Introduction Planar magnetron Sputter Plants are now the most important vacuum coating systems for laboratory and industrial applications. Examples include:
optical lenses, silicon wafers, displays, magnetic tapes, CD´s, tools, architectural glass, watch cases. Generally these vastly different tasks have used the standard solution which in many uses proves to be
an expensive solution. FPT offers customized, "made to measure" solutions that offer the optimal power/price solution for these different tasks. Single-Chamber Batch Systems
For most applications or with a low-volume production rate, a less expensive batch plant is the optimal power/price solution. Chamber dimensions up to 10 M can now be realized. All types of planar magnetron
sputter sources can be integrated into the Planar Magnetron Sputter Plant. Multi-Chamber on line systems For high-volume production rate or specialized applications like
liquid crystal displays or compact disk metallisation, Multi chamber Planar Magnetron Sputter Plants are an ideal solution. The Multi-Chamber Planar Magnetron Sputter Plant systems allow an in-line,
air-to-air production with better results than the single-chamber batch system. Planar Magnetron Sputter Plants of 2 to 7 in-line vacuum chambers have been produced. Vacuum Specifications For optimal performance, the Planar Magnetron Sputter Source requires a processed gas, usually argon, with a relatively high partial pressure in the range of 0.5 Pascal ( 5.10-3 millibar ).
However, at the same time, the partial pressure of the residual gases must be low enough to minimize the contamination of the growing film. For 1% contamination, a typical value of the basic vacuum is
approximately 1X10-4 Pa, i.e. a high pumping speed is required. Conventional pumps remove the processed gas as well as the argon, unnecessarily increasing the costs. The FPT method uses a combination
of only one conventional pump with a large, newly designed liquid nitrogen pump that produces the best result. |
