Vacuum deposition is used to create functional coatings on the surface of parts, tools and equipment - conductive, insulating, wear-resistant, corrosion-resistant, erosion-resistant, anti-friction, anti-seize, barrier, etc. The process is used to apply decorative coatings, for example, in the manufacture of gold-plated watches and frames for glasses. One of the main processes microelectronics, where it is used to deposit conductive layers (metallization). Vacuum deposition is used to obtain optical coatings: enlightening, reflective, filtering.

The materials for sputtering are targets made of various materials, metals (titanium, aluminum, tungsten, molybdenum, gland, nickel, copper, graphite, chrome), their alloys, compounds (SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3). A reactive gas may be added to the process fluid, e.g. acetylene  (for coatings containing  carbon); nitrogen, oxygen. Chemical reaction on the surface of the substrate is activated by heating, or by ionization and dissociation of gas in one form or another gas discharge.

With the help of vacuum deposition methods, coatings with a thickness of several angstrom up to several dozen micron, usually after coating the surface does not require additional processing.