SLIT DIAPHRAGM

Abstract

The present invention relates to a slit diaphragm, a slit diaphragm system comprising at least two slit diaphragms arranged adjacent to each other and to a coating module and coating facility comprising a slit diaphragm.

Claims

1. A slit diaphragm system comprising at least two slit diaphragms arranged adjacent to each other, wherein each slit diaphragm comprises two movably mounted elongate diaphragm elements each having first and second longitudinal ends, wherein an elongate diaphragm slit of variable width is configured between the elongate diaphragm elements, wherein the two first longitudinal ends are connected to a rotary drive unit and wherein the two second longitudinal ends are coupled to each other; wherein the two slit diaphragms arranged adjacent to each other are arranged and configured such that a diaphragm element of a first slit diaphragm in its completely opened state covers an area which is at least partially also covered by a diaphragm element of a second slit diaphragm in its completely opened state.

2. (canceled)

3. The slit diaphragm system according to claim 1, wherein the two elongate diaphragm elements can be moved by a single drive unit such that the longitudinal orientation of the elongate diaphragm slit remains constant for different diaphragm slit widths.

4.-6. (canceled)

7. The slit diaphragm system according to claim 5, wherein the first longitudinal ends of the two diaphragm elements are attached to a first rotationally mounted arm and wherein the second longitudinal ends of the two diaphragm elements are attached to a second rotationally mounted arm, and wherein each of the first arm and the second arm is rotationally mounted centrally.

8. The slit diaphragm system according to claim 1, wherein the elongate diaphragm slit of variable width can be transferred from a completely closed state to a completely opened state by means of the drive unit, wherein the two diaphragm elements can assume a plurality of intermediate states between the completely closed state and the completely opened state.

9. The slit diaphragm system according to claim 8, wherein, in the completely closed state, the two diaphragm elements overlap each other by at least 1 mm and wherein in the completely opened state, the two diaphragm elements have a distance of at least 5 cm.

10.-13. (canceled)

14. The slit diaphragm system according to claim 1, wherein the two slit diaphragms arranged adjacent to each other are arranged and configured such that a diaphragm element of a first slit diaphragm in its completely opened state is substantially directly adjacent to a diaphragm element of a second slit diaphragm in its completely closed state.

15. (canceled)

16. A coating module comprising a sputtering cathode, a target, a support device and/or transport device for a substrate, and a slit diaphragm which is arranged between the target and the support device and/or transport device and comprises two movably mounted elongate diaphragm elements each having first and second longitudinal ends, wherein an elongate diaphragm slit of variable width is configured between the elongate diaphragm elements, wherein the two first longitudinal ends are connected to a rotary drive unit and wherein the two second longitudinal ends are coupled to each other.

17. A coating module comprising a sputtering cathode, a target, a support device and/or transport device for a substrate, and a slit diaphragm which is arranged between the target and the support device and/or transport device and comprises two movably mounted elongate diaphragm elements each having first and second longitudinal ends, wherein an elongate diaphragm slit of variable width is configured between the elongate diaphragm elements, wherein the two elongate diaphragm elements are rotationally mounted and can be moved by a drive unit such that the longitudinal orientation of the elongate diaphragm slit remains constant for different diaphragm slit widths.

18. The coating module according to claim 17, wherein the two elongate diaphragm elements can be moved by a single drive unit such that the longitudinal orientation of the elongate diaphragm slit remains constant for different diaphragm slit widths.

19. The coating module according to claim 17, wherein different diaphragm slit widths are achieved in that all longitudinal ends of the diaphragm elements move along circular paths (14).

20. The coating module according to 17, wherein the first longitudinal ends of the two diaphragm elements are attached to a first rotationally mounted element and wherein the second longitudinal ends of the two diaphragm elements are attached to a second rotationally mounted element.

21. The coating module according to claim 20, further comprising a drive unit, which is configured to rotate the first element around an axis extending perpendicular to the longitudinal orientation of the elongate diaphragm slit.

22. The coating module according to claim 20, wherein the first and second elements are first and second arms, and wherein each of the first arm and the second arm is rotationally mounted centrally and wherein the two diaphragm elements can assume a plurality of intermediate states between the completely closed state and the completely opened state.

23. The coating module according to claim 17, wherein the elongate diaphragm slit of variable width can be transferred from a completely closed state to a completely opened state by means of the drive unit .

