Electron gun equipment for vacuum deposition

Claim 1

An Electron beam system for vacuum metal deposition from a melt thereof comprised of a vacuum chamber having disposed therein a substrate carrier for supporting a plurality of substrates, and an inert open crucible disposed below said carrier and containing a source of the material to be evaporated, and means for melting and evaporation of said source comprised of an electron-beam gun in said chamber generating a beam of electrons focused to directly impinge on said source, a copper hearth in said chamber having a recess for seating said crucible therein; said crucible having a bent-cone configuration comprising a first tapered section extending inwardly from the lip of said crucible and forming a first angle with the vertical, said first section merging with a second conical section tapering inwardly to a point at the bottom of said cup and forming a second angle with the vertical greater than said first angle; and wherein said recess has a configuration corresponding to the configuration of said crucible for nesting thereof in spaced relationship to each other, with said crucible supported in said recess at said lip by a radially extending flange therefrom and supported on the top surface of said hearth.