GAS-FLOW SPUTTERING OF OXIDE COATINGS - PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF THE PROCESS

On the basis of the principle of reactive gas flow sputtering advanced sputtering sources for metals and hard coatings have been developed. Main features of these sources, which are based on atl intense hollow cathode glow discharge and an inert gas flow supported material transp ort to the substrate, are the high deposition rates (in the order of 1 0-20 mu m h(-1)), the operation at a low vacuum level (1 mbar range) a nd the applicability to a wide range of coating materials. Oxide coati ngs of aluminum, titanium and zirconium have been deposited; furthermo re, corresponding pure metals and high temperatures superconductor fil ms (YBaCuO) also. Linear upscaling to 0.5 m source length suggests tha t there art no principle limits for large area coating. The 3D behavio r follows from the directed gas now and the isotropic out-diffusion fr ont the carrier gas, i.e., it displays characteristics between PVD and CVD. A long-term stability up to 65 h of continuous operation has bee n demonstrated.