24. The coating module according to claim 23, wherein, in the completely closed state, the two diaphragm elements overlap each other, preferably by at least 1 mm and wherein, in the completely opened state, the two diaphragm elements have a distance of at least 5 cm.

25.-27. (canceled)

28. A coating facility comprising the slit diaphragm system according to claim 1.

29. The coating facility according to claim 28, wherein the coating facility comprises a sputtering cathode and a target, wherein at least one of: a) the diaphragm slit width in the completely opened state is at least 100% of the width of the target orb) the diaphragm slit width can be variably adjusted between 0% and at least 100% of the width of the target.

30. (canceled)

31. The coating facility according to claim 28, wherein the bearing of the longitudinal ends of the diaphragm is arranged beyond the coating area of the coating facility, viewed in the longitudinal direction.

32. The coating module according to claim 16, wherein the two elongate diaphragm elements can be moved by a single drive unit such that the longitudinal orientation of the elongate diaphragm slit remains constant for different diaphragm slit widths.

33. A coating facility comprising the coating module according to claim 16.

34. A coating facility comprising the coating module according to claim 17.

Description

[0025] In the following, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the Figures, in which:

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a slit diaphragm according to a preferred embodiment;

[0027] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view through a coating facility comprising a slit diaphragm according to FIG. 1;

[0028] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view along Z-Z according to FIG. 2;

[0029] FIG. 4 shows a top view of the slit diaphragm according to FIG. 1;

[0030] FIG. 5 shows a view from the top onto the coating facility according to FIG. 2;

[0031] FIG. 6 shows a view from the top onto an alternative coating facility comprising two slit diaphragms according to a preferred embodiment; and

[0032] FIG. 7 shows a sectional view along X-X according to FIG. 6.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a slit diaphragm according to the invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment comprising two movably mounted elongate diaphragm elements 1, each comprising first longitudinal ends 2 and second longitudinal ends 3, wherein an elongate diaphragm slit 4 of variable width is configured between the elongate diaphragm elements 1. The two longitudinal ends 2 of the two elongate diaphragm elements 1 are connected to a rotary drive unit 5, and the two second longitudinal ends 3 of the elongate diaphragm elements 1 are coupled to each other via a rotatably mounted arm 6. The rotary drive unit 5 comprises a drive 5a and a rotary transmission leadthrough 5b for carrying out the drive movement into the vacuum area. This can be seen particularly well in the schematic sectional view through a coating facility according to FIG. 2. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the substrate 9, the target 10 and the non-illustrated sputter cathode of the coating facility are located together with the slit diaphragm in a vacuum-tight area or vessel 8. The drive 5a of the rotary drive unit 5 is located outside the vessel 8 and the torque provided by the drive 5a for rotating the arm 6 is introduced into the vacuum area of the vessel 8 by means of the rotary transmission feedthrough 5b. These rotary transmission feedthroughs are commercially available rotary transmission feedthroughs, which are simple and cost-efficient in terms of manufacture and maintenance.

[0034] At the opposite second ends 3 of the elongate diaphragm elements 1, the elongate diaphragm elements are coupled via an arm 6 to a rotary end support 7, which, however, does not require a leadthrough from the vacuum area to the outer area (cf. FIG. 2).

[0035] In the coating facility shown in FIG. 2, the slit diaphragm according to the invention is located between the substrate 9 and the target 10 (although the arrangement could also be reverse). During the coating step, the substrate 9 can be arranged on a support device and/or transport device not shown, for example on a carrier or on a susceptor plate. In the completely opened state of the slit diaphragm, as shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 9 can be coated with material from the target 10 through the elongate diaphragm slit 4, wherein the target 10 has a length L and a width W (cf. FIG. 5). However, when the slit diaphragm is closed by rotating the arm 6 connected to the drive unit 5, the substrate 9 is protected from particles emitted from the target 10. In this sense, the slit diaphragm can be operated as a simple shutter. Additionally or alternatively, the two diaphragm elements 1 can also assume a plurality of, preferably stepless, intermediate states between the completely closed state and the completely opened state, thus acting as an aperture diaphragm whose slit width can be varied with respect to the specific coating requirements. The width of the elongate diaphragm slit 4 is defined by the distance D between the opposing side edges of the two elongate diaphragm elements 1, as indicated in FIG. 4.

