Oerlikon Surface Solutions Ag, Pfaffikon

Oerlikon Trading Ag, Trubbach

Oerlikon Trading Ag, Truebbach

Markus Esselbach

Siegfried Krassnitzer

Jörg Vetter

Orlaw Massler

Hamid Bolvardi

Oliver Gstoehl

Martin Grischke

Martin Zaech

Joerg Kerschbaumer

The present invention discloses a target assembly which allows safe, fracture-free and economic operation of target materials with low fracture toughness and/or bending strength during arc evaporation processes as well as in sputtering processes. The present invention discloses a target assembly for PVD processes, comprising a target, and a target holding device (), characterized in that the target () comprises a first bayonet lock and the target holding device () comprises a counterbody for the first bayonet lock of the target and a second bayonet lock for engaging the target assembly in the cooling means of the deposition chamber.

Target assembly for safe and economic evaporation of brittle materials

Planetary carriers () for workpieces mounted on a carousel () are provided within a vacuum chamber. A source () for a cloud comprising ions (CL) is provided so that a central axis (A) of the cloud intercepts the rotary axis (A) of the carousel (). The cloud (CL) has an ion density profile at the moving path (T) of planetary axes (A) which drops to 50% of the maximum ion density at a distance from the addressed center axis (A) which is at most half the diameter of the planetary carriers (). When workpieces upon the planetary carriers () are etched by the cloud comprising ions material which is etched off is substantially not redeposited on neighboring planetary carriers but rather ejected towards the wall of the vacuum chamber.

Method for manufacturing workpieces with ion-etched surface

A vacuum treatment system () for treating workpieces has a treatment chamber () that can be evacuated and in which a low-volt arc-discharge device is placed, with at least one locking loading/unloading aperture and at least one coating source placed on one side wall of the treatment chamber. It also has a device for producing a magnetic field to create a remote magnetic field and at least one workpiece holder to hold workpieces. A target-shutter arrangement (') is designed so that when uncovered, the distance between the shutter () and the target () is less than 35 mm, thus allowing ignition and operation of a magnetron or cathode spark discharge behind the target, but preventing ignition of auxiliary plasma when the target () is turned off.

Vacuum treatment system

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Feldkirch, Austria

Markus Esselbach