Method for magnetron sputter deposition
AssigneeSouthwest Research Institute
InventorRonghua Wei
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for depositing a coating on an interior surface of a hollowed workpiece. The method comprises providing the hollowed workpiece in a vacuum chamber, the hollowed workpiece comprising an interior surface substantially defining a bore having a longitudinal axis; positioning a magnetron within thed bore along substantially the length of said longitudinal axis and substantially radially equidistant from the interior surface, said magnetron comprising an external sputter target material; and, generating a circumferential magnetic field about the sputter target material for a time and under sputter deposition conditions effective to produce an interior surface comprising a substantially uniform coating comprising said sputter target material.
Claims169
A method for depositing a coating on an interior surface of a hollowed workpiece, the method comprising:
- providing said hollowed workpiece in a vacuum chamber, said hollowed workpiece comprising an interior surface substantially defining a bore having a longitudinal axis;
- positioning a magnetron within said bore along substantially the length of said longitudinal axis and substantially radially equidistant from the interior surface, said magnetron comprising an external sputter target material;
- and,
- generating a circumferential magnetic field about said sputter target material for a time and under sputter deposition conditions effective to produce an interior surface comprising a substantially uniform coating comprising said sputter target material.
The method of claim I wherein the magnetic field is about 1000 Gauss or more.
A method for depositing a metallic coating on an interior surface of a hollowed workpiece, the method comprising:
- providing said hollowed workpiece in a vacuum chamber, said hollowed workpiece comprising an interior surface substantially defining a bore having a longitudinal axis;
- positioning a magnetron within said bore along substantially the length of said longitudinal axis and substantially radially equidistant from the interior surface, said magnetron comprising an external metallic sputter target material;
- and,
- generating a circumferential magnetic field about said sputter target material for a time and under sputter deposition conditions effective to produce an interior surface comprising a substantially uniform metallic coating.
A method for depositing a ceramic coating on an interior surface of a hollowed workpiece, the method comprising:
- providing said hollowed workpiece in a vacuum chamber, said hollowed workpiece comprising an interior surface substantially defining a bore having a longitudinal axis;
- positioning a magnetron within said bore along substantially the length of said longitudinal axis and substantially radially equidistant from the interior surface, said magnetron comprising an external ceramic precursor sputter target material;
- and,
- generating a circumferential magnetic field about said sputter target material in the presence of a reactive gas effective to react with said ceramic precursor material to form a ceramic coating for a time and under sputter deposition conditions effective to produce an interior surface comprising a substantially uniform ceramic coating.
A method for depositing a coating on an interior surface of a hollowed workpiece, said method comprising:
- providing a hollowed workpiece having an interior surface to be coated and a hollow having a longitudinal axis;
- providing a sputter target material having a longitudinal bore substantially coextensive with said longitudinal axis;
- positioning the workpiece, the sputter target material, the structural support, and a magnet assembly in a vacuum chamber, whereby the sputter target material is substantially within the workpiece and the magnet assembly is substantially within the sputter target material;
- generating a circumferentially directed magnetic field about the sputter target material;
- generating plasma within the vacuum chamber;
- and
- applying an electric potential to initiate ionization of the plasma and bombardment of the sputter target material to sputter target particles therefrom, thereby depositing a substantially uniform coating on the interior surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.