Coating installation for coating substrates, and corresponding method

Abstract

The invention relates to a coating installation (1) for coating substrates (6), comprising a vacuumable process chamber (2) and a lock device (3) for introducing and discharging the substrates (6) into and out of the process chamber (2). The invention furthermore comprises a substrate holder (2) disposed in the process chamber (2), wherein, in order to apply coating material to a substrate (6) by means of a coating device (9), the substrates (6) can be positioned releasably on the substrate holder (5). The coating installation (1) also has a loading device (9) for automatically loading and unloading the substrate holder (5) with the substrates (6), and a control unit (10) for controlling the coating device (9) in a closed-loop manner based on measured coating parameter values of the applied coating material at least including an applied layer thickness and / or a number of coatings. The coating installation (1) comprises a plurality of function elements (19) which can be removably attached to the substrate holder (5) by means of a function element holder, the substrates (6) being able to be releasably positioned on function elements (19) during coating. The function elements (19) can be automatically exchanged independently of substrates (6) by means of the loading device (9) controlled by the control unit (10) in a closed-loop manner based on the measured function element parameters (20).

Description

[0001] Coating system for coating substrates and corresponding process

[0002] Field of the invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a coating system for processing substrates, in particular for coating substrates, in particular for coating disc-shaped substrates or wafers or the like, in a vacuumable process chamber with a layer sequence by means of a coating device, so-called vacuum coating. The invention specifically relates to a control unit for the controllable control of the coating system, in particular the coating device.

[0004] Background of the invention

[0005] In conventional coating systems, the substrates to be coated, e.g., disc-shaped substrates such as glass substrates, are introduced into the process chamber prior to coating by means of a lock device and positioned and releasably secured on the substrate holder by means of a loading device. The substrates are loaded into a suitable holder, in particular a substrate magazine, prior to introduction. A coating device, which is controllable by means of a control unit, applies a layer sequence consisting of at least one layer of a coating material to the substrates. The control unit is controllable based on measured coating parameter values ​​of the layers applied by the coating device, including an applied layer thickness and / or a number of coatings of a substrate.For example, the substrates can be stored on horizontally arranged turntables and rotated within the effective range of an evaporator coating device, with the side facing the coating device being coated. There can be several positions on the turntable for applying substrates. The substrates coated with the layer sequence are released by the loading device (substrate holder) and transported to the lock device. The lock device then removes them from the process chamber.

[0006] Conventional coating systems have the disadvantage that the substrate holder is at least partially coated during the coating process. This, on the one hand, requires cleaning of the substrate holder and, on the other hand, can lead to contamination in the process chamber due to coating fragments flaking off the substrate holder. Cleaning the substrate holder and / or the process chamber requires that the negative pressure required for coating in the process chamber be adjusted to the ambient pressure of the coating system, a process known as flooding the process chamber. In the flooded state, the substrate holder and the process chamber can be cleaned of the coating, for example, by an operator.

[0007] Summary of the invention

[0008] It is an object of the present invention to solve the disadvantages and technical problems known from the prior art. In particular, the present invention seeks to provide a novel device and method for coating substrates using a coating system, minimizing the cleaning of the substrate holder and thereby extending the operating time of the coating system without flooding the process chamber. Flooding the process chamber is very time-consuming, and it also results in higher energy consumption.

[0009] According to the present invention, these objects are achieved in particular by the elements of the characterizing part of the independent claims. Further advantageous embodiments will also become apparent from the dependent claims, the drawings, and the description.

[0010] In particular, these objectives are achieved by the invention through the coating system according to the invention for coating substrates and corresponding method in that the coating system comprises a plurality of functional elements which can be removably fixed to the substrate holder by means of a functional element holder, wherein the substrates can be releasably positioned on the functional elements during coating.In addition, the control unit comprises storable functional element parameters, at least comprising a number of layer sequences carried out with a functional element and / or a number of substrates coated with a functional element and / or a layer thickness of the coating material measured on the functional element, wherein a functional element can be automatically exchanged independently of substrates based on the measured functional element parameters by means of the loading device controlled by the control unit in order to ensure the longest possible service life of the substrate holder and / or the process chamber without the need for cleaning and corresponding flooding of the process chamber.The control unit uses the functional parameters to ensure that the coating applied to the functional elements does not reach a critical coating level, and in particular, that the coating applied to the functional elements does not tend to chip and thus contaminate the process chamber. As soon as a threshold value of one or more functional elements is reached, the loading device automatically replaces the corresponding functional element, in particular, removes the functional element from the substrate holder. In addition, the threshold value ensures a maximum service life of the functional elements in the process chamber and thus even more economical use of the coating system. This has, among other things,The technical advantages are that no operator intervention is required to ensure stable and secure mounting of the substrates on the turntable, particularly for securing the substrates in the holders before inserting them into the process chamber or for securing the substrates to the holders provided on the turntable. The invention therefore allows for time- and cost-saving processing. The holders do not need to be at least partially cleaned after each coating process, which also increases the operational reliability of the system.

