Chemistry: electrical and wave energy – Apparatus – Vacuum arc discharge coating
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-29
2002-10-29
Ver Steeg, Steven H. (Department: 1753)
Chemistry: electrical and wave energy
Apparatus
Vacuum arc discharge coating
C204S298150, C204S298250, C204S298230, C118S7230AN, C118S500000, C118S702000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06471837
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a vacuum coating installation as well as to a coupling device.
Installations of the first-mentioned type have been known for a long time, in which processing stations, which are grouped around a central distribution station, are operated from the central distribution station by way of a transporting arrangement or a robotic transportation system arranged in the distribution station and the distribution station is operated from the outside by way of an operating station, for example, by way of an inward and outward transfer station or one inward and one outward transfer station. with such installations, workpieces, such as storage disks, semiconductor wafers, are processed individually. Here, the material to be treated is formed by individual work pieces.
On the one hand, these installations permit relatively simple implementation of a desired process-related separation between the processing stations or between the distribution station and the processing stations or the operating station, as required for the very difficult processing on the above-mentioned workpieces. Furthermore, it is typical of such installations that the workpieces are essentially plane and flat, and must normally be processed, for example, coated, only on one side.
By way of these known installations highly difficult, complete layer systems can be implemented, which takes place continuously in a vacuum atmosphere and, as mentioned above, partially with a process-related separation of the individual processing steps.
Because of the high workpiece costs and the high processing costs, a relatively low throughput is accepted in the case of the above-mentioned installations as the result of the individual workpiece handling.
For the processing of workpieces which, with respect to the processing quality, for example, during their coating, are much less critical than the above-mentioned workpieces, thus, for example and particularly, for the application of wearing protection coating systems on tools, for example, for cutting, or on machine construction elements, less attention is paid to the frequency of occurring defective points, for example, with respect to the coating. A high throughput has priority. It is therefore customary to process such workpieces in vacuum coating installations in which a plurality of such workpieces are introduced as a batch and are, in each case, subjected to one processing step. If several vacuum processing steps are required, the batch is often transported as a whole from one installation to other installations and is subjected in-between to the ambient atmosphere.
In addition, the workpieces of the type addressed here, thus, for example, tool bodies of a highly complicated shape, for example, with spiral cutting edges, milling blades, etc., must be processed three-dimensionally. This takes place specifically and particularly also where the body shape is the most complex. It requires special additional measures, such as special movements of the workpiece bodies in the respective processing operation. In the case of large batch units, this significantly complicates the arrangement.
By way of such installations, it is therefore difficult to further reduce to a significant degree the overall manufacturing costs for the workpieces to be processed.
In the case of workpieces of the last-mentioned type, there is also the tendency to increase the quality demands with respect to the processing in many cases. For example, increased demands with respect to the operating efficiency of cutting tools or with respect to the stressing capacity of machine construction elements, in some cases, also result in a raised quality demand with respect to their processing. It is easily understood that the simultaneous meeting of possibly increased quality demands with respect to the processing and the primary throughput demands represent a challenge to the development.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Under a first aspect, the present invention has the object of suggesting an installation of the initially mentioned type in the case of which, while the advantages of individual-workpiece processing installations of the above-mentioned type are maintained, the high throughputs of batch processing installations are achieved and—if required—, the advantages with respect to the processing quality of the individual workpiece installations can also be implemented at reasonable cost. An installation is to be created which permits high throughputs, requires reasonable costs with respect to its construction and operation and in the case of which the processing is easily reproducible. In the above-mentioned sense, it should be possible to three-dimensionally treat and particularly coat highly complexly shaped workpiece bodies.
This object is achieved by a vacuum processing installation of the first-mentioned type which is characterized by providing the material to be treated is formed by individual workpiece holders of the installation, each having a plurality of workpiece supports, on at least one of the processing stations, a drive and a driving connection configured to be controllably established and released between drive and workpiece supports of a workpiece holder introduced in the processing station is provided for a three-dimensional workpiece processing in the processing station. Thus, no longer are individual workpieces used as the material to be treated but individual workpiece holders, each having a plurality of workpiece supports. In addition, the demanded three-dimensional processing, at least when coating, is implemented in that the workpieces are moved in and with their supports in at least one of the provided processing stations.
As a result, known single-process batch installations, according to the invention, now become processing stations at the installation according to the invention, in which case the transport from one batch installation to another no longer takes place via the ambient atmosphere but according to the invention by way of the distribution station which can be evacuated. Thus, the whole processing takes place in a vacuum. It is therefore also possible to separate the individual processing stations from one another to the required extent with respect to the process, thus the processing stations from the distribution station and therefore, if required, meet high quality demands.
However, primarily, the throughput with respect to the above-mentioned batch installations is not only maintained but even increased.
Furthermore, the installation according to the invention virtually always has at least one coating station.
Although this coating station can be constructed as a low-pressure CVD processing station, it is suggested, particularly with a view to a reasonable-cost application of wearing protection coating systems, that it have at least one plasma discharging distance as well as at least one inlet which is connected with a gas storage device with a reactive gas. In other words, preferably at least one of the stations is constructed as a PVD processing station or as a PECVD processing station.
In this case, for the simultaneous buildup of more complex layers or for the processing of the workpieces by two or more processes successively, several plasma discharging distances can definitely be provided in one processing station and, correspondingly, optionally several reactive gas inlets, if they do not interfere with the respective processing operations to be carried out sequentially—such as sputtering and etching.
For depositing wearing protection coating systems, preferably nitrogen and/or hydrogen and/or a carbon-containing gas and/or a silicon-containing gas is provided in the gas storage device.
If the processing station is constructed as a PVD processing station, it has at least one source which releases vapor particles into the environment. The vapor particles are released, for example, by sputtering from a solid-state target or by the thermal vaporizing from a molten mass or by a mixed form of these techniques, such as cathodic arc vaporizing. The relea
Hans Michael
Zaech Martin
Unaxis Trading AG
Ver Steeg Steven H.
LandOfFree
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