Apparatus for coating a cathodically biased substrate from plasma of ionized coatingmaterial

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING A METALLIC FILM AT A RATE OF AT LEAST ABOUT TEN THOUSAND ANGSTROMS PER MINUTE ON A SUBSTRATE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: AN EVACUABLE CHAMBER; A BASEPLATE FOR SUPPORTING SAID CHAMBER; MEANS FOR EVACUATING SAID CHAMBER; MEANS FOR ADMITTING AN IONIZABLE GAS WITHIN THE CHAMBER; CATHODE ELECTRODE MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A SUBSTRATE WITHIN THE CHAMBER SO THAT THE SUBSTRATE IS SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE SAME POTENTIAL AS SAID CATHODE; A D.C. CIRCUIT HAVING GROUNDED SHEILD MEANS PROXIMATE TO SAID CATHODE, INCLUDING WITHIN THE CHAMBER SAID CATHODE ELECTRODE MEANS AND AN ANODE; SAID CATHODE ELECTRODE MEANS AND ANODE SPACED APART A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF A CATHODE DARK SPACE FOR A GLOW DISCHARGE, SAID SPACE BEING FREE OF ELECTRODES AXIALLY INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID ANODE AND CATHODE AND INCLUDING MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING A GLOW DISCHARGE BETWEEN SAID ANODE AND SAID CATHODE ELECTRODE, MEANS FOR IONIZING SAID IONIZABLE GAS FOR CLEANING SAID SUBSTRATE; MEANS INTEGRAL WITH SAID ANODE FOR PROVIDING ATOMS OF A DEPOSITANT MATERIAL WITHIN SAID CHAMBER TO BE IONIZED BY SAID GLOW DISCHARGE AND SUBSEQUENTLY ACCELERATED BY THE POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE TOWARD SAID CATHODE AND THE SUBSTRATE SUPPORTED THEREON WHEREBY A FILM OF DEPOSITANT MATERIAL IS DEPOSITED TO A DESIRED THICKNESS ON SAID SUBSTRATE.