattering or loss of energy. At insufficient pressures, collisions with residual gases would degrade film uniformity and adhesion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ensuring film purity.<\/strong> The atmosphere contains oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor, and other contaminants which, if present in the chamber during deposition, would react with the material being deposited, altering its chemical and physical properties. Vacuum creates a <strong>controlled environment <\/strong>where the film composition is determined exclusively by the materials and gases intentionally introduced, as occurs in <a href=\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/reactive-pvd-deposition\/\"><em>reactive deposition<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><em><em><em>Pumping Phases and Impact on Productivity<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reaching operational conditions occurs sequentially:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>First, rotary pumps bring the chamber to a rough vacuum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then, turbomolecular pumps drive it down to the high vacuum required for the process.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Evacuation times<\/strong>, which depend on the chamber volume, the state of the internal surfaces, and the presence of outgassing materials, directly impact cycle <strong>productivity <\/strong>and its repeatability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A chamber with contaminated surfaces or components that release gas (outgassing) will not reach target pressures within the expected timeframe, with direct effects on coating quality and process consistency between cycles. The management and maintenance of the pumping system are therefore an integral part of the treatment&#8217;s <strong>quality control.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/plants\/physical-vapour-deposition-pvd\/\"><em>Discover LEM&#8217;s PVD systems<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Related items:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/reactive-pvd-deposition\/\"><em>Reactive deposition <\/em><\/a><em>\u00b7 <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/thermal-evaporation-pvd\/\"><em>Thermal evaporation<\/em><\/a><em> \u00b7 <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/pvd-target-source-material-geometry-thermal-management\/\"><em>PVD target<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vacuum is the enabling condition for PVD: it determines film quality, deposit purity, and treatment repeatability. Discover how it is managed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":1774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-glossary"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Vacuum &#8211; Lem Galvanica<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vacuum is the enabling condition for PVD: it determines film quality, deposit purity, and treatment repeatability. Discover how it is managed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vacuum &#8211; Lem Galvanica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vacuum is the enabling condition for PVD: it determines film quality, deposit purity, and treatment repeatability. Discover how it is managed.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lem Galvanica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-11T15:28:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-11T15:28:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maximilian\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maximilian\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Maximilian\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dd77df07d6022e5d239dce5a553f5d2f\"},\"headline\":\"Vacuum\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-11T15:28:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-11T15:28:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/\"},\"wordCount\":360,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Glossary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/\",\"name\":\"Vacuum &#8211; Lem Galvanica\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-11T15:28:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-11T15:28:21+00:00\",\"description\":\"Vacuum is the enabling condition for PVD: it determines film quality, deposit purity, and treatment repeatability. Discover how it is managed.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"PVD_LEM\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Vacuum\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Lem Galvanica\",\"description\":\"Innovazione e Made in Italy nel trattamento galvanico e PVD\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Lem Industries\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/LEM_LEM-nuovo-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/LEM_LEM-nuovo-logo.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1280,\"caption\":\"Lem Industries\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/lem-industries\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dd77df07d6022e5d239dce5a553f5d2f\",\"name\":\"Maximilian\",\"description\":\"Responsabile tecnico area PVD - LEM srl\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Vacuum &#8211; Lem Galvanica","description":"Vacuum is the enabling condition for PVD: it determines film quality, deposit purity, and treatment repeatability. Discover how it is managed.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Vacuum &#8211; Lem Galvanica","og_description":"Vacuum is the enabling condition for PVD: it determines film quality, deposit purity, and treatment repeatability. Discover how it is managed.","og_url":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/","og_site_name":"Lem Galvanica","article_published_time":"2026-06-11T15:28:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-11T15:28:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Maximilian","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Maximilian","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/"},"author":{"name":"Maximilian","@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dd77df07d6022e5d239dce5a553f5d2f"},"headline":"Vacuum","datePublished":"2026-06-11T15:28:20+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-11T15:28:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/"},"wordCount":360,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM.jpg","articleSection":["Glossary"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/","url":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/","name":"Vacuum &#8211; Lem Galvanica","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-11T15:28:20+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-11T15:28:21+00:00","description":"Vacuum is the enabling condition for PVD: it determines film quality, deposit purity, and treatment repeatability. Discover how it is managed.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PVD_LEM.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"PVD_LEM"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/vacuum-pvd-process\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Vacuum"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/","name":"Lem Galvanica","description":"Innovazione e Made in Italy nel trattamento galvanico e PVD","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#organization","name":"Lem Industries","url":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/LEM_LEM-nuovo-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/LEM_LEM-nuovo-logo.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"caption":"Lem Industries"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/lem-industries\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dd77df07d6022e5d239dce5a553f5d2f","name":"Maximilian","description":"Responsabile tecnico area PVD - LEM srl"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5196"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5202,"href":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5196\/revisions\/5202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemgalvanica.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}