Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Akira Okuda

Shigeru Namiki

Yoshikazu Yoshida

Hatsuhiko Shibasaki

Masahiro Yamamoto

Shinichi Mizuguchi

Masahide Yokoyama

Yasuhiro Kobayashi

Hiroshi Hayata

Youichi Ohnishi

Toshiyuki Fujioka

Kiyoshi Saeki

Tetsuo Imada

Mikio Takebayashi

Kenji Maruyama

Tadaomi Amano

Takashi Tanino

Hiromi Shima

Katsuyuki Kita

During sputtering for use in thin film deposition, anomalous discharge is prevented from generating between a target and a backing plate, and a target presser. In the target presser also serving as an earth shield and a deposition preventing plate, an insulating member staying in contact with the sputtering target or the backing plate is provided with a recess constituted of two or more different depths so that the recess does not come in contact with the sputtering target or the backing plate.

Sputtering apparatus

A half-transmissive film of an optical disk is formed using a Cu oxide instead of Au, while achieving similar reflectivity characteristics to those of Au. Alternatively, the half-transmissive film may comprise a compound of Cu with a corrosion-resistant material, or a stack of layers comprising a lower layer film of Cu, Ag, or Al and an upper layer film of a corrosion-resistant material. Further, the half-transmissive film may comprise ZnS.SiO,, a nitride of Ti, indium-tin-oxide, or an alloy of Au and Cu or a compound including Au and Cu.

Optical recording medium

A trigger gas feed system is normally kept opened before a discharge is started. The trigger gas feed system is shut instantaneously, for example, when the discharge is generated, thereby to set a vacuum chamber at a sputtering pressure. The trigger gas feed system is opened again after the discharge is finished. The opened state is continued until another discharge is started. Accordingly, the pressure in the vacuum chamber before the discharge is maintained always constant, and the vacuum chamber is returned to the sputtering pressure in a short time.

Sputtering method and apparatus using a trigger gas feed

More than two pressure reducing chambers 6 to 9 are located on both the upstream and the downstream of vacuum processing housings 11 and 12. Each of the pressure reducing chambers 6 to 9 includes a film conveying means 30, a vacuum exhausting means, and a gate valve 20 provided with a resilient member for closely holding down the running film 1 to seal off the vacuum state of a belt-like passage of the gate valve 20. As the pressure reducing chambers 6 to 9 are protected with their specific gate valve belt-like passage arrangement from reduction of the vacuum state and located respectively on the upstream and downstream sides of the vacuum processing units 11 and 12, the vacuum state in the continuous vacuum processing apparatus will be maintained to a desired level. While the running film 1 is being conveyed, the gate valves 20 at the first and second stages are actuated alternately for opening and closing after vacuum evacuation.

Continuous vacuum processing apparatus

When forming a conductor film of Ag, Au, Cu, Al on a substrate of ceramics or glass, an adhesive layer of Cr, NiCr is formed on the substrate, a mixed layer of adhesive layer material and conductor film material is formed on the adhesive layer, and a conductor film is formed on the mixed layer. According to this method, even if film forming is conducted below the temperature for inducing diffusion on the interface of the conductor film and adhesive layer, for example, below 100.degree. C., an alloy layer of adhesive layer material and conductor film material is present on the interface of the adhesive layer and conductor film to be closer to bulk state, and the attraction between molecules is increased, so that the bonding strength of the conductor film and adhesive layer is enhanced. Therefore, at 100.degree. C. or more, a conductor film which hardly causes peeling may be formed on the substrate to be used in electronic components which vary in electric characteristics or on the film form substrate which deforms thermally.

Conductor film and its forming method

An evaporation apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, a vacuum pump for producing a pressure-reduced atmosphere in the vacuum chamber, at least one vacuum evaporation device for evaporating an evaporation material provided in the vacuum chamber, a drum opposed to the vacuum evaporation device and rotating, for cooling a film substrate on which the evaporation material is to be deposited, a supply roller for supplying the film substrate to the drum, a winding roller for winding the film substrate on which the evaporation material has been deposited, a free roller for assisting the winding and travel of the film substrate, a voltage applying device for applying a DC voltage to the film substrate on which the evaporation material has been deposited; and an electric current measuring device for measuring an intensity of electric current flowing between the film substrate on which the evaporation material has been deposited and the ground.

Evaporation apparatus comprising film substrate voltage applying means

An evaporation apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, a vacuum pump for producing a pressure-reduced atmosphere in the vacuum chamber, at least one vacuum evaporation source for evaporating an evaporation material provided in the vacuum chamber, a can, opposed to the vacuum evaporation source and rotating and ungrounded, for cooling a film on which the evaporation material is to be deposited, a supply roller for supplying the film to the can, a winding roller for winding the film on which the evaporation material has been deposited, a voltage-applying roller for assisting the winding and travel of the film and bringing into contact with a deposited material on the film, and a voltage applying device for applying a DC voltage to the film, on which the evaporation material has been deposited, through the voltage-applying roller to generate potential difference between the film and the can.

Evaporation apparatus

A plasma processing apparatus wherein a means is provided to apply the proper negative DC voltage through a filter circuit to an electrode for generating the low-temperature plasma through the feed of the high-frequency power. When the high-frequency power has been fed in the higher high-frequency power density to the electrode for generating the low temperature plasma, the sparks (abnormal discharge) easy to be generated are prevented from being caused to generate the stable low-temperature plasma for better plasma processing.

Growing community of inventors

Sakai, Japan

Akira Okuda