Thermal evaporation of aluminum using ceramic boats is one of the most established methods in thin-film technology – particularly in the production of barrier films for packaging applications. A typical boat evaporator consists of multiple ceramic evaporation units, an evaporator box with an observation flap, and individually controlled power supplies. The number of evaporators that are used depends on the size of the system and the desired throughput.

How the Technology Works

The ceramic boats, typically made from boron nitride or aluminum oxide, serve a dual function: they act as both the carrier of the aluminum and the heating element. Aluminum wire is fed into a cavity on the top side of each boat. Once electrical current is applied, the boat heats resistively to over 1500 °C, causing the aluminum to melt and evaporate.

The process takes place under high-vacuum conditions (typically around 10⁻⁴ mbar) to ensure a clean, uniform aluminum deposition on the moving substrate – such as PET or BOPP film – without unwanted chemical reactions or contamination.

Multi-Boat Evaporators for Industrial Coating

Modern roll-to-roll coating systems use what are known as multi-boat evaporators, in which several ceramic boats are arranged linearly and evenly spaced. To further optimize layer uniformity across the web, the boats are often arranged in a staggered formation. This configuration minimizes overlapping of aluminum vapor clouds and ensures a particularly homogeneous, dense, and visually high-quality coating.

Material Flexibility and Process Variants

In addition to aluminum, copper can also be evaporated under suitable process conditions. However, the achievable deposition rates and process window are more limited. By introducing a controlled amount of oxygen into the evaporation zone, aluminum oxide can be generated directly during the process. This enables the production of a cost-effective, transparent barrier layer, which is becoming increasingly important in the packaging industry.

Our Expertise – Your Advantage

Boat evaporators are one of the core technologies of the VON ARDENNE Group. We develop and manufacture these systems entirely in-house – including all associated technologies. The solutions we provide are based on extensive practical experience from numerous systems delivered worldwide.

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High productivity

through high-performance evaporation technology

High product quality & high film uniformity

through optimized source arrangement

Extensive process expertise

from a wide range of successfully completed project

CONTACT
28.09.2025 - 01.10.2025
Titanium Boston 2025

Boston, MA, USA

07.10.2025 - 09.10.2025
Semicon West 2025

Phoenix, AZ, USA

Phoenix Convention Center

Booth 6180

Beatrice Thümmler

Senior Manager Group Strategy & SustainabilityVON ARDENNE GmbH

Friedrich Tran Minh

Sales & Operations ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

Michael Schneider

Vice President Semiconductors & Precision Optics I Space & AviationVON ARDENNE GmbH

Robert Ostanin

Technical Sales ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

Dr. Markus Piwko

Industry ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

Roland König

Senior Product ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

Martin Fischer

Technical Sales ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

Brian Cohen

CEOVON ARDENNE North America, Inc.

Chase Han

Deputy Head of SalesVON ARDENNE Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Dr. Knut Barthel

Senior Manager IndustryVON ARDENNE GmbH

Victoria Geßner

Technical Sales ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

SALES Contact

Am Hahnweg 8
01328 Dresden
Germany

SERVICE Contact VAOP

Am Hahnweg 8
01328 Dresden
Germany

Torsten Vetter

Senior Manager Logistics & Im-/ExportVON ARDENNE GmbH

Ray Lehmann

Senior Manager Operative PurchasingVON ARDENNE GmbH

Thomas Purath

Head of Global PurchasingVON ARDENNE GmbH

Bernd Sprecher

Vice President PhotovoltaicsVON ARDENNE GmbH

PRESSE Contact

Am Hahnweg 8
01328 Dresden
Germany

Purchasing Contact

Am Hahnweg 8
01328 Dresden
Deutschland

VON ARDENNE Vietnam Co., Ltd.

No. 1954, Provincial Road 8,
Binh My Commune
HO CHI MINH CITY
VIETNAM

VON ARDENNE Japan Co., Ltd.

Omori center building, 3F 1-17-2 Omori-Kita, Ota-ku,
143-0016 TOKYO
JAPAN

VON ARDENNE North America, Inc.

