Contacting of an electrode with a substance in vacuum
First Claim
1. A method to improve the sputter deposition process, said method comprising the following steps:
- a) providing a vacuum;
b) providing an electrode in said vacuum;
c) providing a substrate in said vacuum, said substrate having no contact with said electrode;
d) providing a device in said vacuum;
said device being in relative motion to said electrode and being in mechanical contact with said electrode over a contact zone;
said device removing material from said electrode or said device applying material to said electrode, said material being in a solid state.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method for improving the sputter deposition process is provided. The method comprises the following steps: a) providing a vacuum; b) providing an electrode (10, 34, 34′, 44, 44′) in the provided vacuum ; c) providing a substrate in said vacuum, said substrate having no contact with said electrodes (10, 34, 34′, 44, 44′) providing a device (22, 22′, 24, 24′, 26, 26′, 28, 28′, 30, 36, 36′, 48, 48′) in the vacuum. The device is in relative motion to the electrode and is in contact with the electrode over a contact zone. The device removes solid material from the electrode or applies solid material to the electrode. The method is carried out by means of a simple mechanism. There is no need for complicated electronics or sophisticated control algorithms. The method is carried out in vacuum, i.e. there is no need to break the vacuum, so that the machine downtime is reduced.
13 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method to improve the sputter deposition process, said method comprising the following steps:
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a) providing a vacuum;
b) providing an electrode in said vacuum;
c) providing a substrate in said vacuum, said substrate having no contact with said electrode;
d) providing a device in said vacuum;
said device being in relative motion to said electrode and being in mechanical contact with said electrode over a contact zone;
said device removing material from said electrode or said device applying material to said electrode, said material being in a solid state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification