Patent ID: 11952654
Assignee: EVATEC AG
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC C  H | IPC C  H

Claim 16:
17. A method for depositing a film on a substrate, whereby at least one first component is sputtered by a sputtering device to sputter a liquid target comprising a liquid metallic target material placed in a target trough and sputtered from the target to the surface of a substrate to be coated, and the liquid metallic target material comprises at least an active surface region (SA) exposed to sputter ions and a passive surface region (SP) at least 50% less exposed to sputtering as the active surface region (SA), wherein the method comprises agitation of the liquid metallic target material to degas the liquid metallic target material or/and to dissipate solid particles or islands or/and move solid particles or islands from the active surface region (SA) to the passive surface region (SP) and/or vice-versa, wherein agitation enforces horizontal and vertical convection in the liquid metallic target material during sputtering, wherein the sputtering device comprises a planar magnetron system with at least an outer and an inner magnet having reversed polarities and being mounted below a liquid level of the liquid metallic target material in respective recesses in a reverse side of a bottom of the target trough, which is not in contact with the liquid target, at the reverse side of the bottom of the trough, or at or in the bottom of the target trough being in contact with the liquid target, wherein the sputtering device comprises an agitation unit an agitation unit having an inner and an outer agitation-electrode, and a magnet system comprising the outer and inner magnets, whereby at least the inner agitation-electrode is at least in part below the liquid level of the liquid target material, and at least the inner agitation electrode being connected to a DC-current source, a pulsed DC-current source or a low frequency AC-current source.