The invention relates to a method for coating a substrate with a layer of a material, such as a metal, in which a quantity of electrically conductive material is vaporized in a space with a low background pressure and energy is supplied to the material which is to be vaporized in order to vaporize this material. According to the invention, the material which is to be vaporized, while it is being vaporized, is kept floating, without support, in the space and is enclosed in an alternating electromagnetic field, the alternating electromagnetic field being generated with the aid of a high-frequency alternating current. The invention also relates to a device for coating a substrate and to a substrate.