Glow discharge deposition apparatus including a non-horizontally

Abstract

An improved glow discharge deposition apparatus for depositing amorphous layers upon at least one substrate, the apparatus including a housing capable of withstanding vacuum pressures, a substrate upon which the amorphous layers are deposited, an r.f. powered cathode adapted to cooperate with the substrate for producing a plasma region in the housing, layer-producing materials adapted to be introduced into the plasma region, and heating elements for warming the substrate to a deposition-effecting temperature. The improvement is provided by an electrically insulated base adapted to support the cathode in a non-horizontal, preferably a vertical, plane and a prop adapted to support the substrate in a plane adjacent and parallel to the non-horizontal plane in which the cathode is supported. The non-horizontal cathode is adapted for use either in a single deposition chamber for depositing a single amorphous layer onto the substrate, or in a machine having a plurality of successive deposition chambers for depositing successive amorphous layers onto the substrate. In either embodiment, opposite planar faces of the cathode may be employed in combination with a pair of substrates, deposed in planes parallel to the plane of the cathode faces, to develop two plasma regions for simultaneously depositing amorphous layer-producing material on each of the substrates. The substrate can be formed either of discrete plates or of a continuous web of material. In the embodiment wherein the substrate is formed of discrete plates, a rotatable arm, associated with each deposition chamber, is adapted to cyclically introduce the substrate into the deposition chamber and expel the substrate from the deposition chamber.