28304 Cedar Park Blvd. Suite F
OH 43551-4863 PERRYSBURG
USA

VON ARDENNE Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.

SUITE B3.1 (B&C) Ground Floor, KHTP Business Centre, Kulim Hi-Tech Park
09000 KULIM, KEDAH
MALAYSIA

VON ARDENNE GmbH

Am Hahnweg 8
01328 Dresden
Germany

VON ARDENNE Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Plant 7, No 801 Qiangye Road, Songjiang District
201602 SHANGHAI
PR CHINA

Human Resources - VA

Am Hahnweg 8
01328 Dresden
Germany

VON ARDENNE India Pvt. Ltd.

Urban Wrks, 2nd Floor, Koncord Tower, Bund Garden, Sangamvadi, PUNE
411001 MAHARASHTRA
INDIA

Ray Lehmann

Senior Manager Operative PurchasingVON ARDENNE GmbH

Jens Melcher

Head of Mechanical EngineeringVON ARDENNE GmbH

Susann Puppe

Sales & Business Development ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

Human Resources - VANA

VON ARDENNE North America
28304 Cedar Park Blvd. Suite F
OH 43551-4863 PERRYSBURG
USA

Roy Bacher

Managing DirectorVON ARDENNE Coating Consumables GmbH

Human Resources - VAVE

Plant 7, No 801 Qiangye Road, Songjiang District
201602 SHANGHAI
PR CHINA

Jan Kittl

Internal Sales & Coordi­nation ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

Jan Fiebig

Head of QualityVON ARDENNE GmbH

Alexander Wemme

Vice President Energy Conversion & StorageVON ARDENNE GmbH

Falk Iser

Expert CommunicationsVON ARDENNE GmbH

Jana Schilling

Technical Sales ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

SERVICE Contact VAID

S.No 318/1A5, KS SQUARE, NH, Poonamallee Bypass Rd., TNHB, Nolambur, Ambattur Industrial Estate, CHENNAI
600037 TAMIL NADU
INDIA

SERVICE Contact VAVE

Plant 7, No 801 Qiangye Road, Songjiang District
201602 SHANGHAI
PR CHINA

SERVICE Contact VANA

28304 Cedar Park Blvd. Suite F
OH 43551-4863 PERRYSBURG
USA

SERVICE Contact VAVN

No. 1954, Provincial Road 8,
Binh My Commune
HO CHI MINH CITY
VIETNAM

SERVICE Contact VAJP

Omori center building, 3F 1-17-2 Omori-Kita, Ota-ku,
143-0016 TOKYO
JAPAN

SERVICE Contact VAMA

SUITE B3.1 (B&C) Ground Floor, KHTP Business Centre, Kulim Hi-Tech Park
09000 KULIM, KEDAH
MALAYSIA

Marko Schöbitz

Technical Sales ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

Carsten Geist

Director SalesVON ARDENNE GmbH

VON ARDENNE GmbH - Niedersedlitz

Niedersedlitzer Str. 75
01257 Dresden
Germany

Ingolf Rudat

Sales Manager Services & ComponentsVON ARDENNE GmbH

Tim McDonald

Senior Manager Field ServiceVON ARDENNE North America, Inc.

Matthias Rödl

Technical Sales ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

VON ARDENNE Coating Consumables GmbH

Am Hahnweg 8
01328 Dresden
Germany

Delivery address

VON ARDENNE Coating Consumables GmbH

Niedersedlitzer Straße 75
01257 Dresden
Germany

    Stefan Riecke

    Senior Sales Manager GlassVON ARDENNE GmbH

    Marian Böhling

    Managing DirectorVON ARDENNE Coating Consumables GmbH

    Dr. Christian Lehnert

    Head of SalesVON ARDENNE GmbH

    Mark Offermann

    Head of Corporate CommunicationsVON ARDENNE GmbH

    Thomas Betzl

    Technical Sales ManagerVON ARDENNE GmbH

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