Oblique vacuum deposition for roll-roll coating of wire grid polarizer lines oriented in a down-web direction

In a roll-to-roll process involving formation of features on a substrate in the form of a roll of material, a method for oblique evaporation on features on a oriented in a down-web (x) direction of the substrate, comprising, depositing material from a linear source of material to be deposited that is shifted longitudinally in a cross-web (y) direction relative to the substrate, wherein the material is deposited through an angled baffle disposed between the source and the substrate, the angled baffle having a plurality of angled baffle plates oriented in a down-web direction to limit an angle of incidence of a vapor flux in the y-z plane and thereby enable the use of oblique deposition on other than cross-web orientated surface features.

An apparatus for oblique evaporation of material on a plurality of down-web oriented features on a substrate oriented in a down-web (z) direction or other than a cross-web (y) direction, comprising:

• a) a linear vapor source adapted to generate a vapor flux of a material to be deposited on the substrate as the substrate moves relative to the vapor source in the z direction, wherein the linear source is oriented parallel to the substrate and either parallel to the y direction or at an angle intermediate the y and z directions, wherein a center of the linear source is longitudinally offset in the y direction relative to a center of the substrate by a sufficient amount that the vapor flux impinges on the substrate at the oblique angle 8 relative to the y direction;
• and
• b) one or more baffles located between the linear source and the substrate, wherein the one or more baffles are oriented parallel to the z direction and tilted with respect to the y direction by the oblique angle θ.