Coating apparatus and coating method having divided pulses

US12286705B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• CemeCon AG · DE

Inventors

• Walter May · Aachen, DE
• Werner Kölker · Ratzeburg, DE
• Stephan Bolz · Pfatter, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 6, 2021
• Grant date: Apr 29, 2025
• Expiry date: Sep 6, 2041

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01J37/3467
• WIPO field: Surface technology, coating
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

The invention relates to a coating method and to a coating device for coating a body. A magnetron cathode having a target is arranged in the vacuum chamber. Electrical power is supplied to the magnetron cathode such that a plasma is generated and the target is sputtered in order to deposit a coating on the body. The electrical power is periodically supplied within a period duration T according to the HIPIMS method as cathode pulses, wherein each cathode pulse comprises at least two cathode sub-pulses and an intervening cathode sub-pulse break. In order to be able to deposit coatings having favorable properties in a particularly favorable manner by using the chopped HIPIMS method, a bias voltage is applied to the substrate to be coated with bias voltage pulses, wherein each bias voltage pulse comprises at least two bias sub-pulses and an intervening bias sub-pulse break.