Patent ID: 8097133
Filing Date: 2012-01-17
Classification: C23C,H01J

Abstract:
1. A sputtering system, comprising: a main chamber for holding a substrate to be sputter coated and being vacuum sealable on a side opposite the substrate with a sputtering target and connectable to a high-vacuum pump capable of pumping the main chamber to a pressure below 1 milliTorr; a magnetron chamber configured to include a scanning magnetron and to be vacuum sealable to the target; a roughing valve connected between a vacuum roughing line and the magnetron chamber, wherein a flow path between the vacuum roughing line and the magnetron chamber passing through the roughing valve does not pass through the high-vacuum pump or the main chamber; and a bypass conduit connecting the magnetron chamber and the main chamber and including a bypass valve, whereby a selection of a state of the bypass valve determines whether a pressure differential may exist between the main chamber and the magnetron chamber or whether pressures in the main chamber and the magnetron chamber are equalized.