Chemistry: electrical and wave energy – Apparatus – Coating – forming or etching by sputtering
Patent
1986-09-30
1989-01-17
Niebling, John F.
Chemistry: electrical and wave energy
Apparatus
Coating, forming or etching by sputtering
20419212, C23C 1434
Patent
active
047986638
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
STATE OF THE ART
The invention relates to a sputtering apparatus for the reactive coating of substrates with hard substances, especially with titanium nitride or titanium carbide, which has an evacuable housing at ground potential with a feed line for a reaction gas and a noble gas, and in which the sputtering surface of a magnetron serving as the sputtering unit plus at least one mounting for the substrates are disposed, the substrates being positionable in front of the sputtering surface by means of the mounting.
Such sputtering apparatus, in which a so-called high-power cathode sputtering is performed, are disclosed, for example, in the offprint 11-S01 entitled, "Herstellung von harten Titan-Nitrid-Schichten mittels Hochleistungskatodenzerstaeubung" (also published in "Werkstoffe und ihre Veredlung", vol 3, 1981, by W. D Muenz and G. Hessberger) of Leybold-Heraeus GmbH, and by DE-OS No. 31 07 914, in which the basic construction and the manner of operation of a magnetron cathode ("magnetron") are described.
With sputtering apparatus of this kind, tools for machining, such as drills and mills, for example, as well as tool parts, are covered with wear-resistant coatings in order to lengthen the cutting edge life of the tools in comparison with an uncoated tool. High-power cathode sputtering is characterized by the fact that a high sputtering and deposition rate can be established, and that furthermore the process parameters can be maintained precisely and repeatably. In the case of a relative movement between the substrate and the magnetron cathode, even large areas can be uniformly coated. The quality of the coated substrates depends on parameters such as substrate bias voltage, substrate current, operating pressure, operating temperature, the geometric conditions of the sputtering apparatus, and on the field strength of the magnetic field and its configuration.
In the known system, the substrate coating is performed by two symmetrically arranged magnetron cathodes between which the substrates are continuously moved by means of a rotating substrate holding means, a so-called "cage", without the need for an additional rotatory movement with respect to the cage.
The known system requires a careful adjustment of all influencing magnitudes, and necessitates complex changeover work if substrates of different dimensions, especially transverse dimensions are to be coated in succession. For example, it is not easily possible to coat slender drills and protruding cutterheads in one and the same batch. But it is not possible, or not easily possible, even to increase the free distance between the two magnetron cathodes to permit passage of wider substrates. Precisely in small production operations, however, it is often necessary to coat batches which consist of different substrates. If the fit between the magnetron cathodes and the substrates is poor, however, the quality of the coating is not assured for all substrate dimensions.
THE PROBLEM
The present invention is addressed to the problem of creating a sputtering apparatus of the kind described in the beginning, which will also be suitable for substrates of different sizes, so that a substantial increase of tool edge life will be achieved in all substrates.
THE INVENTION
The solution of the stated problem is accomplished in accordance with the invention, in the sputtering apparatus described in the beginning, by the fact that the mounting for the substrates is disposed between an ionizing system having at least two electrodes, one electrode of which can be operated as an electron emitter and the other electrode is at a positive potential with respect to the emitter electrode, and wherein the substrate mounting itself is at a negative voltage with respect to ground.
ADVANTAGES
In the sputtering apparatus according to the invention the plasma density is substantially increased by controlled electron inclusion. Substrate currents above 5 mA per square centimeter can be achieved. With such bias currents virtually structureless coatings and better strengths
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Eligehausen Hans
Herklotz Gunther
Leybold-Heraeus GmbH
Nguyen Nam X.
Niebling John F.
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