REACTIVE MAGNETRON SPUTTERING APPARATUS AND METHOD

摘要

A method and apparatus for producing optical films on substrates having extremely high packing densities of the same quality as those films produced by ion beam sputtering including a vacuum chamber with a conventional magnetron sputtering system and unusually high speed vaccum pump means. The low pressure of inert gas created by said high speed vacuum pump means being in the range of 5 x 10<-5> Torr to 2.0 x 10<-4> Torr and the magnetron sputtering system being at least 20'' from said substrates. A gas manifold around the magnetron and target material confines the inert working gas in the vicinity of the magnetron and as the gas diffuses and expands into the chamber the high speed vacuum pump means removes the expanded gas from the chamber at the high speed. An ion gun directs ionized reactant gas toward the substrates which has the effect of improving film stoichiometry as well as reducing reactant gas at the magnetron. Multiple magnetron assemblies, multiple target materials and compound target materials may be used.