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

Claim 19:
20. A magnetron sputtering system comprising, in combination:
a vacuum chamber;
a substrate rotatably mounted about a central axis within the vacuum chamber and configured to rotate at a speed of between approximately 300 rpm and approximately 500 rpm;
a plurality of cathode assemblies arranged in a confocal orientation about the central axis, including a first set of two cathode assemblies and a second set of two 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, the target of the first set of cathode assemblies being formed of a first material and the target of the second set of cathode assemblies being formed of a second material different than the first material,
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, each target axis being oriented with respect to the central axis at an angle of greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees; and
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;

a pin mask mounted in the vacuum chamber and configured to mask a portion of the substrate; and
a timer to control operation of the first set of cathode assemblies and the second set of cathode assemblies 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.