Method and apparatus for providing deposited layer structures and articles so produced

摘要

A merged ion beam and plasma vapor deposition chamber and associated manufacturing process are disclosed in which thin film depositions occur in a merged deposition chamber. The chamber utilizes both ion beam and RF/DC magnetron sputtering in a single chamber. The deposition of the layers can occur in the chamber without substrate transfer in a low vacuum, eliminating the need for multiple chambers and associated timely wafer transfer steps. The result is a film deposition and growth process which utilizes the advantages unique to each of the RF/DC and IBD processes without the film degradation that occurs in robot wafer transfer chambers found in combination systems known in the art.