Apparatus, system and method to reduce crazing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12159772-B2
Application number	US-201916399819-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 30, 2019
Priority date	May 6, 2018
Publication date	Dec 3, 2024
Grant date	Dec 3, 2024

Abstract

A coating system that reduces parasitic currents that may cause crazing in coatings on a substrate. In one example, the system includes a pair of low impedance shunt paths to ground for parasitic AC currents generated from the plasma in the chamber. The low impedance shunts may be provided through a balanced triaxial connection between a power supply of each chamber and the magnetrons of each chamber. In another example, potential differences between adjacent chambers are minimized through synchronized power supply signals between chambers.

First claim

We claim:

1. A plasma deposition system comprising:
an alternating current power supply including a first output and a second output;
a first triaxial cable that is grounded, the first triaxial cable comprising a first center conductor and a first conductive shield;
a second triaxial cable that is grounded, the second triaxial cable comprising a second center conductor and a second conductive shield;
a plasma deposition chamber having a first terminal and a second terminal;
the first output coupled with the first center conductor and the second output coupled with the first conductive shield, the first output coupled with the second conductive shield and the second output coupled with the second center conductor;
the first center conductor coupled with the first terminal and the second conductive shield coupled with the first terminal; and
the first conductive shield coupled with the second terminal and the second center conductor coupled with the second terminal.

2. The deposition system of claim 1 wherein the first triaxial cable further comprises a first outer conductive shield that is grounded at the alternating current power supply and the deposition chamber, the second triaxial cable further comprises a second outer conductive shield that is grounded at the alternating current power supply and the deposition chamber.

3. The deposition system of claim 2 wherein the deposition system is a glass coating system, and the first triaxial cable and the second triaxial cable provide capacitive or low impedance paths to ground for parasitic current otherwise causing defects on a substrate being processed in the glass coating system.

4. The deposition system of claim 1 wherein the power supply includes a first ground connection and the deposition chamber includes a second ground connection, the system further comprising a low impedance return path coupled between the first ground connection and the second ground connection.

5. The deposition system of claim 4 wherein the low impedance return path is a grounding strap that provides the low impedance return path for high frequency current from the chamber.

6. The deposition system of claim 1 further comprising:
a second deposition chamber including a third terminal and a fourth terminal;
a second power supply coupled with the third terminal and the fourth terminal; and
a conveyor system that moves a substrate between the deposition chamber and the second deposition chamber, the deposition chamber positioned adjacent to the second deposition chamber, and wherein the alternating current power supply providing a first alternating current signal to the first terminal and the second terminal is coordinated with the second power supply providing a second alternating current signal to the third terminal and the fourth terminal, the coordination to minimize a potential difference between at least the second terminal of the deposition chamber and the third terminal of the second deposition chamber.

7. The deposition system of claim 6 wherein the second terminal of the first deposition chamber is adjacent the third terminal of the second deposition chamber.

8. The deposition system of claim 7 wherein the deposition chamber is being operated to deposit material on the substrate at a same time as the second deposition chamber, the coordination of the alternating current power supply and the second power supply includes managing the first alternating current signal and the second alternating current signal to have a same polarity at the second terminal and the third terminal at a same time.

9. The deposition system of claim 6 wherein the deposition system is operated to minimize frequency transitions imposed on the substrate between the deposition chamber and the second deposition chamber.

10. The deposition system of claim 1 wherein the deposition system is operated to synchronize transitions between the first deposition chamber and the second deposition chamber.

11. The deposition system of claim 1 further comprising:
a second deposition chamber including a third terminal and a fourth terminal coupled with a second power supply, the second deposition chamber positioned adjacent to the deposition chamber and including a conveyance system for moving a substrate between the deposition chamber and the second deposition chamber to process the substrate;
wherein the second terminal of the deposition chamber is proximate the third terminal of the second deposition chamber, and wherein the alternating current power supply is configured to provide an AC power signal to the second terminal synchronized with the second power supply providing a second AC power signal to the third terminal so that a first polarity of the first AC signal at the second terminal is a same as a second polarity of the second AC signal at the third terminal at a same time.

12. The deposition system of claim 11 wherein the second terminal and the third terminal each include a magnetron of a same type.

13. The deposition system of claim 11 , including a controller to control both the power supply and the second power supply so the first polarity of the first AC signal at the second terminal is a same as a second polarity of the second AC signal at the third terminal at a same time.

14. The deposition system of claim 1 further comprising:
the first triaxial cable comprises a first capacitor formed by the first center conductor and the first conductive shield and a first insulator therebetween, and a second capacitor formed by the first conductive shield and a first outer shield and a second insulator therebetween; and
the second triaxial cable comprises a third capacitor formed by the second center conductor and the second conductive shield and a third insulator therebetween, and a fourth capacitor formed by the second conductive shield and a second outer shield and a fourth insulator therebetween.

15. The deposition system of claim 14 wherein the first triaxial cable and the second triaxial cable have a same impedance to provide a balanced shunt path to ground.

16. The deposition system of claim 1 wherein:
in a first connection between the first output and the first terminal, there is one path with two capacitors to ground in the first triaxial cable and another path with one capacitor to ground in the second triaxial cable; and
in a second connection between the second output and the second terminal, there is one path with two capacitors to ground in the second triaxial cable and another path with one capacitor to ground in the first triaxial cable.

17. The deposition system of claim 16 wherein:
the first connection and the second connection comprise parallel connections with a same capacitance to ground.

18. The deposition system of claim 16 wherein:
the first connection and the second connection each comprise a low impedance path for high frequency parasitic current.

19. The deposition system of claim 18 further comprising:
a low impedance path coupled between the deposition chamber and a ground of the power supply, the low impedance path providing a dedicated electrical path that diverts parasitic current generated by the powered plasma away from a path that is through the substrate to ground, thereby reducing crazing caused by parasitic current flowing through the substrate.

20. The deposition system of claim 1 wherein the alternating current power supply applies potential to the first terminal and the second terminal to generate powered plasma within the deposition chamber for pr

Assignees

• Advanced Energy Ind Inc

Inventors

• Pankratz Joshua B
• Pelleymounter Douglas R
• Krause Uwe

Classifications

• H01J37/32733

  Means for moving the material to be treated · CPC title

• H01J37/32064

  Circuits specially adapted for controlling the arc discharge (for plasma torches H01H1/36) · CPC title

• C23C14/568

  Transferring the substrates through a series of coating stations (C23C14/562 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C23C14/35

  by application of a magnetic field, e.g. magnetron sputtering {(C23C14/3457 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• H01J37/3464

  Operating strategies · CPC title