Heat-Transfer Roller for Sputtering and Method of Making the Same

Abstract

This sputtering cathode has a sputtering target having a tubular shape in which the cross-sectional shape thereof has a pair of long side sections facing each other, and an erosion surface facing inward. Using the sputtering target, while moving a body to be film-formed, which has a film formation region having a narrower width than the long side sections of the sputtering target, parallel to one end face of the sputtering target and at a constant speed in a direction perpendicular to the long side sections above a space surrounded by the sputtering target, discharge is performed such that a plasma circulating along the inner surface of the sputtering target is generated, and the inner surface of the long side sections of the sputtering target is sputtered by ions in the plasma generated by a sputtering gas to perform film formation in the film formation region of the body to be film-formed.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A sputtering system, comprising:
 a vacuum chamber;   a heat-transfer roller with a longitudinally extending central axis disposed within the vacuum chamber and supported for rotation about the longitudinally extending central axis thereof;   one or more sputtering cathodes disposed within the vacuum chamber and arranged to direct sputtered atoms toward the heat-transfer roller during sputtering operation of the one or more sputtering cathodes; and   a film supply roller and a film take-up roller disposed within the vacuum chamber, with the film supply roller and the film take-up roller having respective longitudinal axes that are arranged parallel to the longitudinally extending central axis of the heat-transfer roller and with the film supply roller and the film take-up roller being supported for rotation about their respective longitudinal axes;   wherein the heat-transfer roller comprises
 a cylinder wall encircling a hollow interior of the heat-transfer roller and having two opposite ends; 
 a first end plate attached directly to a first end of the cylinder wall; 
 a second end plate attached directly to a second end of the cylinder wall; 
 an open opening extending between and establishing fluid communication between the hollow interior of the heat-transfer roller and space within the vacuum chamber surrounding the heat-transfer roller, whereby pressure is equalized between the hollow interior of the heat-transfer roller and the space within the vacuum chamber surrounding the heat-transfer roller; and 
 a centrally located shaft member extending from each end plate to support the heat-transfer roller for rotation about the longitudinally extending central axis thereof;
 wherein one or more flow-through passages are embedded within the cylinder wall and provide a conduit that permits, or conduits that permit, a heat-transfer medium to flow from near one end of the cylinder wall to the other end of the cylinder wall; and 
 wherein each of the shaft members has a longitudinally extending central passage that is in fluid communication with the one or more flow-through passages in the cylinder wall near a respective one of the two ends of the cylinder wall. 
 
   
     
     
         3 . The sputtering system according to  claim 2 , wherein the vacuum chamber has a perforated partition that divides the vacuum chamber into two sub-chambers, with the heat-transfer roller and the one or more sputtering cathodes being disposed within one of the two sub-chambers and with the film supply roller and the film take-up roller being disposed within the other of the two sub-chambers. 
     
     
         4 . The sputtering system according to  claim 2 , wherein the open opening comprises a through-hole formed in the first end plate. 
     
     
         5 . The sputtering system according to  claim 4 , further comprising an open through-hole formed in the second end plate. 
     
     
         6 . The sputtering system according to  claim 2 , wherein one flow-through passage is embedded within the cylinder wall and comprises a single conduit extending in a zig-zag or serpentine manner from near one end of the cylinder wall to the other end of the cylinder wall and around approximately the whole circumference of the heat-transfer roller, with a series of first portions that extend in a first direction and that are arranged parallel to each other and a series of second portions that extend in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction, with the second portions each extending between a respective adjacent pair of the first portions and with successive ones of the second portions being located at alternating ends of the first portions. 
     
     
         7 . The sputtering system according to  claim 6 , further comprising a pipe near each end of the heat-transfer roller and disposed within the hollow interior of the heat-transfer roller, with each pipe connecting the longitudinally extending central passage in one of the shaft members to a corresponding end of the single conduit extending in zig-zag or serpentine fashion. 
     
     
         8 . The sputtering system according to  claim 6 , wherein the first direction is a circumferential direction with respect to the heat-transfer roller and the second direction is a longitudinal direction with respect to the heat-transfer roller that is parallel to the longitudinally extending central axis of the heat-transfer roller. 
     
     
         9 . The sputtering system according to  claim 6 , wherein the first direction is a longitudinal direction with respect to the heat-transfer roller that is parallel to the longitudinally extending central axis of the heat-transfer roller and the second direction is a circumferential direction with respect to the heat-transfer roller. 
     
     
         10 . The sputtering system according to  claim 6 , wherein the single conduit is constituted by a groove with a zig-zagging shape that extends along a surface of the cylinder wall and a closure board with a shape that matches the zig-zagging shape of the groove, with the single conduit being bounded by wall surfaces of the groove, a bottom surface of the groove, and the closure board. 
     
     
         11 . The sputtering system according to  claim 10 , wherein the closure board has been joined to the wall surfaces of the groove by friction stir welding. 
     
     
         12 . The sputtering system according to  claim 2 , wherein a plurality of passages are embedded within the cylinder wall, the plurality of passages being arranged parallel to each other and extending from one end of the cylinder wall to the other end of the cylinder wall in a longitudinal direction with respect to the heat-transfer roller that is parallel to the longitudinally extending central axis of the heat-transfer roller. 
     
     
         13 . The sputtering system according to  claim 2 , wherein the cylinder wall has a longitudinally extending seam, where edges of a plate that has been curved to form the cylinder wall have been joined together. 
     
     
         14 . The sputtering system according to  claim 13 , wherein the seam has been formed by friction stir welding. 
     
     
         15 . The sputtering system according to  claim 2 , wherein the cylinder wall is made from copper, copper alloy, aluminum, or aluminum alloy. 
     
     
         16 . The sputtering system according to  claim 15 , wherein the cylinder wall is made from oxygen-free copper, tough pitch copper, or phosphorous deoxidized copper. 
     
     
         17 . The sputtering system according to  claim 15 , wherein the cylinder wall is made from a copper-tin-based alloy, a copper-zinc-based alloy, a copper-nickel-based alloy, a copper-aluminum-based alloy, or a copper-beryllium-based alloy. 
     
     
         18 . The sputtering system according to  claim 15 , wherein the cylinder wall is made from an aluminum-copper-magnesium-based alloy, an aluminum-manganese-based alloy, an aluminum-silicon-based alloy, an aluminum-magnesium-based alloy, an aluminum-magnesium-silicon-based alloy, or an aluminum-zinc-magnesium-based alloy.