[0011] In one embodiment, the functional element holder has at least one recess formed in the substrate holder, wherein the functional elements can be received and secured in the recess in a form-fitting manner by gravity. A further embodiment comprises a functional element holder which comprises a clamping element such that the functional elements can be secured to the substrate holder in a friction-locking manner and / or one of the substrate holders has a magnet, wherein the functional elements can be releasably secured to the substrate holder by means of a magnetic force of the magnet. As a variant, a functional element that can be releasably secured to the substrate holder has a functional element holder for a further functional element in order to releasably secure the further functional element indirectly to the substrate holder by means of the functional element that can be secured to the substrate holder.This has, among other things, the technical advantage that the removable holder is designed in such a way that simple and low-maintenance operation can be ensured.

[0012] In another embodiment, the coating system has a storage device for storing at least one of the functional elements in order to provide storage of functional elements within the process chamber but outside the effective range of the coating device. The storage device preferably contains functional elements that have a critical coating after repeated use and application of several layer sequences and / or unused functional elements and / or functional elements that are temporarily not being used for applying the layer sequence. This has the advantage that the storage device ensures that, for functional elements with different functions and / or specifications, corresponding functional elements can be used for coating substrates without additional introduction or even manual intervention by an operator.

[0013] In a further embodiment, the control unit comprises an element control signal, wherein the element control signal can be generated by the control unit based on at least one functional element parameter, and the lock device and the loading device can be controlled by the element control signal. This has the advantage, among other things, of ensuring automatic handling of the functional elements inside and outside the process chamber.

[0014] In one embodiment, the coating system comprises a second lock device for introducing and discharging the functional elements from the process chamber in order to enable the introduction and / or discharging of functional elements independent of the coating process of the substrates to be coated and thus to ensure a maximum throughput of substrates to be coated.

[0015] In another embodiment, the coating system includes a second lock device for loading and unloading the functional elements from the process chamber. This has the advantage, among other things, of allowing the loading and / or unloading of functional elements independent of the coating process of the substrates to be coated, thus ensuring maximum throughput of the substrates to be coated.

[0016] In one embodiment, the functional elements comprise a substrate holder ring and / or a test glass and / or an aperture and / or a cover glass and / or a substrate storage ring. This has the advantage, among other things, of ensuring continuous coating of substrates, even with different layer structures in different configurations of the substrate holder with functional elements, since the different specifications and / or a large number of substrates for coating with a layer sequence can be carried out automatically without flooding the process chamber. For example, empty substrate holder positions can be equipped using a cover glass, which as a functional element can be automatically positioned at an empty position on the substrate holder using the control device and the loading device.

[0017] In yet another embodiment, the substrate holder ring is dimensioned such that the substrate holder ring prevents or at least significantly reduces coating of the substrate holder on the surface of the substrate holder and / or the process chamber facing the substrate holder ring by the coating device, in particular when coating the substrates secured by the substrate holder rings on the surface of the substrates facing the substrate holder ring. When coating the substrates on the side facing away from the substrate holder, the substrates are mounted in a substrate bearing ring as an embodiment, wherein the substrate bearing ring is dimensioned such that coating of the substrate holder on the surface of the substrate holder facing away from the substrate holder ring is prevented or at least significantly reduced.In one embodiment, the coating system comprises a layer sensor, in particular an optical sensor, for measuring layer thickness in order to provide the control unit with a signal for calculating the coating applied to one or more functional elements. This can be done, in particular, in real time.

[0018] In one embodiment, the control unit has a layer system database with at least one coating recipe, wherein the coating recipe has an identification of at least one functional element and / or a layer characteristic of the layer sequence and / or process parameters in order to load the functional elements necessary for the layer sequence to be applied to the substrates to be coated into the process chamber and / or to automatically load the substrate holder with the necessary functional elements by means of the loading device and to remove them again after completion of the coating recipe, wherein the coating recipe of a layer sequence can be carried out once or several times.

