Kurt J. Lesker PVD 75 sputter and evaporation system

Where the PVD 75 fits

The Kurt J. Lesker PVD 75 is a front-loading box coater sold in many configurations: magnetron sputtering with DC, RF or pulsed DC power, electron-beam evaporation, thermal evaporation, or a combination in one chamber. It is one of the most common thin-film tools in teaching and research cleanrooms because one chamber can cover metals for contacts, dielectrics for optical work and adhesion layers for lift-off.

A used PVD 75 suits a lab that deposits on pieces and wafers up to about 150 mm and changes materials often. It is not a production tool; throughput is set by pump-down and source changes rather than wafer handling. See the deposition equipment overview for alternatives.

Configurations on the used market

Because Lesker built the PVD 75 to order, two used systems with the same name can be very different tools. When we list one, we state:

• the number and type of sputter cathodes and their target diameter
• DC, RF or pulsed DC supplies and whether they can be switched between sources
• e-beam gun, pocket count and power supply, if fitted
• thermal evaporation sources and their supply
• substrate stage options: rotation, heating, RF bias, tilt
• pump type, load lock and gas lines

If you are choosing between e-beam evaporation and sputtering, our post on e-beam evaporation vs sputtering for lift-off explains which suits which pattern.

What we inspect

We pump the chamber down and record base pressure and rate-of-rise. Each sputter source is run into a plasma at increasing power, with arcing and target erosion noted. Magnet assemblies, shutters and cooling lines are checked for leaks and scale. On e-beam systems we check the gun filament, sweep, crucible indexing and high-voltage cabling. The quartz crystal monitor, stage rotation and heater are tested, and the software is booted with its recipes.

Common wear points are cathode cooling water leaks, tired O-rings on the door and ports, failing crystal monitor heads and turbo pump bearings.

Refurbishment and upgrades

Refurbishment usually means a full chamber clean or bead blast of shields, new seals, cathode service, turbo or cryopump service and a calibration of gauges and flow controllers. We can add sources, fit a load lock or replace an oil-sealed backing pump through a dry pump conversion. Regular preventive maintenance keeps shield build-up and water-cooling problems under control.

Facilities you will need

• Single- or three-phase power, depending on the source and pump configuration
• Cooling water for cathodes, e-beam hearth and pumps, often via a recirculating chiller
• Clean dry air for valves and shutters
• Nitrogen for venting
• Argon and, for reactive sputtering, oxygen or nitrogen
• Exhaust for the backing pump

Buying advice

List your materials and the substrate sizes you need, then check the source count and power supply allocation against that list. A system with fewer sources but the right power supplies is often more useful than a full chamber with shared supplies. Ask how long the system was vented, as that affects cleaning effort and pump condition.