Modular sputtering machine having batch processing and serial thin film sputtering

A thin film deposition system comprising:

• first and second deposition stations, each deposition station including walls defining a batch chamber and a deposition chamber, and a mechanism to transfer substrates sequentially between the batch chamber and the deposition chamber;
• a batch drive system to advance batches of the substrates along a batch path between the batch chambers of the first and second deposition stations, the deposition chambers being disposed off the batch path;
• a plurality of valves to pass the batches of substrates, the valves disclosed at a beginning of the batch path, at an end of the batch path, and between the first and second deposition stations so that the batch path is isolatable from the surrounding environment, and so that the first and second deposition stations are isolatable from each other;
• wherein each deposition station further comprises an environmental control system for maintaining a station environment within the batch chamber and the deposition chamber during deposition and during transfer of the substrates between the chambers of the deposition station, and wherein the environmental control systems of the first and second deposition stations are capable of providing different environments when the valves isolate the deposition stations;
• and
• wherein a process station is disposed along the batch path between the deposition stations, the process station capable of selectively duplicating the station environment of the first and second deposition stations prior to sequentially opening valves between each deposition station and the process station to avoid altering the station environments when batches of disks advance between the deposition stations.

A thin film deposition machine comprising:

• a first valve for passing and sealing between batches of substrates, the first valve defining a beginning of a batch path;
• a load station along the batch path after the first valve, the load station sealably engaging the first valve, the load station including walls defining a batch chamber disposed along the batch path and an environmental control system adapted to reduce the pressure and raise the temperature of the batches of substrates;
• a metals deposition station, adapted for deposition of an underlayer comprising chromium over the substrate and a magnetic layer over the underlayer, the metals station having walls defining a batch chamber disposed along the batch path after the load station, a plurality of chambers for heating and deposition of the underlayer and the magnetic layer on individual substrates, the plurality of chambers disposed off the batch path, and a mechanism for transferring individual substrates of the batches of substrates from the batch path, through each of the plurality of chambers, and back to the batch path;
• a cooling station, comprising walls defining a batch chamber disposed along the batch path and adapted to lower the temperature of the batches of substrates after deposition of the underlayer and the magnetic layer, the cooling station capable of selectively duplicating differing deposition environments of adjacent deposition stations to avoid altering the deposition environments when batches of disks advance along the batch path;
• a carbon deposition station adapted for deposition of an overlayer comprising carbon over the magnetic layer, the carbon station having walls defining a batch chamber disposed along the batch path after the cooling station, a deposition chamber disposed off the batch path, and a mechanism for transferring the individual substrates of the batches of substrates from the batch path to the deposition chamber;
• and
• an unload station disposed along the batch path after the carbon station, the unload station comprising walls defining a batch chamber and adapted to raise pressure for the batches of substrate;
• a last valve disposed along the batch path after the carbon station for passing and sealing between batches of substrates, the last valve defining an end of the batch path;
• and
• a plurality of valves disposed along the batch path between each successive station for isolating the batches of substrates therein, the batch chambers along the batch path sealingly engageable with adjacent batch chambers so that the batches of substrates are isolated from a surrounding environment between the beginning and the end of the batch path.

A sputtering machine comprising:

• a plurality of successive batch process stations defining a batch path, each process station comprising:
• walls defining at least one batch chamber disposed along the batch path, the walls sealably coupleable with at least one adjacent process station to isolate the batch patch from a surrounding environment;
• and
• a batch driver to advance batches of substrates along the batch path;
• and
• a plurality of valves disposed between successive process stations and at a beginning and an end of the batch path;
• wherein two of the process stations comprise a metal deposition station adapted for sputtering at least one of a chromium underlayer and a magnetic recording layer, and an overlayer deposition station disposed along the batch path after the metals deposition station, the overlayer deposition station adapted for sputtering an overlayer comprising carbon, the sputtering stations having a sputtering chamber disposed off the batch path, an interchamber transfer mechanism which transfers individual substrates between the batch chamber of the sputtering station and the sputtering chamber, and an environmental control system to maintain at least one of temperature, pressure, and gas composition within the batch chamber of the sputtering station and within the sputtering chamber so as to avoid evacuating the sputtering chamber individually for each substrate;
• wherein the environmental systems of the two sputtering stations independently control at least one of temperature, pressure, and internal gas composition for simultaneous sputtering with different deposition environments within the two sputtering chambers, the batch chambers of the sputtering stations being isolatable by the valves and sealingly coupled along the batch path so as to avoid evacuating a batch chamber from ambient pressure individually for each sputtering station;
• wherein a process station is disposed along the batch path between the metal and carbon deposition stations for reducing the temperature of the batches of substrates, the cooling station isolatable from each of the deposition stations by the valves;
• and
• wherein the cooling station includes an environmental control system capable of selectively duplicating a sputtering environment of an adjacent sputtering station prior to opening a valve between the cooling station and the adjacent sputtering station.

A thin film deposition system comprising:

• first and second deposition stations, each deposition station including walls defining a batch chamber and a deposition chamber, a mechanism to transfer substrates sequentially between the batch chamber and the deposition chamber, and an environmental control system for maintaining a deposition environment within the batch chamber and the deposition chamber, the environmental control systems capable of maintaining different deposition environments at the first and second deposition stations for deposition of different materials;
• a plurality of batch process stations disposed before and after the first and second deposition stations and between the batch chambers of the first and second deposition stations along a batch path;
• a batch drive system to advance batches of the substrates along the batch path;
• a plurality of valves disposed at a beginning of the batch path, at an end of the batch path, and between adjacent deposition stations and batch process stations so that the batch path is isolatable from the surrounding environment, and so that the first and second deposition stations and the batch process stations are isolatable from each other;
• wherein the batch process station adjacent to the deposition stations are capable of duplicating the adjacent deposition environment before the valves are opened to maintain the differing first and second deposition environments while batches of disks advance along the batch path.