Patent ID: 11866816
Assignee: RTX CORPORATION
Field: Surface technology, coating (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC C | IPC C

Claim 0:
1. An apparatus for use in a coating process, comprising:
a chamber;
a crucible configured to hold a coating material in the chamber;
a coating envelope situated with respect to the crucible;
an energy source operable to heat the interior of the chamber and to evaporate the coating material during a coating process such that volatilized coating material travels in a coating direction from the crucible to toward the coating envelope;
and
at least one gas manifold located near the coating envelope, the at least one gas manifold being configured to provide a gas screen between the coating envelope and the crucible, the at least one gas manifold including a hollow tube and apertures in the hollow tube that are arranged circumferentially around the hollow tube and axially along the length of the hollow tube, and at least one of the apertures is aimed in a direction having a directional component opposite to the coating direction.