Chemistry: electrical and wave energy – Apparatus – Coating – forming or etching by sputtering
Patent
1991-04-19
1993-02-02
Weisstuch, Aaron
Chemistry: electrical and wave energy
Apparatus
Coating, forming or etching by sputtering
118730, 414217, 414222, 414225, C23C 1456
Patent
active
051835479
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a sputtering apparatus for sputtering a metal material, such as aluminum, on an optical disc base plate for producing an optical disc, and a sputtering system employing the sputtering apparatus.
BACKGROUND ART
There has been proposed an optical disc for recording or reproducing predetermined information signals, such as audio or video signals. The optical disc is constituted by a disc base plate formed of, for example, polycarbonate or acrylic resin and on which pits and grooves are formed, and a metal material, such as aluminum, deposited thereon as a reflective film.
Among the techniques of depositing the metal material on the disc base plate, an evaporation method, an ion plating method, and a sputtering method are known.
The evaporation method consists in heating a metal material, acting as an evaporation source, in a vacuum chamber for evaporating the metal and depositing the metal material on the disc base plate placed in the so-produced metal vapor. Since the processing cannot be started with this method until the metal material is vaporized sufficiently, a so-called batch system is employed for increasing the quantity of the optical discs produced for a unit time, according to which plural optical discs are produced by one evaporating operation of the metal material with the use of a large-sized vacuum chamber capable of accommodating plural optical discs. Thus the apparatus is complicated in structure and increased in size so that restrictions are imposed on the floor space. In addition, since continuous operation cannot be performed, it is difficult to shorten the processing time to increase the production efficiency significantly.
Similarly to the evaporation method, the ion plating method consists in vaporizing and ionizing the metal material in a vacuum chamber containing a gas for electrical discharge, such as argon, under a reduced pressure, and applying an electrical field thereto for accelerating the ionized gas and the ionized metal vapor toward the disc base plate for depositing the metal material on the disc base plate. With this ion plating method, similarly to the above described evaporation method, the metal vaporizing operation is time-consuming, so that the batch system needs to be employed for increasing the production quantity of the optical discs per unit time. Hence, it is difficult to reduce the size of the processing apparatus or to shorten the processing time.
The sputtering method has advantages that the processing can be completed in a short time, a continuous processing is possible, and the films can be formed on the optical discs under the same conditions, so that the method is suited to mass production or to production of a number of different types of the disc base plates.
The sputtering method consists in sealing a gas for electrical discharge, such as argon, under a reduced pressure, in a vacuum chamber containing a disc base plate and a metal material, such as aluminum acting as a target, and applying an electrical field to said vacuum chamber for ionizing the gas. The thus-ionized gas bombards the metal material, thereby ejecting atoms or molecules of the metal material, so as to be deposited as a thin film on the disc base plate.
Among the known apparatus for performing the sputtering operation is a so-called load-lock type sputtering apparatus shown for example in FIG. 26. This sputtering apparatus includes a vacuum vessel 10i and a sputtering station 102 provided above the middle portion of the vacuum vessel 101. An inlet 101a by means of which a disc base plate 103 is introduced into the vessel 101 and an outlet 101b by means of which the disc base plate 103 is transported out of the vessel 101 are provided at the opposite sides of the vessel 101.
This sputtering apparatus also includes a transport device 104 for transporting disc base plates. The transport apparatus 104 is adapted for transporting the disc base plates 103 from outside of the vacuum vessel 101 into the vacuum vessel 101 by means of the inlet 101a an
REFERENCES:
patent: 3915117 (1975-10-01), Schertler
patent: 4595483 (1986-06-01), Mahler
patent: 4820106 (1989-04-01), Walde et al.
patent: 4861563 (1989-08-01), Shekerjian et al.
patent: 4886592 (1989-12-01), Anderle et al.
Kananen Ronald P.
Sony Corporation
Weisstuch Aaron
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