A reactive sputtering apparatus includes a chamber, a substrate holder provided in the chamber, a target holder which is provided in the chamber and configured to hold a target, a deposition shield plate which is provided in the chamber so as to form a sputtering space between the target holder and the substrate holder, and prevents a sputter particle from adhering to an inner wall of the chamber, a reactive gas introduction pipe configured to introduce a reactive gas into the sputtering space, an inert gas introduction port which introduces an inert gas into a space that falls outside the sputtering space and within the chamber, and a shielding member which prevents a sputter particle from the target mounted on the target holder from adhering to an introduction port of the reactive gas introduction pipe upon sputtering.

The present invention relates to a metal strip or sheet comprising a substrate made from stainless steel covered with at least one layer of a chromium-nitride coating. The chromium-nitride coating layer is textured.

A surface treatment apparatus (10) performs film formation on a surface of a workpiece (W) in a chamber (20), and includes: an HCD electrode (210) (electrode) that supplies reaction gas to the workpiece (W) or a sputtering electrode (220) (electrode) that releases target particles to the workpiece (W), the HCD electrode (210) or the sputtering electrode (220) being placed facing the workpiece (W); a gas supply pipe (90) that is installed along an outer periphery of the electrode and has, along a longitudinal direction of the pipe, a plurality of gas ejection ports (91) through which film-forming gas, or an inert gas or a reactive gas for performing sputtering is supplied to an electrode surface of the electrode; and an exhaust device (51) (gas discharge unit) that discharges residual gas after film formation is ended, and the plurality of gas ejection ports (91) are arranged such that gas supplied from the gas supply pipe (90) is uniformly distributed on the electrode surface of the electrode.

The invention relates to a coating method for depositing a layer system formed from hard material layers on a substrate, by depositing at least one contact layer including the evaporation material on the surface of the substrate only by means of a cathodic vacuum arc evaporation source. After the depositing of the contact layer, at least one intermediate layer is deposited in the form of a nano-layer intermediate layer in a hybrid phase or as a nanocomposite layer, including the evaporation material and the discharge material, by parallel operation of a cathodic vacuum arc evaporation source and of a magnetron discharge source.

Described herein is a technique capable of suppressing sputtering on an inner peripheral surface of a process vessel when a process gas is plasma-excited in the process vessel. According to one aspect thereof, a substrate processing apparatus includes: a process vessel accommodating a process chamber where a process gas is excited into plasma; a gas supplier supplying the process gas into the process chamber; a coil wound around an outer peripheral surface of the process vessel and spaced apart therefrom, wherein a high frequency power is supplied to the coil; and an electrostatic shield disposed between the outer peripheral surface and the coil, wherein the electrostatic shield includes: a partition extending in a circumferential direction to partition between a part of the coil and the outer peripheral surface; and an opening extending in the circumferential direction and opened between another part of the coil and the outer peripheral surface.

A method of manufacturing a cadmium (Cd) alloy transmissive solar cell is provided. The method includes pumping a vacuum chamber to a base pressure and pumping the vacuum chamber to a sputtering pressure. The method includes providing into the vacuum chamber a first gas at a rate that balances a flow of the first gas in and out of the vacuum chamber with respect to the sputtering pressure and heating a surface of a partially manufactured cadmium (Cd) alloy transmissive solar cell within the vacuum chamber to a calibrated deposition temperature. The method includes providing into the vacuum chamber a second gas including at least a hydrogen gas (H.sub.2) at a proportional rate to achieve a target gas mix while maintaining the sputtering pressure and depositing a target material onto the surface to form a back contact section of the cadmium (Cd) alloy transmissive solar cell.

Described herein is a technique capable of suppressing sputtering on an inner peripheral surface of a process vessel when a process gas is plasma-excited in the process vessel. According to one aspect thereof, a substrate processing apparatus includes: a process vessel accommodating a process chamber where a process gas is excited into plasma; a gas supplier supplying the process gas into the process chamber; a coil wound around an outer peripheral surface of the process vessel and spaced apart therefrom, wherein a high frequency power is supplied to the coil; and an electrostatic shield disposed between the outer peripheral surface and the coil, wherein the electrostatic shield includes: a partition extending in a circumferential direction to partition between a part of the coil and the outer peripheral surface; and an opening extending in the circumferential direction and opened between another part of the coil and the outer peripheral surface.

A sputter deposition source for depositing a material on a substrate is described. The sputter deposition source includes an array of magnetron sputter cathodes arranged in a row for coating the substrate in a deposition area on a front side of the array. At least one magnetron sputter cathode of the array includes a first rotary target rotatable around a first rotation axis (A1); and a first magnet assembly arranged in the first rotary target and configured to provide a closed plasma racetrack (P) on a surface of the first rotary target that extends along the first rotation axis (A1) on a first side and on a second side of the at least one magnetron sputter cathode. Further described is a magnetron sputter cathode for a sputter deposition source and a method of depositing a material on a substrate.