ARGUS 54 - Optical Sputter Coater

Vacuum Process Technology LLCDr. Keqi Zhang & Ralph Faber

May 1, 2013

Motivations: Offer a deposition tool for optical coating industry that

combines the advantages of both e-beam evaporation (large area, fast rate) and IBS deposition (stable process, higher film quality).

Approaches: Plasma enhanced pulsed DC magnetron sputtering Basic concept is based on a 54-inch chamber with a

planetary system that contains six 16-inch planets.

Key Performances / Features: Sputtered deposition of multilayers of metals, and

metal oxides Large area, fast deposition rate

6 x 16-inch planets Rate: Ta2O5 / Nb2O5: 5Å/s, SiO2: 6Å/s

Uniformity: typical ±1.0%, goal: ±0.5% Thickness control

Standard: quartz crystal, time power Optional: through-the-planet optical monitoring

(Single Wavelength or Broad Band)

Optical Sputter Coater

Pulsed DC ion / plasma enhanced

Materials: Ta2O5/SiO2

Very stable and repeatable process:

Deposition rate: 5.0Å/s --- Ta2O5

6.0Å/s --- SiO2

Optical Sputter Coater

Single layer Ta2O5, 5.0 Å/s

Single layer SiO2, 6.0Å/s

Single layer uniformity across a 16-inch planet: < ±1%

Uniformity of a LP filter across a 16-inch planet (spectrally measured)

Uniformity of a LP filter across a 16-inch planet (Normalized)

550nm Longpass Filter, 30 layers

Coating examples : 72-layer SP (Ta2O5/SiO2 , 5.7µm)Backside uncoated

Coating examples : 37-layer GFF (Ta2O5/SiO2, 3.8µm)Backside uncoated

Coating examples: 14-layer BBAR (Ta2O5/SiO2)

Coating examples: 10-layer Dual-band AR (Ta2O5/SiO2)

Coating examples: 58-layer IR cut filter (Ta2O5/SiO2)

IR Cut Filter Made by a Competitor’s Coater

Coating examples: IR cut filter

Argus’54

Competitor’s

Coating examples: 104-layer WB(Ta2O5/SiO2, 7.9µm)

Coating examples: 224-layer WB(Ta2O5/SiO2, 23µm)

Coating examples: 80-layer WB(Ta2O5/SiO2, 7.1µm)Backside uncoated

Coating examples: 52-layer Longpass(Ta2O5/SiO2, 3.0µm)Backside uncoated

Current status: Optical properties: excellent

Absorption: low Scattering: low

Mechanical properties Dense, durable film Film stress: 230 – 300MPa, compressive

Film uniformity Less Than ±0.5% on a 16-inch planet

High throughput; unparalleled process stability

Platform Comparison

Products and Applicationsfor the Argus Optics System