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:
Sep. 12, 1989
Filed:
Nov. 14, 1988
Applicant:
Inventor:
Richard P Welty, Boulder, CO (US);
Assignee:
Vac-Tec Systems, Inc., Boulder, CO (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
C23C / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
20419212 ; 204298 ;
Abstract
A superior method and magnetron sputtering cathode apparatus in which some of the flux lines forming the closed-loop magnetic tunnel are made to change their curvature from convex to slightly concave within a region of the tunnel intersecting the sputtering target volume, and over a substantial fraction of the tunnel width. The improved field shape reduces the tendency of the eroded area of the target to become narrower as erosion progresses, and thereby allows more complete consumption of the target.