Arrangement and method for the production of gas-impermeable layers

• US 20060027450A1
• Filed: 10/19/2004
• Published: 02/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials GmbH & Co., KG (Applied Materials Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials GmbH & Co., KG (Applied Materials Incorporated)
• Inventors: Sommer, Elisabeth, Hegemann, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US10/968,838
• Publication Number:
  US 20060027450A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 204/192.140
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/0676 Oxynitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/081 of aluminium, magnesium or beryllium
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/205 by cathodic sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/566 using a load-lock chamber
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3405 Magnetron sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1331 Single layer [continuous layer]

Abstract

An arrangement and a method for the production of gas-impermeable layers, in particular for the coating of gas-permeable synthetic material substrates. With the aid of this arrangement or of the method light-permeable as well as also light-impermeable gas-blocking layers are produced using only one sputtering installation. A simple change-over switching from one gas supply, for example argon, to a second gas supply, for example argon, oxygen and nitrogen is carried out or the converse.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. An arrangement for the production of gas-impermeable layers, in particular for the coating of gas-permeable synthetic material substrates, comprising:

a) a vacuum sputtering chamber having at least one target of aluminum, and

b) at least two gas containers, which are connected with the vacuum sputtering chamber via at least one gas inlet line, which can be shut.

22. An arrangement as claimed in claim 21, wherein a first gas container contains argon and a second gas container contains air.

23. An arrangement as claimed in claim 21, wherein three gas containers are provided, the first gas container containing argon, the second gas container containing oxygen and the third gas container containing nitrogen.

24. An arrangement as claimed in claim 21, wherein all of the two or three gas inlet lines are open.

25. An arrangement as claimed in claim 21 wherein only the gas inlet line for argon is open.

26. An arrangement as claimed in claim 24, wherein a switch-over device is provided, with which it is possible to switch between the supply of argon and the supply of argon, oxygen and nitrogen.

27. An arrangement as claimed in claim 21, wherein the synthetic material substrate is a hollow body.

28. A method for the production of a gas-impermeable layer, comprising the steps of:

a) providing an aluminum target in a vacuum chamber,

b) introducing argon into the vacuum chamber as the sputter gas and oxygen and nitrogen as reactive gases,

c) sputtering the aluminum target is.

30. The method as claimed in claim 28, further comprising introducing air into the vacuum chamber as the reactive gas.

31. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the operating parameters of the sputtering process are set such, that a transparent, gas-impermeable coating of AlO_xN_y is generated, in which 0<

x<

0.6 and 0<

y<

0.5.

33. The method as claimed in claim 31, wherein the AlO_xN_y layer is 1 to 100 nm thick.

34. The method as claimed in claim 31, wherein the AlO_xN_y layer is embedded between polymer layers.

35. The method as claimed in claim 34, wherein the polymer layers are acrylate layers having a thickness of 0.2 to 1.5 μ

m.

36. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the reactive gas contains approximately 65% to 90% nitrogen and approximately 10% to 35% oxygen.

37. The method as claimed in claim, 28, wherein the reactive gas contains more than 50% of nitrogen.

38. The method as claimed in claim 34, wherein the polymer layers comprise canonically polymerizing material of a thickness of 0.2 to 1.5 μ

m.

29. A method for the production of a gas-impermeable layer, comprising the steps of

a) providing an aluminum target in a vacuum chamber,

b) introducing argon into the vacuum chamber as the sputter gas, and

c) sputtering the aluminum target.

32. The method as claimed in claim 29, wherein the operating parameters of the sputtering process are set such that an opaque coating of Al is generated.

39. A gas-blocking coating for hollow bodies with a gas-permeable wall, wherein the gas-blocking coating contains at least one layer of AlO_xN_y where 0<

x<

0.6 and 0<

y<

0.5.

40. A gas-blocking coating for hollow bodies with a gas-permeable wall, wherein the gas-blocking coating comprises at least one layer of Al.