Modular coater separation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9938617-B2
Application number	US-201113880908-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 18, 2011
Priority date	Oct 22, 2010
Publication date	Apr 10, 2018
Grant date	Apr 10, 2018

Abstract

The invention relates to a process for depositing under vacuum a multilayers coating stack on a flat glass substrate and to a modular coater for the deposit of thin layers on a flat glass substrate. A gas separation zone disposed between two depositing zones of the modular coater comprises at least one gas injector in the vicinity of the convoying path for the glass substrate which passes through apertures from a depositing zone towards the other depositing zone via the separation zone. The invention allows improvement of the separation factor between the two depositing zones.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for depositing a multi-layer coating stack on a flat glass substrate, the process comprising:
depositing by sputtering under vacuum at a pressure comprised between 0.5 and 15 mTorr a first layer in a first depositing zone having a first atmosphere and a second layer in a second depositing zone having a second atmosphere which is separated from the first atmosphere by a separation zone that contains a tunnel comprising an uninterrupted convoying path, and
injecting gas into the separation zone from a gas injector located inside the separation zone,
wherein the gas injector is a first gas injector located between the first depositing zone and a first pumping slit in the separation zone.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the injecting is performed through a pipe drilled with holes, and further comprising pumping the gas out of the separation zone.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the first and second atmospheres are different.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the gas is injected close to apertures between the separation zone and each of the two depositing zones.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the gas is injected towards or perpendicularly to the tunnel containing the convoying path.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein the convoying path for the flat glass substrate passes through apertures from the first depositing zone via the separation zone towards the second depositing zone and the gas is injected through injectors closest to each depositing zone and directed towards the apertures of depositing zones closest to each injector.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein the gas is injected within 10 mm and 100 mm of the convoying path.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer coating stack is deposited on the flat glass substrate in an uninterrupted way.

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein the tunnel has a length of between 100 and 2000 mm.

10. The process of claim 1 , further comprising injecting gas into the separation zone from a second gas injector located between a second pumping slit and the second depositing zone.

11. The process of claim 1 , wherein the separation zone comprises a plate disposed between 10 and 50 mm above the convoying path, the plate having an opening.

12. A process for depositing multiple layers on a flat glass substrate comprising:
depositing under vacuum a first layer on a flat glass substrate in a first depositing zone having a first atmosphere,
convoying the glass substrate comprising the first layer into a separation zone comprising a tunnel containing a convoying path into which a gas is injected from an injector located inside the tunnel,
removing gas out of the separation zone through two compartments with no apertures between them where each compartment is open to the tunnel path,
convoying the glass substrate comprising the first layer through the separation zone into a second depositing zone having a second atmosphere, and
depositing under vacuum a second layer on said flat glass substrate comprising the first layer.

13. The process of claim 12 , wherein the two compartments are equipped with pumps and gas is removed from the separation zone by pumping the gas through the two compartments.

14. The process of claim 12 , wherein the gas injected into the separation zone is injected perpendicularly to the convoying path of the glass substrate.

15. The process of claim 12 , wherein the gas injected into the separation zone is injected inwardly toward apertures between the first depositing zone and the separation zone and between the separation zone and the second depositing zone.

16. The process of claim 12 , wherein the two compartments are each equipped with at least one pump and a bottom plate containing a slit arranged above the tunnel comprising the convoying path of the glass substrate;
wherein said compartments are adjacent to one another and have no direct openings with each other or to either the first or second depositing zones, and
wherein gas is injected at each end of the tunnel and removed through the two adjacent compartments in the separation zone.

17. The process of claim 16 , wherein the process is performed on apparatus where a separation factor between the first and second depositing zones ranges from 2- to 20-times more than that in an otherwise identical apparatus where gas is not injected into the separation zone.

18. The process of claim 12 , wherein the tunnel has a length of between 100 and 2000 mm.

19. A process for depositing multiple sputtered layers on a flat glass substrate comprising:
depositing a first layer on a flat glass substrate by sputtering at a pressure comprised between 0.5 and 15 mTorr in a first depositing zone having a first atmosphere,
transporting the flat glass substrate having the first deposited layer through a tunnel path in a separation zone into a second depositing zone having a second atmosphere,
in the second depositing zone, depositing a second layer on the flat glass substrate having the first deposited layer, and
injecting gas into the separation zone from an injector located inside the separation zone,
wherein the separation zone comprises (i) the tunnel path and (ii) two compartments with no apertures between them that are equipped with pumps and that the compartments are adjacent and open to the tunnel path, and wherein gas injected into ends of the tunnel path flows into the tunnel path and then flows or is pumped into the two compartments thus separating the atmospheres of the first and second depositing zones.

Assignees

• Lecomte Benoit
• Wiame Hugues
• Yonemichi Tomohiro
• Agc Glass Europe

Inventors

• Lecomte Benoit
• Wiame Hugues
• Yonemichi Tomohiro

Classifications

• C23C14/564

  Means for minimising impurities in the coating chamber such as dust, moisture, residual gases · CPC title

• C23C16/54

  Apparatus specially adapted for continuous coating · CPC title

• C23C14/568

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

• C23C16/48

  by irradiation, e.g. photolysis, radiolysis, particle radiation · CPC title

• C03C17/002 Primary

  for flat glass, e.g. float glass · CPC title