Patent Publication Number: US-2010116654-A1

Title: Film coating apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a film coating apparatus, and particularly to a spatter film coating apparatus. 
     2. Discussion of Related Art 
     Generally, in a film coating process for workpieces (e.g., lenses), the workpieces are placed on a holding member. After a surface of each workpiece is coated, the workpieces needed to be turned over on the holding member so that the opposite surface of the workpieces can be coated. However, the action of rotating the work-pieces needs to be manually implemented, which will break the seal of the processing chamber and is time consuming and inefficient. 
     Therefore, a new film coating apparatus is desired to overcome the shortcomings described above. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the present film coating apparatus can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present film coating apparatus. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a film coating apparatus in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a cutaway view of the film coating apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe in detail exemplary embodiments of the film coating apparatus. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a film coating apparatus  100 , in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, includes a main body  110 , a holding member  120 , two first target electrodes  130 , two second target electrodes  140 , and an driving member  150 . 
     The main body  110  is columnar-shaped. The main body  110  defines a chamber  111  therein. The main body  110  includes inlet openings  112  and outlet openings  113  communicated with the chamber  111 . The outlet openings  113  are configured for venting air from the chamber  111  for creating an initial vacuum in the chamber  111 . A discharge gas, such as argon or nitrogen, can be filled into the chamber  111  through the inlet openings  112 . 
     In the present embodiment, the holding member  120  is received in the center of the chamber  111  to separate the chamber  111  into two equal sections. The holding member  120  is generally disc-shaped and has a central axis  160 . The holding member  120  includes a first surface  1201  and a second surface  1202  opposite to the first surface  1201 . A plurality of through holes  121  is defined through the first surface  1201  and the second surface  1202  parallel to the central axis  160 . The shape of the through holes  121  may be rectangular, fan-shaped, circular, etc. In the present embodiment, the shape of the through holes  121  is rectangular. The through holes  121  have the same size and are arranged symmetrically about the central axis  160 , on the main body  110 . The through holes  121  are respectively configured for receiving workpieces to be coated. The holding member  120  is made of electrically conductive material, such as copper, aluminum, or iron, so it can be used as target electrode in the process of coating. 
     In the present embodiment, there are two first target electrodes  130  and two second target electrodes  140 . The first target electrodes  130  and the second target electrodes  140  are flat-shaped and independently controlled. The first target electrodes  130  and the second target electrodes  140  are disposed on the main body  110  and located at two opposite sides of the holding member  120 . In the present embodiment, the first target electrodes  130  face the first surface  1201  of the holding member  120 , and the second target electrodes  140  are face the second surface  1202  of the holding member  120 . The first electrodes  130  and the second electrodes  140  are configured for supporting a first target material and a second target material respectively. Therefore, the first target material and the second target material can be deposited on opposite sides of each of the workpieces. It can be understood that the first target electrodes  130  and the second target electrodes  140  may be controlled at the same time. 
     The driving member  150  is disposed on the main body  110  and mechanically coupled to the holding member  120 . The driving member  150  is configured for driving the holding member  120  to rotate around the central axis  160 . The driving member  150  is selected from the group consisting of a rotary motor, a rotary cylinder etc. 
     In operation, air is vented from the chamber  111  through the outlet openings  113  to establish an initial vacuum in the chamber  111 , then filling discharge gas into the chamber  111  through the inlet openings  112 . Drawing on an external power source, the first target electrodes  130  and the second target electrodes  140  are charged thus ionizing the discharge gas. The ions strike the first target material and the second target material thereby imparting energy from the ion to the first target material and the second target material, thus the first target material and the second target material are atomized to form a film on the two surfaces of the workpieces respectively. In the process of coating, because the driving member  150  drives the holding member  120  to rotate, the first target material and the second target material can evenly and respectively be coated on the two surfaces of the workpieces. 
     It can be understood that the film coating apparatus  100  can comprise more than two first target electrodes and more than two second target electrodes. Also, different types of target materials on different target electrodes are easily supported. 
     Comparing to the related art, the film coating apparatus  100  can evenly coat two surfaces of workpieces at the same time. Furthermore, the film coating apparatus  100  can coat different materials onto the two surfaces of the workpieces at the same time. Therefore, the film coating apparatus  100  is more efficient and can save much time in the film coating process. 
     It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages have been set forth in the foregoing description of embodiments, together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.