A coating apparatus includes a chamber body having a reaction chamber, a supporting rack, a monomer discharge source and a plasma generation source. The supporting rack has a supporting area for supporting the substrate. The monomer discharge source has a discharge inlet for introducing a coating forming material into the reaction chamber. The plasma generation source is arranged for exciting the coating forming material, wherein the supporting area of the supporting rack is located at a position between the monomer discharge source and the plasma generation source, so that the coating is evenly formed on the surface of the substrate, and the deposition velocity is increased.

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.

A liquid processing apparatus includes a container for holding liquid, a first electrode, a second electrode, a first insulator that has a cylindrical shape and at least partly surrounds a side face of the first electrode via a space, the first insulator having an opening in an end face of the first insulator, a gas supply device that supplies gas into the space and releases the gas into the liquid via the opening, a power source that applies a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode and generates plasma, and a metallic member that partly surrounds the side face of the first electrode via the space. The metallic member is electrically connected to the first electrode. At least a part of the first insulator is disposed between the first electrode and the metallic member.

This unit comprises a housing (50) for receiving an electrode suitable for creating an electrical discharge, and first means (20, 21, 22) for injecting treatment gas, comprising at least one plasma-forming gas, towards the support of the facility. According to the invention, the first injection means comprise an intake member (20) for the treatment gas, a treatment gas injection member (21), opening opposite the support, and an intermediate chamber (22) connecting these two members. This chamber comprises an upstream region (24), the gas passage cross-section of which increases from the inlet (25E, 26E) towards the outlet (25S, 26S) in longitudinal view (XX) and/or transverse view, as well as a downstream region (27), the passage cross-section of which increases from the inlet (28E, 29E) towards the outlet (28S, 29S) in transverse view but decreases in the vicinity of the outlet (28S, 29S) in longitudinal view (XX). Due to the shape of the chamber and to the changes in direction of the gas in this chamber, the invention confers, in particular, a homogeneous distribution of treatment gas over the entire treatment width of the substrate.

A plasma post-discharge deposition device for depositing crystalline metal oxide derivative on a substrate, the device comprising a gas source with a substrate inlet, a post-discharge deposition chamber with a substrate outlet, the substrate inlet and the substrate outlet defining a longitudinal central axis, and a dielectric tube placed between the gas source and the deposition chamber on the longitudinal central axis; configured to confine a plasma discharge and comprising a discharge zone lying on the internal surface of the dielectric tube and a central zone centred on the longitudinal central axis. The deposition device is remarkable in that the central zone is located at a distance comprised between 1 mm and 2.5 mm from the internal surface of the dielectric tube. Also a plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition method.

A method of controlling a substrate processing apparatus includes providing a substrate processing apparatus that includes a processing container, and a rotary table provided in the processing container and having a plurality of substrate placing portions in a circumferential direction on a top surface thereof; forming films on substrates on the substrate placing portions according to a process recipe by rotating the rotary table; unloading the substrates on the substrate placing portions from the processing container after the forming; and rotating the rotary table until before the unloading after the forming.

An apparatus for producing a corrosion-protected steel product, in particular a steel strip or steel sheet, is disclosed. The apparatus includes a device for plasma nitriding a steel substrate and a coating device for applying a metallic material to the steel substrate. A process for producing a corrosion-protected steel product, in particular a steel strip or steel sheet, is also disclosed, wherein a steel substrate is provided and nitrogen is diffused by plasma nitriding into the steel substrate, and wherein a metallic material is applied to the steel substrate.

An apparatus for coating a thin film on a flexible substrate is described. The apparatus includes a coating drum having an outer surface for guiding the flexible substrate through a first vacuum processing region and at least one second vacuum processing region, a gas separation unit for separating the first vacuum processing region and at least one second vacuum processing region and adapted to form a slit through which the flexible substrate can pass between the outer surface of the coating drum and the gas separation unit, wherein the gas separation unit is adapted to control fluid communication between the first processing region and the second processing region by adjusting the position of the gas separation unit.

A layer-forming device that enables highly efficient layer formation and has a simplified configuration includes: a substrate feeding mechanism; a plasma-generating electrode; a space-partitioning wall; and a plurality of injectors. The plasma-generating electrode faces towards a feeding pathway of the substrate, and generates plasma using a reactive gas upon a supply of electric power. The space-partitioning wall is disposed between the feeding pathway and the plasma-generating electrode. A plurality of slit-shaped through-holes, through which radicals, ions generated from the plasma, or a portion of the plasma can pass, are formed at predetermined intervals in the space-partitioning wall. The plurality of injectors are sandwiched between the space-partitioning wall and the feeding pathway, such that each of the injectors is sandwiched between two adjacent through-holes from both sides of the two through-holes in the feeding direction, and the layer-forming gas is supplied toward the substrate through a layer-forming gas supply port.

A pretreatment assembly includes a product support assembly and a pretreatment device. The product support assembly includes a primary support assembly, a primary drive assembly, a number of secondary support assemblies, and a secondary drive assembly. The primary drive assembly is operatively coupled to the primary support assembly. The primary drive assembly imparts a generally constant motion to the primary support assembly. Each secondary support assembly is structured to support a number of work pieces. Each secondary support assembly is movably coupled to the primary support assembly. The secondary drive assembly is operatively coupled to each secondary support assembly. The secondary drive assembly selectively imparts a motion to each secondary support assembly. The pretreatment device is disposed adjacent the product support assembly.