Patent ID: 9418823
Filing Date: 2016-08-16
CPC Classification: H01J

Claim Text:
1. A rotary cathode assembly for a sputtering apparatus, the rotary cathode assembly comprising: a rotatable target cylinder having an interior passageway between a proximal end and a distal end, the rotatable target cylinder located in a vacuum chamber; a rigid support structure having a proximal end and a distal end, the rigid support structure positioned within the interior passageway; a single end block operatively coupled to the proximal ends of the rotatable target cylinder and the rigid support structure; an end cap affixed to the distal end of the rotatable target cylinder, the end cap having a window; a magnet bar structure movably attached to the rigid support structure within the interior passageway; at least one actuation mechanism coupled to the rigid support structure and configured to change a distance of the magnet bar structure from a surface of the rotatable target cylinder; a communications device located in the rotatable target cylinder, the communications device configured to receive and transmit signals through the window in the end cap; and a signal transmission medium located in the vacuum chamber outside of the rotatable target cylinder and adjacent to the window of the end cap, the signal transmission medium in signal communication with the communications device through the window in the end cap, wherein the signal transmission medium is held by an in-vacuum support structure coupled to a wall of the vacuum chamber; wherein the single end block is configured such that all functions for operation of the rotary cathode assembly pass through the single end block except for signal transmissions through the window in the end cap.