A chamber for a physical vapor deposition (PVD) apparatus includes a collimator configured to narrow filter sputtered particles into a beam, an electrostatic chuck configured to support a substrate in the chamber, a shield and a chamber plate. The chamber plate includes a nut plate portion having a plurality of nut plates and a plurality of cavities in the chamber plate that are configured to allow gas to ingress and egress, wherein the cavities and nut plates are provided in equal numbers. The chamber is configured to operate at a target pressure, and the number of nut plates and corresponding number of cavities are determined based on the target pressure.

A physical vapor deposition chamber comprising a tilting substrate support is described. Methods of processing a substrate are also provided comprising tilting at least one of the substrate and the target to improve the uniformity of the layer on the substrate from the center of the substrate to the edge of the substrate. Process controllers are also described which comprise one or more process configurations causing the physical deposition chamber to perform the operations of rotating a substrate support within the physical deposition chamber and tilting the substrate support at a plurality of angles with respect to a horizontal axis.

A sputtering method includes one or more sputtering processes. Each sputtering process includes in a first pre-sputtering phase, sputtering a target material on a baffle plate configured to shield a substrate; in a second pre-sputtering phase, sputtering a target material compound on the baffle plate; and in a main sputtering phase, sputtering the target material compound on the substrate. The first pre-sputtering phase is used to adjust a sputtering voltage for the main sputtering phase.

A sputtering apparatus includes a placement portion where a target having a first opening is placed, an anode, and a metal member. The anode and the metal member are disposed at positions corresponding to the first opening of the target in the placement portion. The anode and the metal member are electrically insulated from each other. The metal member is set to a ground potential or a floating potential.

Electrochromic devices and methods may employ the addition of a defect-mitigating insulating layer which prevents electronically conducting layers and/or electrochromically active layers from contacting layers of the opposite polarity and creating a short circuit in regions where defects form. In some embodiments, an encapsulating layer is provided to encapsulate particles and prevent them from ejecting from the device stack and risking a short circuit when subsequent layers are deposited. The insulating layer may have an electronic resistivity of between about 1 and 10.sup.8 Ohm-cm. In some embodiments, the insulating layer contains one or more of the following metal oxides: aluminum oxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide, silicon aluminum oxide, cerium oxide, tungsten oxide, nickel tungsten oxide, and oxidized indium tin oxide. Carbides, nitrides, oxynitrides, and oxycarbides may also be used.

A sputtering apparatus is provided. The sputtering apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber in which a substrate is located; a target having one surface facing an inner surface of the vacuum chamber; a gas supplier configured to supply a gas for generating plasma in the vacuum chamber; a power supplier configured to supply a power to the target to generate the plasma, sputter the target, and form a film on the substrate; and an abnormality detector configured to detect abnormality caused by a temperature of the target.

A device may include one or more memories and one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, to receive design information, wherein the design information identifies desired values for a set of layers of an optical element to be generated during one or more runs; receive or obtain historic information identifying a relationship between a parameter for the one or more runs and an observed value relating to the one or more runs or the optical element; determine layer information for the one or more runs based on the historic information, wherein the layer information identifies run parameters, for the set of layers, to achieve the desired values; and cause the one or more runs to be performed based on the layer information.

Methods for depositing a dielectric oxide layer atop one or more substrates disposed in or processed through a PVD chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, such a method includes: sputtering source material from a target assembly onto a first substrate while the source material is at a first erosion state and while providing a first amount of RF power to the target assembly to deposit a dielectric oxide layer onto a first substrate having a desired resistance-area; and subsequently sputtering source material from the target assembly onto a second substrate while the source material is at a second erosion state and while providing a second amount of RF power to the target assembly, wherein the second amount of RF power is lower than the first amount of RF power by a predetermined amount calculated to maintain the desired resistance-area.

Provided is a measuring apparatus, comprising a measuring unit that irradiates a film with light and measures the light transmitted through the film or the light reflected by the film, a moving mechanism that allows the measuring unit to move in a first direction intersecting the direction in which the film is conveyed, the measuring unit includes a light projecting unit that irradiates the film with light, an integrating sphere that collects light from the film, and a light receiving portion that receives the light collected by the integrating sphere.

A deposition system is provided capable of controlling an amount of a target material deposited on a substrate and/or direction of the target material that is deposited on the substrate. The deposition system in accordance with the present disclosure includes a substrate process chamber. The deposition includes a substrate pedestal in the substrate process chamber, the substrate pedestal configured to support a substrate, a target enclosing the substrate process chamber, and a collimator having a plurality of hollow structures disposed between the target and the substrate, wherein a length of at least one of the plurality of hollow structures is adjustable.