An Apparatus and a Method for Forming Patterns on a Surface of a Substrate Plate by a Sputtering Process
AssigneeVolframi Oy Ltd
InventorJukka Vuoristo
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Abstract
The disclosure relates to an apparatus for forming patterns on a surface of a substrate plate by a sputtering process, and the apparatus comprises a first vacuum chamber, a sputtering source inside the first vacuum chamber, and an arrangement to place a mask between the sputtering source and the surface of the substrate plate. The disclosure also relates to a method for forming patterns on a surface of a substrate plate by a sputtering process.
Claims17
An apparatus for forming patterns on a surface of a substrate plate by a sputtering process, the apparatus comprising:
- a first vacuum chamber,
- a sputtering source arranged inside the first vacuum chamber,
- an arrangement configured to placing a mask between the sputtering source and the surface of the substrate plate,
- a processing area, and
- wherein the apparatus is configured to receive plates having a larger surface area than the processing area, and
- wherein the apparatus further comprises a second vacuum chamber and a substrate surface heater arranged inside the second vacuum chamber, and
- wherein the first vacuum chamber and the second vacuum chamber are configured in such way that there is a gap for the substrate plate between the vacuum chambers, and
- wherein the vacuum chambers are configured to be placed on opposite sides of the substrate plate in such a way that they cover the same place on the plate, and
- wherein during the sputtering process both vacuum chambers are pressurised to an equal degree.
A method for forming patterns on a surface of a substrate plate by a sputtering process, the method comprising the steps of:
- moving the substrate plate through a gap until an area to be sputtered is between vacuum chambers;
- moving the vacuum chambers are moved towards each other so that the edges of the vacuum chambers are tightly pressed against the surfaces of the substrate plate:
- pumping air out of the vacuum chambers and keeping the pressure equal in both vacuum chambers;
- heating an area on the substrate plate where the pattern is to be sputtered from an opposite surface by the substrate surface heater inside the second vacuum chamber;
- sputtering the pattern on the substrate plate, and
- restoring ambient pressure to both vacuum chambers and releasing and repositioning the substrate plate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.