Is vacuum coating or AF plasma spray coating better for quartz glass?

The reason why glass surfaces often require coating treatment is mainly to enhance the hydrophobicity and anti fouling properties of glass, especially for car side windows and rearview mirrors, which can improve the clarity of driving in rainy weather.

Is it better to use vacuum coating or AF plasma spraying coating treatment for quartz glass? 

Which is more effective? The vacuum coating and AF plasma spraying coating of quartz glass each have their own characteristics, and the specific effect depends on the application requirements. The following is a comparison of the two coating methods:

Firstly, let's understand what vacuum coating is. It refers to the process of bombarding a target material with high-energy particles (such as argon ions) in a vacuum environment, causing atoms or molecules of the target material to deposit on the surface of quartz glass to form a thin film. The evaporated or sputtered atoms or molecules can freely move in various directions in a vacuum environment, 

forming a uniform film layer on the surface of quartz glass.

 It has the advantages of good film uniformity, high film quality, and better adhesion, but the equipment cost is high, 

requiring high vacuum equipment and complex control systems, resulting in high investment costs and low production efficiency.

Secondly, AF plasma spray coating (anti fingerprint coating) can use plasma to heat the coating material (such as fluorosiloxane, nano ceramic materials) to a molten or semi molten state, and spray it at high speed onto the surface of quartz glass to form a coating. Compared to vacuum coating, plasma coating is more wear-resistant and has significant hydrophobic, oleophobic, 

anti fingerprint, and anti oil effects. It is commonly used in scenarios that require anti fouling, such as touch screens and electronic displays. The contact angle of water droplets can reach more than 110 °, and the deposition speed is fast. It is suitable for large-scale and mass production, with higher efficiency than vacuum coating. 

Plasma plasma cleans and activates the surface of quartz glass, effectively removing organic pollutants and impurities on the surface, 

while improving surface adhesion. 

The nano level coating formed makes the quartz glass surface more scratch resistant, durable, and can effectively prevent wear during daily use. It has strong hydrophobic, anti oil, and anti fingerprint abilities. Moreover, AF plasma spraying coating equipment has a relatively simple process, easy operation, and high production efficiency. 

If more attention is paid to the wear resistance, scratch resistance, and anti fouling performance of the surface, AF plasma spray coating has more advantages.

In general, when quartz glass is used for touch screens, window glass, or scenes that require frequent wiping, the hydrophobic and oleophobic properties of AF film can effectively reduce fingerprints and dirt residue, and the micron level film layer is more scratch resistant (such as the AF anti fingerprint coating on mobile phone screens). 

AF plasma spray coating has the advantages of anti fouling, wear resistance, and mass production efficiency, making it suitable for practical scenarios such as 3C electronic products.