[0019] In one embodiment, the control unit has a human-machine interface for displaying at least one functional element parameter and / or a coating recipe in order to visualize at least one functional element parameter to an operator. In a further embodiment, the human-machine interface comprises an input option, for example a keyboard, digital interface, voice input, or the like, for controlling the handling of the functional elements, in particular for inserting or removing functional elements and / or for selecting a coating recipe.

[0020] In another embodiment, functional elements are removably positioned on the substrate holder by means of the loading device, wherein the substrates for coating are releasably positioned on the functional elements by means of the loading device, wherein the functional elements are automatically exchanged by means of the loading device regulated by the control unit based on measured functional element parameters at least comprising the number of coatings carried out with a functional element and / or the number of substrates coated with a functional element, wherein a functional element is positioned on the substrate holder for coating several substrates. This has the advantage, among other things, that the procedure and process can be operated in a technically fully automated manner. In particular, the substrate holders are only exchanged when technically necessary.

[0021] In another embodiment, the control unit generates an element control signal based on at least one of the functional element parameters to control the exchange of the functional elements, ensuring control of the loading device and the lock device based on the functional element parameters. Furthermore, the control unit communicates with a peripheral device of the coating system via a functional interface using the element control signal to ensure automatic feeding and further processing of the substrates.

[0022] In one embodiment, the control unit communicates with the lock device and, based on the element control signal, controls the infeed and outfeed of the functional elements through the lock device in order to ensure optimal coating of the substrates and handling of the functional elements.

[0023] In a further embodiment, the control unit communicates with the loading device and the lock device and controls the exchange of the functional elements by the loading device and the lock device by means of the element control signal, wherein the functional elements are loaded and unloaded by the loading device from the substrate holder and / or the interior of the process chamber and the functional elements can be stored in a storage device so that an economical coating of the substrates is ensured.

[0024] As a variant, the functional elements and the substrates can be separately introduced into and removed from the process chamber. This has the advantage, among other things, that a delay in the coating process of the substrates can be prevented by using the first lock device for introduction or removal. It should be noted at this point that the present invention relates not only to the apparatus according to the invention but also to a method for implementing the apparatus according to the invention.

[0025] Short description of the characters

[0026] Embodiments of the present invention are described below using examples. The examples of the embodiments are illustrated by the following attached figures:

[0027] Figure 1 illustrates, by way of example, a schematic representation of a plan view of a coating system according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0028] Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a schematic vertical cross-section through the process chamber with the substrate holder, positioned substrates and functional elements.

[0029] Figure 4 shows a schematic overview of the control unit with the system interface.

[0030] Figure 5 schematically illustrates an exemplary, systematic structure of the functional element parameter.

[0031] Figure 6 shows a schematic overview of an exemplary process for coating the substrates.

[0032] Detailed description of the invention

[0033] Figures 1 and 2 show an embodiment of an inventive

[0034] Coating system 1 for coating substrates 6 comprising a

[0035] Coating device 9, a vacuumable process chamber 2, a lock device 3 for transferring the substrates 6 into and out of the process chamber 2. Furthermore, the coating system 1 comprises a substrate holder 5 mounted in the process chamber 2 and rotatably mounted about a rotation axis 5b. The coating system 1 comprises other components 53 comprising an electric drive 42 for rotating the substrate holder 5 at a rotational speed and a vacuum pump 44 for vacuuming the process chamber 2 to a process pressure for carrying out the coating in the process chamber 2.

[0036] Furthermore, the lock device 3 has a first loading lock 34 and a second loading lock 35, the first loading lock 34 being used to load and unload substrates 6. Furthermore, the coating system 1 comprises a plurality of functional elements 19, which can be loaded into and unloaded from the process chamber 2 by means of the lock device 3, in particular by means of the second loading lock 35. The functional elements 1 can be removably secured to the substrate holder 5, directly or indirectly, by means of a functional element holder. The substrates 6 can be releasably positioned on the functional elements 19, the substrates 6 being positioned in an active area 75 of the coating device 9 by means of the rotational movement of the substrate holder 5, and the functional elements 19 being coated with a plurality of layer sequences.For storing the functional elements 19, the coating system 1 has a storage device 36, which is preferably arranged outside the effective area 75 of the coating device 9 and within the process chamber 2, in particular in the second loading lock 35.

[0037] The coating device 9 comprises at least one coating source, for example a magnetron sputtering cathode 43, wherein the at least one coating source is arranged above or below a substrate holder surface 5a extending orthogonally to the rotational axis 5b of the substrate holder 5. Optionally, the coating device 9 has a plurality of coating sources, each arranged above or below the substrate surface 5a for coating the lower or upper surface of the substrates 6. The coating device 9 coats the substrates 6 positioned on the substrate holder 5 with a layer sequence consisting of at least one layer with a layer thickness of one coating material each.

