ARGUS 54 - Optical Sputter Coater Vacuum Process Technology LLC

Dr. Keqi Zhang & Ralph Faber May 1, 2013

Motivations:

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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:

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Plasma enhanced pulsed DC magnetron sputtering

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Basic concept is based on a 54-inch chamber with a planetary system that contains six 16-inch planets.

Key Performances / Features:

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Sputtered deposition of multilayers of metals, and metal oxides

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Large area, fast deposition rate

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6 x 16-inch planets Rate: Ta 2 O 5 / Nb

2 O 5

: 5Å/s, SiO 2 : 6Å/s

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

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Thickness control

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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: Ta 2 O 5 /SiO 2 Very stable and repeatable process: Deposition rate: 5.0Å/s --- Ta 2 O 5 6.0Å/s --- SiO 2

Optical Sputter Coater

Single layer Ta 2 O 5 , 5.0 Å/s

Single layer SiO 2 , 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 (Ta 2 O 5 /SiO 2 Backside uncoated , 5.7µm)

Coating examples : 37-layer GFF (Ta 2 O 5 /SiO 2 , 3.8µm) Backside uncoated

Coating examples: 14-layer BBAR (Ta 2 O 5 /SiO 2 )

Coating examples: 10-layer Dual-band AR (Ta 2 O 5 /SiO 2 )

Coating examples: 58-layer IR cut filter (Ta 2 O 5 /SiO 2 )

IR Cut Filter Made by a Competitor’s Coater

Coating examples: IR cut filter Argus’54 Competitor’s

Coating examples: 104-layer WB(Ta 2 O 5 /SiO 2 , 7.9µm)

Coating examples: 224-layer WB(Ta 2 O 5 /SiO 2 , 23µm)

Coating examples: 80-layer WB(Ta 2 O 5 /SiO 2 , 7.1µm) Backside uncoated

Coating examples: 52-layer Longpass(Ta 2 O 5 /SiO 2 , 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 Applications for the Argus Optics System