[0036] The diaphragm elements 1 preferably comprise a step or a curved section 12 on at least one side edge (cf. FIGS. 3 and 4), which is intended to ensure that the two diaphragm elements 1 overlap each other in the completely closed state, as can be seen in FIG. 7. Each of the two arms 6 is rotationally mounted centrally, and the first and second longitudinal ends of the diaphragm elements are respectively attached to opposite ends of the first and second arms (cf. FIG. 4). The first arm 6 at the first longitudinal ends 2 of the elongate diaphragm elements 1 is rotated by the drive unit 5 around a first axis 13a (cf. FIG. 4), whereas the second arm 6 at the second longitudinal ends 3 of the elongate diaphragm elements 1 is freely movable around a second axis of rotation 13b (cf. FIG. 5). When the first arm 6 is rotated by the drive unit 5, a parallel rotation of the second arm 6 is caused by traction and thrust in the two diaphragm elements 1 (cf. FIG. 5), so that all longitudinal ends of the diaphragm elements 1 move along circular paths 14 indicated in FIG. 5. The longitudinal orientation of the elongate diaphragm slit remains constant regardless of the degree of opening of the diaphragm, i.e., the angle a (cf. FIG. 6) between the longitudinal or central axis of the diaphragm slit and the width direction of the target 10 is always 900 in this embodiment. Of course, the orientation of the diaphragm slit relative to the target can also assume any other, but constant angle.

[0037] This rotational movement also entails the offset between the two diaphragm elements 1 (cf. FIGS. 1 and 5), which is intended to ensure that the length of the diaphragm elements 1 is utilized as completely as possible, since opening or closing the diaphragm simultaneously causes a relative movement of the diaphragm elements along the longitudinal extension of the slit due to the rotational bearing. This is apparent from FIG. 6, according to which the offset from the completely opened state (left) turns into its opposite during the transition to the completely closed state (right).

[0038] Accordingly, the terms “first longitudinal end” and “second longitudinal end” are to be interpreted broadly in that also a situation as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 is to be understood such that the two first longitudinal ends 2 are connected to a rotary drive unit 5.

[0039] The two diaphragm elements 1 can be attached to the rotationally mounted arm 6 in a way to be detachable without tools, for example by means of simple plug-in connections, as indicated in FIG. 3. This facilitates, inter alia, the cleaning and maintenance of a corresponding coating facility, since the diaphragm elements can be easily removed and reattached by hand.

[0040] The present invention is also directed to a slit diaphragm system comprising at least two, preferably at least three, more preferably at least four, slit diaphragms arranged adjacent to each another, as is schematically indicated in FIGS. 6 and 7. As has already been explained, the advantage of the particularly space-saving arrangement of the slit diaphragm according to the invention is particularly apparent here.

[0041] FIG. 6 shows a slit diaphragm system comprising two slit diaphragms which are arranged adjacent to each other and in which the right diaphragm element 1a of the left slit diaphragm in its completely opened state (corresponding to FIG. 6) is substantially directly adjacent to the left diaphragm element 1b of the right slit diaphragm in its completely closed state. In this state, the left slit diaphragm is completely opened so that the left target 10a is completely exposed, whereas the right target 10b is completely covered by the completely closed right slit diaphragm.

[0042] When the two drive units are now each rotated by just under 900, the left slit diaphragm is completely closed and the right slit diaphragm is completely opened. Also in this state, the right diaphragm element 1a of the left slit diaphragm and the left diaphragm element 1b of the right slit diaphragm will then be essentially directly adjacent to each other. The area covered by the right diaphragm element 1a of the left slit diaphragm in the state shown in FIG. 6 will then be covered by the left diaphragm element 1b of the right slit diaphragm.

[0043] If B describes the maximum extension of a slit diaphragm in the width direction, the arrangement according to the invention can accommodate two slit diaphragms on a width extension of 1.75 B. In other words, the distance between the coating areas, i.e. the distance between the center axes of the coating areas or between the center axes of the sputtering cathodes, is then A=0.75 B (cf. FIG. 6). The effective width of a diaphragm system comprising two slit diaphragms is thus reduced from 2 B in the case of conventional systems to 1.75 B in the case of systems according to the invention. For a diaphragm system comprising n slit diaphragms, the effective width is (0.75×n+0.25) B.