[0038] For the automatic loading and unloading of the substrate holder 5 with the substrates 6 and functional elements 1, the coating system 1 comprises a loading device 7. The loading device 7 preferably comprises a first robot arm for loading and unloading, and for releasably securing and removing the substrates 6 on the substrate holder 5, and a second robot arm for loading and unloading, and for releasably securing and removing the functional elements 19 on the substrate holder 5. Optionally, the loading device 7 can comprise a single robot arm for loading and unloading, and for releasably securing and removing the substrates 6 and functional elements 19. Advantageously, the substrates 6 are introduced into or removed from the process chamber 2 in a substrate magazine and positioned individually on the substrate holder 5 by means of the loading device 7.

[0039] Figure 3 shows a cross-section of the plate-shaped substrate holder 5 with two annular functional elements 19a and 19b held by the functional holder. The functional holder for the functional element 19b, a substrate bearing ring 19b, is a circular recess in the substrate holder 5, complementary to the outer contour of the substrate bearing ring 19b, which receives the substrate bearing ring 19b in a form-fitting manner and releasably secures it in the recess by gravity. The substrate holding ring 19a is positively mounted in the substrate bearing ring 19b by a recess formed in the substrate bearing ring 19b complementary to the outer contour of the substrate holding ring 19a, in particular, it can be releasably secured indirectly to the substrate holder 5.According to the invention, the substrate holder 5 is essentially outside the effective range 75a, 75b of a coating device 9, which, in the present embodiment, coats the substrate surface above in the effective range 75a and below in the effective range 75b. By repeatedly applying the coatings, the functional elements 19, in particular the substrate support ring 19b and the substrate support ring 19a, are coated with multiple layer sequences, whereby the coating can be different between the substrate support ring 19b and the substrate support ring 19a.Figure 4 shows the coating system 1 comprising a system interface 15, a layer sensor 40 for measuring coating parameter values ​​13 of the coating material applied to the substrates 6 and / or functional elements 19 to form the layer sequence, and a control unit 10 for controllably controlling the coating system 1, in particular the coating device 9, the loading device 7, the lock device 3, and the remaining components 53 by means of a control parameter 14.

[0040] The layer sensor 40 comprises an optical sensor and is an ex-situ measuring system used for quality assurance and quality monitoring of coatings on substrates 6 and / or functional elements 19, particularly on transparent substrates 6, particularly for functional layer sequences. The layer sensor 40 is also suitable for the optical characterization and measurement of the layer resistance of coatings on the substrates 6.

[0041] The control unit 10 further comprises a system module 16 and a human-machine interface (HMI) 41 for displaying at least one of the functional element parameters 20, an element module 18 for managing the functional elements 19 and controlling the loading device 7 and the lock device 3 for handling the functional elements 19 by them; and a layer system database 17 with at least one coating recipe 16 and for storing, searching, and loading one of the at least one coating recipe 29.

[0042] The system module 16 communicates with the layer system database 17, the system interface 15, the element module 18, and the HMI 41. Coating parameter values ​​13 generated by the layer sensor 40 can be received by the system module 16 via the system interface 15, and control parameters 14 generated by the system module 16 for controlling the coating system 1, in particular the coating device 9, loading device 7, the remaining components 53, and the lock device 3, can be sent from the system module 16 via the system interface 15 to the lock device 3, the loading device 7, the coating device 9, and / or the remaining components 53 of the coating system 1. Furthermore, the system interface 15 is designed such that one or more peripheral devices can be controlled by the system module 16 via the system interface 15.

[0043] For storing a selected coating recipe 29 for applying the layer sequence to the substrates 6, the system module 16 has a system memory 72, wherein the coating recipe 29 has a process parameter 31 for configuring the coating system 1 for coating the substrates 6, a layer parameter 37 for defining the layer characteristics of the layer sequence, a substrate parameter 38 for recording the substrate properties of the substrates 6 to be coated and an element parameter 26 for specifying the functional elements 19 used for applying the coating recipe 29.

