Target preparation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10053769-B2
Application number	US-201414902581-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2014
Priority date	Jul 3, 2013
Publication date	Aug 21, 2018
Grant date	Aug 21, 2018

Abstract

A method for coating workpieces includes the following steps: charging a coating chamber with the workpieces to be coated; closing and evacuating the coating chamber to a predetermined process pressure, starting a coating source, which comprises a target as a material source, whereby particles are accelerated from the surface of the target toward substrates, characterized in that until the target has been conditioned a shield is provided between the target surface and the substrate, wherein meanwhile the substrates to be coated are at least partially subjected to a pretreatment.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for coating workpieces comprising the following steps:
charging a coating chamber with the workpieces to be coated;
closing and evacuating the coating chamber to a predetermined process pressure;
starting a coating source, which comprises a target as a material source, whereby particles are accelerated from the surface of the target toward substrates, and
providing a shield between the target surface and the substrate until the target has been conditioned; and
simultaneously subjecting the substrates to be coated to a pretreatment in which the workpieces are nitrided while the target is being conditioned.

2. The method according to, claim 1 , wherein the pretreatment of the substrates comprises an etching process.

3. The method according to, claim 1 , wherein the conditioning of the target is ended when an optical signal emitted by the particles remains essentially unchanged.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the optical signal is measured using OES measuring.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the coating source is a magnetron sputtering source.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the coating chamber comprises a plurality of coating sources which are sequentially, periodically connected in overlapping time intervals to a DC power generator having a high power output, so that intermittently current densities of more than 0.2 A/cm2 periodically occur on the target surfaces.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the coating source is an electric arc evaporation source.

8. The method according to 1 , comprising, for nitriding, introducing a gas mixture into the chamber, wherein the gas mixture includes the elements nitrogen, argon and hydrogen.

Assignees

• Oerlikon Surface Solutions Ag Truebbach
• Oerlikon Surface Solutions Ag Pfaeffikon

Inventors

• Kurapov Denis
• Krassnitzer Siegfried

Classifications

• C23C14/024

  Deposition of sublayers, e.g. to promote adhesion of the coating (C23C14/027 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C23C14/3407 Primary

  Cathode assembly for sputtering apparatus, e.g. Target · CPC title

• C23C14/021

  Cleaning or etching treatments · CPC title

• C23C14/022

  by means of bombardment with energetic particles or radiation · CPC title

• C23C14/02 Primary

  Pretreatment of the material to be coated (C23C14/04 takes precedence) · CPC title