The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 25, 1989
Filed:
Dec. 17, 1987
Manfred Arnold, Aschaffenburg, DE;
Peter Wirz, Waldernbach, DE;
Leybold Aktiengesellschaft, Cologne, DE;
Abstract
An apparatus for coating substrates in a vacuum chamber has a cathode system, which is preceded and followed by evacuable isolating chambers. The individual chambers can be separated from one another by locks, and the apparatus has a conduit leading into the coating chamber for feeding one or more process gases. Transport frames carry the substrates through the individual chambers on rails and/or wheels. In such an apparatus one or more bypass lines are provided which connect the coating chamber to the isolating chambers preceding or following it, and a shutoff or valve is inserted into each bypass line and brings about an equalization of pressure between the chambers. By means of a pressure equalization performed in this manner, the constancy of the gas concentrations which is essential in a reactive process to the stability of the process and to uniform coating properties, is automatically assured.