Method and apparatus for determining the rate of flow of particles in a vacuum deposition device
US4049352A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 3, 1975 |
| Grant date | Sep 20, 1977 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 3, 1995 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01F1/86
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method of determining the rate of flow of particles in a vacuum deposition device, using the relationship that the rate of flow of the particles is equal to the density of the particle current times the mean velocity of the particles, comprises establishing a flow or current of particles in the device and directing a laser beam through the current of particles in order to measure the atteunation of the beam after it has passed through the particles and thus to determine the vapor density within the current. The absorption wavelength shift of the laser beam provides an indication of the velocity component of the current because the shift is produced by a Doppler effect by the velocity component of the particle current in the direction of flow from the source of the particles to the substrate to be coated. In a preferred embodiment of the method, a housing has a vacuum chamber in which the substrate to be coated is held in a position across the chamber from a source of the coating material which is evaporated or sputtered so that a current of particles moves from the source across the chamber to the substrate. At least one laser beam is directed through the particles and is picked …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.