Features of In-Line Sputtering Systems
An “In-Line” PVD Sputtering System is one in which substrates pass linearly beneath one or more Sputter cathodes to acquire their Thin-Film deposition coating. Normally the substrates are loaded onto a carrier or pallet in order to facilitate this motion, and some smaller systems handle just one pallet per batch run. Larger systems may have the capability of handling multiple pallets through the use of end station pallet handlers that send and receive one pallet after another in a continuing convoy passing through the transport subsystem, the tip of each following behind the tail of the prior one. …
Sputtering is a common technique for 
An introduction to the confocal method of 
One popular method of 
The Planar Magnetron is, in essence, a classic “diode” mode sputtering cathode with the addition of a permanent magnet array behind the cathode. This magnet array is arranged so the magnetic field is normal to the electric field in a closed path and forms a boundary “tunnel” which traps electrons near the surface of the target. This electron trapping technique improves the efficiency of gas ion formation and constrains the discharge plasma, allowing higher current at lower gas pressure, and achieving a higher sputter deposition rate for PVD (