Patent ID: 7258746

Claim:
An apparatus for coating a specimen, comprising: a cylindrical holding chamber for coating, said chamber having open ends, an opening formed in an inner surface and an inner diameter; a specimen having a curved inner surface with a radius of curvature that is equal to one half the inner diameter of the cylindrical holding chamber, the specimen having a size such that, when inserted in the opening in the inner surface of the cylindrical holding chamber, the inner surface of the cylindrical holding chamber and the curved inner surface of the specimen form a continuous surface; a counter bore formed radially outward from the opening in the inner surface of the cylindrical holding chamber; at least one evacuation hole extending from an interior of the cylindrical holding chamber through a wall of the cylindrical holding chamber to the counter bore; a flat formed on an exterior surface of the cylindrical holding chamber around the counter bore; fastener holes formed around the counter bore and extending from the flat into the wall of the cylindrical holding chamber; a vacuum seal placed around the counter bore; and a vacuum component fixed to the flat.