Patent ID: 11932932
Assignee: ALLUXA, INC.
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC C  H | IPC C  H

Claim 13:
14. A magnetron sputtering system comprising, in combination:
a vacuum chamber;
a substrate rotatably mounted about a central axis within the vacuum chamber;
a plurality of cathode assemblies arranged in a confocal orientation about the central axis, including a first set of cathode assemblies and a second set of cathode assemblies, and configured for reactive sputtering, each cathode assembly comprising:
a target comprising sputterable material having an at least partially exposed planar sputtering surface;
a target support configured to support the target in the vacuum chamber and rotate the target relative to the vacuum chamber about a target axis;
a magnetic field source including a magnet array mounted to be substantially stationary relative to the vacuum chamber during sputtering, the target being positioned between the magnet array and the substrate; and

a first pin mask mounted in the vacuum chamber and configured to mask a portion of the substrate;
wherein the plurality of cathode assemblies is configured such that when the first set of cathode assemblies is operational the second set of cathode assemblies is idle, and when the second set of cathode assemblies is operational the first set of cathode assemblies is idle.