Method and apparatus for the coating of substrates

• US 5,340,454 A
• Filed: 07/28/1993
• Issued: 08/23/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Balzers und Leybold Deutschland Holding AG (Balzers & Leybold Group)
• Original Assignee: Leybold Aktiengesellschaft
• Inventors: Schaefer, Christian, Hartig, Klaus
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, NAM X
• Application Number:
  US08/098,751
• Time in Patent Office: 391 Days
• Field of Search: 204/192.1, 204/192.12, 204/298.23, 204/298.24, 204/298.25, 204/298.26, 204/298.27
• US Class Current: 204/192.12
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/568 Transferring the substrates through a series of coating stations C23C14/562 takes precedence

Abstract

Method and apparatus for the coating of substrates (1, 1'"'"', . . . ), preferably by cathode sputtering in a vacuum apparatus consisting of at least one sputtering chamber (6) in which different coating systems can be applied to the preferably curved substrates to be coated (1, 1'"'"', . . . ), the substrates (1, 1'"'"', . . . ) can be moved in a direction B through the vacuum apparatus and pass through the sputtering chamber (6) repeatedly in direction B as well as in the opposite direction in the so-called multipass mode, the uncoated substrates (1, 1'"'"', . . . ) or substrate carriers (12, 11'"'"', . . . ) being combined before entering the sputtering chamber into groups of several, preferably two substrates (1, 1'"'"', . . . ) each, and these run simultaneously through the sputtering chamber (6) in the so-called dual multipass mode.

Claims

1. Method for coating curved substrates by cathode sputtering in a vacuum apparatus having different chambers with at least one sputtering chamber, which is subdivided into several divisions which are provided each with a sputtering cathode, uncoated curved substrates being moved through the vacuum apparatus by means of a transport system including carriers, in a forward direction of movement, the method comprising:

passing curved substrates in an in-line translation through the sputtering chamber repeatedly in a forward direction of movement as well as in an opposite direction in a multipass mode with the sputtering chamber empty of substrates between translations in the forward direction and in the opposite direction, passing the substrates through a lock individually into a transfer chamber disposed ahead of the sputtering chamber in the forced direction of movement and then combining sequentially the substrates to be coated prior to entrance into the spurring chamber in groups of several substrates, and running each group of substrates simultaneously through the sputtering chamber in an in-line translation.