Method and coating system for coating substrates for optical components

US6863398B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Harry J. Bauer · Aalen, DE
• Matthias Heller · Hohenahr, DE
• Hans-Jochen Paul · Aalen, DE
• Jens Ullmann · Oberkochen, DE
• Patrick Scheible · Aalen, DE
• Christoph Zaczek · Heubach, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 17, 2002
• Grant date: Mar 8, 2005
• Expiry date: Sep 17, 2022

Classification

• Technology area (CPC C): Chemistry; Metallurgy
• CPC primary: C23C14/505
• WIPO field: Surface technology, coating
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

A method for coating substrates (10) for optical components with essentially rotationally symmetric coatings employs a coating system equipped with a planetary-drive system (1) that has a rotating planet carrier (2) and several planets (4), each of which carries a single substrate, that corotate both with the planet carrier and with respect to the primary carrier. In one embodiment a set of stationary first masks (20) that allow controlling the radial variation in physical film thickness is arranged between a source (8) of material situated beneath the planets and the substrates. A set of second masks that mask off evaporation angles exceeding a limiting evaporation or incidence angle (β max) for every substrate also corotate with the primary carrier (2), which allows depositing coatings having a prescribed radial film-thickness distribution and a virtually constant density of the coating material over their full radial extents for relatively low, and only slightly varying, evaporation angles.