Balzers Aktiengesellschaft

Unaxis-balzers Aktiengesellschaft

Balzers Akteingesellschaft

Balzers Aktiengtesellschaft

Urs Wegmann

Albert Koller

Walter Haag

Klaus Wellerdieck

Hubert Mannhart

Eduard Rille

Karl Hoefler

Signer Hans

Josef Vogt

A problem which occurs in the sputtering of a substance by means of a high-frequency discharge between two electrodes, is that both electrode surfaces are sputtered away when the electrode surface that is actually not to be sputtered is not at least ten times as large as the surface of the electrode carrying the substance. To prevent an undesirable cosputtering, in on embodiment, a vacuum recipient at a selected gas pressure has first and a second electrodes which are selected so that their surface areas form a ratio R,such that 0.3&lE;R,&lE;3. A discharge space in the vacuum recipient is confined to the electrode surfaces. An RF plasma discharge is generated in the discharge space by applying an electric RF field between the electrode surface, so that a first dark space region with a first drop of time-averaged electric potential and a second dark space region with a second drop of time-averaged electric potential, are respectively provided adjacent each electrode. The surface of an object to be coated is disposed in the second dark space region adjacent said larger electrode surface so that the surface of the object is at a floating electric potential to perform diode sputtering. A magnetic field is generated within the discharge space, a large part of its lines of force being tunnel-like shaped on the first electrode surface and extending across aid first dark space region to enhance sputtering of the surface of the object.

Process and apparatus for sputter etching or sputter coating

A cathode arrangement for emitting electrons includes an electrode-conductive emission body that defines an emission surface from which the electrons propagate. A slit pattern is cut into the emission body for dividing the emission body into a current path. Two spaced apart conductive terminals on the emission body connect opposite ends of the current path for carrying current along the emission body that is used to heat the emission body by Joule heat.

Cathode arrangement

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus by means of which a material is vaporized in a treatment chamber by means of an electron beam. Due to controlling the inhomogenity of power distribution over the working area of the beam it becomes possible to prevent local overheating of the target material and thus of a deformation of the target surface. This is realized by oscillating the beam around its working point. The amplitude of the oscillation is, thereby, of almost a few beam diameters and this oscillation is superimposed on the momentarily working position of the beam on the target.

Method for controlling evaporation for vapor deposition

An electron beam generator having an electron emission cathode adopted to be rapidly mounted to an installation, has an electronically insulating support body that is clamped on one side to a metal contact body having a large surface area. At the other side of the electrically insulating support body, a quick release device is arranged in order to rapidly mount and dismount the generator to an installation.

Electron beam generator and emission cathode

A method and apparatus for controlling, regulating and measuirng the particle mass which is evaporated per unit time from a target by a charged particle beam, in particular an electron beam, comprises the varying of an impingement area of the beam on the target in a manner which is decoupled from control of the position of the impingement area and control of the mass current of the beam. The impingment area may be modulated for varying the particle mass and the particle mass can be measured by also using a modulation step in conjunction with a particle detector and a beam modulation step.

Method for the control of an evaporation process

The rear surface of an sputtering target (1) is actively cooled exclusively in regions spaced from breakthrough-prone regions. The cooling takes place in regions along the erosion profile outside of the regions of greatest erosion rate. For this purpose a cooling device for the target (1) has channels (7) through which a coolant flows. These channels (7) extend outside the regions (4) of strongest erosion of the target (1). The cooling channels (7) have on the side facing the back surface of the target, one foil-like closure wall (10). The cooling channels (7) extend in a cooling plate (6) and are separated from each other by webs (8). The webs (8) extend in the region of strongest erosion (4) of the target (1) in order to mechanically support these regions (4). Therewith it is possible to utilize expensive target material to the limit of its removal, without however risking a breakthrough of the target due to the erosion in an area where coolant will leak.

Method for the cooling of targets as well as cooling device for targets

In order to utilize a magnet arrangement having a magnetic flux density field for beam guidance in the deflection of a beam of monopolar charged particles, regions of the field having curved field lines, are modified to significantly linearize the field lines in the area of the beam. An additional flux density field is superimposed on the primary flux density field so that the field lines interact in an harmonic synthesis and so that the field lines of the resulting field in the region of interest, extend linearly. In this way, the deflection force on the beam is essentially independent of the beam position in the field direction and in the linearized region.

Method and device for the deflection of a beam

A process and a system are disclosed for controlling the focusing of a beam of monopolar charged particles which is used, for example, to vaporize substances in vacuum coating systems. The beam (S) has a cross-sectional area (Q) in a plane (E.sub.1) transverse to the axis of the beam. Perpendicular to plane (E.sub.1) there is a plane (E.sub.2), the surface normal (R) to which indicates the direction in which the change in the cross-sectional area (Q) is to occur. According to the invention, flux density fields (B.sub.1, B.sub.2) are applied, which are parallel on opposite sides to plane (E.sub.2) but have opposing directions. As a result, the change in the focusing of the beam has essentially no effect on any deflection of the beam; that is, it is possible to control the focusing without exerting any significant effect on the deflection.

Process and system for the control of the focusing of a beam of

The average evaporation rate over a predetermined area to be evaporated is controlled by moving an electron beam over said area wherein one characteristic of the electron beam is controlled in order to influence the evaporation rate. The electron beam is moved along a path according to stored maps wherein each position to which the electron beam is moved has assigned thereto substantially equal control values. In a first technique, each of the individual stored maps are selected in a sequential fashion to minimize the number of changes in the control value during a complete scan of the area being evaporated. In another technique, the control value of a predetermined position is compared against a predetermined number of stored control values, which is preferably all of the control values stored in a memory. The position data having associated control values which differ from the control value of the predetermined position by a predetermined minimal amount are stored as a map and thereafter utilized to control the electron beam so that the characteristic of the electron beam being controlled is maintained substantially constant for all of those positions stored as a map. In still another technique, a plurality of maps are stored in a memory, each map comprising position data whose associated control values are substantially equal and wherein two or more of said maps are selected and the control values of the maps associated with the same position are combined to control a characteristic of the beam.

Method and control arrangement for the evaporation rate of an electron

A vapor source for a vacuum-coating installation comprises a rotatably mounted vaporizing crucible, a drive motor and a device, preferably an electron beam gun, for heating the material to be vaporized, all arranged in one structural unit, movable as a whole in the coating installation. With this, the site of the vaporization for a given layer-thickness distribution can be selected optimally to correspond to the respective applications.

Vapor source for vacuum coating installation

Arrangements for coating substrates, comprising a hollow cathode around the substrate with at least two sputtering zones with the proportion between the sputtering performances in the zone being adjustable, to obtain a more uniform coating also of lateral surfaces formed by steps on the substrate.

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Oberschan, Switzerland

Urs Wegmann