Magnetron sputtering device, a cylindrical cathode and a method of coating thin multicomponent films on a substrate
AssigneeApplied Films GmbH & Co. KG
InventorMichael Liehr
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Abstract
The invention relates to a magnetron sputtering device particularly comprising at least one vacuum chamber and being intended for the coating of multicomponent films on a substrate by means of magnetron co-sputtering; said device is provided with a cylindrical cathode (1, 1′) mounted rotatably around the axial longitudinal shaft and is further provided with a magnetic system arranged inside the cylindrical cathode (1, 1′). The cylindrical cathode (1, 1′) includes at least two segments (2, 2′, 3, 3′, 4, 4′, 5, 5′) having different target materials. In addition, the invention relates to a method of coating multicomponent films on a substrate by way of magnetron co-sputtering in a vacuum coating system.
Claims19
A magnetron sputtering device, particularly comprising at least one vacuum chamber, for coating thin multicomponent films on a substrate, said device having a cylindrical cathode rotatably mounted around the longitudinal axis and having a magnetic system disposed within said cylindrical cathode, said cylindrical cathode comprising at least two segments having different target materials, and said magnetron sputtering device having means for rotating said cylindrical cathode and means for shifting the substrate relative to said cylindrical cathode, characterized in that said means for rotating said cylindrical cathode are adapted to rotate said cylindrical cathode essentially continuously at a speed which depends on the substrate speed such that said target materials are intermixed on said substrate, thereby depositing a multicomponent film on said substrate by means of magnetron co-sputtering.
A method of coating thin multicomponent films on a substrate in a vacuum coating system by means of magnetron co-sputtering, having a cylindrical cathode rotatably mounted around the axial longitudinal shaft and positioned within a magnetron sputtering device, characterized in that
- said cylindrical cathode comprises at least two segments having different materials and is rotated around the longitudinal shaft above the internal magnetic system while the films are being coated on the substrate,
- said substrate is guided past said cylindrical cathode during sputtering,
- the substrate speed is chosen as a function of the sputtering yield and the distance of said cylindrical cathode from said substrate in such a way that said multicomponent film obtains a desired thickness on said substrate, and
- the rotational speed of said cylindrical cathode is chosen as a function of the substrate speed in such a way that said individual target segments are sputtered in rapid succession, and the various material components are superimposed and intermixed locally on said substrate, thereby depositing a multicomponent film on said substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.