Waldemar Schönberger¹, Kristin Galonska¹, Bernd Galonska¹, Michael Schneider¹, Michael Vergöhl², Philipp Farr², Thomas Melzig², Stefan Bruns^2
1VON ARDENNE GmbH, Dresden, Germany
²Fraunhofer IST, Braunschweig, Germany
Magnetron sputtering on a rotary disk system in META, CARS and REACTIVE MODE is a process for production of thin layers with excellent properties that is characterized by high process stability. The OPTA X precision sputtering system offers these advantages in combination with double-sided coating and co-sputtering capabilities. By avoiding the flipping of the substrates in double-sided coatings, productivity is significantly increased and the deflection of the substrates during the coating process is optimized.
VON ARDENNE has developed a powerful precision sputtering system for sputter up/down which enables optical monitoring with the MOCCA^+® software for multilayers with up to several hundred layers. In meta mode, an ultra-thin layer of partially oxide or metallic targets is sputtered onto the substrate with each rotation of the rotary disk, which is then after-reacted (oxidized, nitridized, hydrogenized etc.) using plasma sources. This presentation will introduce key parameters of the OPTA X precision sputtering system.
Variable substrate formats up to approx. 320mm radial width can be coated.
Low absorption with uniform distribution across the radial direction of the machine was achieved by optimizing the ion source geometry, the speed of the rotary disk and the sputtering power.
Due to the different radial path speeds of the rotary disk, the installation of shaper masks in the radial direction is necessary to achieve excellent uniformity. With the current precision sputtering system OPTA X 300, a radial uniformity over 300 mm substrate length of ≤±0.25% for Nb₂O₅ and SiO₂ and ≤±0.5% for ITO was achieved. Adjustable magnet bars enable the layer thickness profile to be maintained over the whole target lifetime.
The repeatability and the stability of the sputtering process is characterized by the reproducibility of the deposition rates of the individual materials in run-to-run and carrier-to-carrier coatings of multilayers. The results show high value of this machine platform for industrial applications.