Apparatus for treating and/or coating the surface of a substrate component

Abstract

Apparatus for treating and/or coating the surface of substrate components by deposition from the gas phase. A plurality of substrate carriers and a plurality of coating and/or treating units are arranged in a deposition or treatment chamber which can be evacuated. The system can be equipped in a modular fashion such that the substrate components introduced into the system in a batch can be subjected to different treatments. Method for treating and/or coating the surface of substrate components. The procedure comprises: a) compiling coating and/or treating units and shielding elements from modules in the deposition or treatment chamber; b) equipping the substrate carriers with those substrate components that are to be subjected to the same treatment; c) closing the deposition or treatment chamber; and d) carrying out the individual treatment or coating programs for the substrate components combined in groups on the substrate carriers in one batch.

1 . A device for the surface treatment and/or coating of substrate components by deposition from the gas phase, in particular by physical deposition from the gas phase according to the PVD (physical vapor deposition) or the reactive PVD method, having a deposition or treatment chamber which can be evacuated, and in which multiple substrate carriers ( 26 ) and multiple coating and/or treatment units ( 12 ,  14 ,  16 ) (vaporizer sources, cathodes, targets, magnetrons, heating units, filament cathode, and etching anode) are situated, characterized by an ability to equip the facility modularly in such a way that the substrate components ( 56 ) introduced in one batch into the facility can be subjected to different treatments (coating, surface treatment). 
     
     
         2 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the substrate components ( 56 ) are subjected to the different treatments at various locations (positions  1  to  8 ) in the deposition or treatment chamber. 
     
     
         3 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that at least one shielding unit ( 48 ,  50 ,  52 ,  54 ) can be received in the deposition or treatment chamber, using which at least the substrate components ( 56 ) which situated on one substrate carrier ( 24 ,  26 ) are kept exclusively in the influence area of a coating and/or treatment unit ( 12 ). 
     
     
         4 . The device according to  claim 3 , characterized in that the shielding unit ( 48 ,  50 ,  52 ,  54 ) is implemented as a module and is preferably formed from planar components, such as a partition wall configuration ( 48 ,  50 ) which can be assembled from plates ( 48 ,  52 ,  54 ). 
     
     
         5 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized by a unit ( 10 ,  32  to  42 ), using which the relative location between the substrate carriers ( 24 ,  26 ) and the coating and/or treatment units ( 12 ) is changeable when the deposition or treatment chamber is closed. 
     
     
         6 . The device according to  claim 5 , characterized by an installation table ( 10 ), which is received in the deposition or treatment chamber radially inside a carrier construction for the coating and/or treatment units ( 12 ,  14 , vaporizer sources, cathodes, targets, magnetrons), and which has a plurality of installation spaces ( 18 - 1  to  18 - 8 ), which are equipped with a drive source ( 22 ) for the substrate carriers ( 24 ,  26 ), distributed over its circumference. 
     
     
         7 . The device according to  claim 6 , characterized in that the installation spaces can be equipped with substrate carriers ( 24 ,  24 ) and/or shielding units ( 48 ,  50 ). 
     
     
         8 . The device according to  claim 6 , characterized by a drive and indexing unit ( 10 ,  32  to  42 ), using which a relative rotational movement between installation table ( 10 ) and carrier construction is controllable. 
     
     
         9 . The device according to  claim 8 , characterized in that the installation table ( 10 ) has a rotary drive. 
     
     
         10 . The device according to  claim 6 , characterized in that the drive of the substrate carriers ( 24 ,  26 ) is discharged onto the substrate components ( 56 ). 
     
     
         11 . The device according to  claim 6 , characterized in that the rotational movement of at least one substrate carrier is decoupled from the cyclic movement of the installation table. 
     
     
         12 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that at least selected coating and/or treatment units ( 12 - 1 ,  12 - 2 ) are operable synchronously. 
     
     
         13 . The device according to  claim 6 , characterized in that the carrier construction is equipped with installation positions for the coating and/or treatment units ( 12 ) and/or heating units ( 14 ). 
     
     
         14 . A method for the surface treatment and/or coating of substrate components using deposition from the gas phase, in particular using physical deposition from the gas phase according to the PVD (physical vapor deposition) or the reactive PVD method, in which the substrate components are housed together with multiple substrate carriers in a deposition or treatment chamber which can be evacuated, characterized by the following method steps:
 a) assembling coating and/or treatment units ( 12 , vaporizers, cathodes, targets, magnetrons, filament cathode, and etching anode) and/or heating units ( 16 ) as well as shielding elements ( 48 ,  50 ) from modules in the deposition or treatment chamber according to a desired coating or treatment program for the substrate components ( 56 );   b) equipping the substrate carriers ( 26 ) with those substrate components ( 56 ) which are to be subjected to the same treatment;   c) closing the deposition or treatment chamber; and   d) executing the individual treatment or coating programs for the substrate components ( 56 ) assembled on the substrate carriers ( 24 ,  26 ) in one batch.   
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 14 , characterized in that, in method step d), the individual substrate carriers ( 24 ,  26 ) are brought as needed in a cyclic manner into the relative position which is optimized for the respective surface treatment for the respective associated coating and/or treatment unit ( 12 ).