Vacuum treatment apparatus and methods for manufacturing vacuum treated substrates

A method of manufacturing vacuum treated substrates comprising:

• providing more than one holder carriers, each of said holder carriers comprising an extended surface and at least one substrate holder along said extended surface, said at least one substrate holder being constructed to hold an extended surface of a substrate resting therein to be freely exposed to the surrounding along said extended surface of said holder carrier, said extended surface of said holder carrier extending around a central axis of said holder carrier directed traverse to said extended surface of said holder carrier;
• providing at least one vacuum treatment chamber constructed to treat the at least one substrate on a single of said holder carriers;
• providing a transfer vacuum chamber connected via a gate valve to said at least one vacuum treatment chamber;
• and
• performing the further steps of:
• a) treating the substrate on one of said holder carriers at a time in said vacuum treatment chamber, resulting in a treated substrate on said one holder carrier thereby performing said treatment at a process pressure in said vacuum treatment chamber, said treatment lasting during a treatment time span;
• b) during said treating time span;
• b1):
• conveying one of said holder carriers with previously treated substrates from said transfer vacuum chamber towards ambient thereby venting said transfer vacuum chamber, and
• b2):
• conveying one of said holder carriers with untreated substrates from ambient into said transfer vacuum chamber and establishing process pressure in said transfer vacuum chamber;
• c) after said treatment, exchanging in said vacuum treatment chamber said one holder carrier with treated substrates by said holder carrier with untreated substrates from said transfer vacuum chamber through said gate valve and exchanging in said transfer vacuum chamber said one holder carrier with untreated substrates by said holder carrier with treated substrates from said vacuum treatment chamber through said gate valve;
• and
• d) repeating steps a) to c).