Patent ID: 7520965

Claim:
A magnetron sputtering apparatus comprising: a workpiece comprising walls defining a vacuum chamber in fluid communication with a gas feed, the vacuum chamber having a first central longitudinal axis extending longitudinally from a first sealed end to a second sealed end; a magnetron disposed within the vacuum chamber, the magnetron comprising a support structure comprising a shaft having the first central longitudinal axis; a sputter target material defining a bore which is external to the shaft, the bore also having the first central longitudinal axis; a magnet assembly supported about the support structure, the magnet assembly having a first end, a second end, and a plurality of magnets supported therebetween and being effective, upon rotation, to generate a circumferential external magnetic field about the sputter target material; a third sealed end extending radially inward from adjacent the sputter target material proximate the first end of the magnet assembly and a fourth sealed end extending radially inward from adjacent the sputter target material proximate the second end of the magnet assembly, wherein the third sealed end, the fourth sealed end, and the sputter target material seal the magnet assembly therebetween; a cooling system comprising one or more coolant passages extending through the magnet assembly; a distributor plate including a plurality of ports aligned with the coolant passages and one or more rotors including one or more rotor blades supported about the support structure configured to rotate the magnetic assembly relative to the sputter target material in a coaxial manner around the first central longitudinal axis by the passage of coolant, wherein the rotor is situated inwardly of the distributor plate such that the rotor blades are positioned in the coolant passage.