SPUTTERING DEVICE AND LIQUID-COOLED TARGET ASSEMBLY THEREFOR

摘要

A magnetron sputtering device (5) has a pressure controllable chamber (25) and a sputtering chamber (10) next to each other and a generally flat target assembly (20) at the opening in between such that the pressure inside each chamber can be individually controlled and the pressure difference between both sides of the target assembly (20) can be reduced. The target assembly (20) has a target plate (40) with sputtering surface (45) inside the sputtering chamber and a cooling plate with grooved surface attached to the back surface of the target plate (40) such that a cooling liquid flowing through the passages formed by the grooves can cool the target. The grooves are formed in a pattern having a plurality of mutually parallel straight passages for efficient and uniform cooling. The grooves surface of the cooling plate may face the target plate (40) or away from the target plate (40) with a cover plate attached over the grooved surface. The target assembly (20) may be made movable perpendicularly to the sputtering surface (45) such that the distance between the sputterng surface (45) and the object (33) to be sputtered can be kept constant as the sputtering surface (45) of the target is consumed.