[0044] The process parameter 31 includes the process pressure or process pressure profile in the process chamber 2, the rotational speed of the substrate holder 5, and the power of the coating device 9 in order to initialize the coating system 1 for the coating process based on the coating recipe 29 loaded in the system memory 13. The layer parameter 37 includes the layer characteristics of the at least one layer of the layer sequence, including the layer material and the layer thickness of the at least one layer of the layer sequence. The substrate parameter 38 includes a substrate diameter, a number of substrates 6 to be coated, and a substrate thickness. The element parameter 26 includes an element type 22 of the functional elements 19, for example, a substrate holding ring, substrate support ring, or test glass, an element dimension 23 of the functional elements 19, and an element position 14 of the functional elements 19.

[0045] The element module 18 communicates with the system module 18 and comprises an element memory 24 for storing the functional element parameters 20 of the functional elements 19 stored and managed in the coating system 1, a selection module 25 with a threshold value 33 for generating an element control signal for managing and positioning the functional elements 19 and identifying functional elements 19 with a critical coating based on at least one of the functional parameters 20 and / or coating parameters 20 and / or coating recipe 29 stored in the system memory. Element parameters 26 can be received from the system module 16, wherein the selection module 25 defines the functional elements 19 to be used for the coating based on the element parameters 26 and generates corresponding functional parameter values ​​20 and stores them as functional parameters 20 in the element memory 24.The functional parameter values ​​20 are stored as a matrix in the element memory 24, with a dimension nxm, where n is the number of functional elements 1 managed by the element module 18 and m is the number m of different functional parameters 20. The functional parameters 20 include a number of layer sequences applied to the functional elements 19, a number of coatings, an element position 23, an element type 21, an identification number 21 of the functional elements 19, an element dimension 23, or diameter of the functional elements 19, and a layer indicator 28 for classifying the functional elements 19 as critically coated or non-critically coated. The threshold value 33 has a vector (nx 1 ) and includes the threshold value 33 assigned to the corresponding functional element parameter 20.

[0046] The element control signal can be received by the system module 16, wherein the system module 16 generates the control signal for handling the functional elements 19 based on the element control signal and the coating recipe 29 loaded into the system memory 13 and / or the coating parameter values ​​13 and / or the control parameter values ​​14, in particular functional elements 19 with a critical coating can be automatically exchanged based on the control signal.

[0047] The layer indicator 28 specifies a coating per functional element 19, whereby the coating is generated by the selection module 25 depending on the loaded coating recipe 29 and the element type, for example, substrate support ring or substrate retaining ring per functional element 19. Particularly for the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the substrate support ring 19b is exposed to a coating in the effective range 75b, and the substrate retaining ring 19a is exposed to a coating in the effective range 75a. In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the selection module 25 accumulates the layer thickness(es) of the layer sequence specified in the coating recipe 29 for each functional element 19 fixed in the substrate holder 5. For functional elements 19 with a cumulative layer thickness of the functional parameter value greater than the corresponding threshold value 33 for a cumulative layer thickness, a layer indicator 28 with the value "critical" is generated.In a further preferred embodiment according to the invention, the selection module 25 counts the number of layer sequences coated on the specified functional element for each functional element 19 fixed in the substrate holder 5, wherein for functional elements 1 with a number of layer sequences of the functional parameter value greater than the corresponding threshold value 33 for a number of layer sequences, a layer indicator 28 with the value "critical" is generated.

[0048] The HMI 41 is connectable to the system module 16 and has a user interface with visualization functions for the visual or audio-visual representation of information from the coating system 1, in particular for displaying the process parameter values ​​31, the substrate parameter values ​​38, the functional element parameter values ​​20, the coating parameter values ​​13, a key performance index, and / or coating times. The user interface comprises a screen built into the coating system 1 and / or a smartphone and / or a tablet.

[0049] Figure 5 shows a method according to the invention for coating substrates 6 by means of the coating system 1, comprising a system method 60 and an element method 70. The system method 60 has a system configuration 61, an infeed 62, a coating method 63, an outfeed 64 and a recipe selection 59.

[0050] The recipe selection 59 comprises a selection of a coating recipe 29 from the layer system database 17 for coating the substrates 6 with a layer sequence defined by the selected coating recipe 29 and a loading of the element parameters 26, process parameters 31, layer parameters 37 and substrate parameter values ​​38 of the selected coating recipe 29 into the system memory 13 of the system module 18. The selected coating recipe 29 is visualized for the operator by means of the HMI 41.

[0051] In the following system configuration 61, the coating system 1 is configured based on the process parameter 31; in particular, the process parameters are sent from the system module 16 to the remaining components 53 for control via the system interface 15; and the substrate parameter values ​​38 and element parameter values ​​are sent from the system module 16 to the element module 18.

[0052] In the element configuration 29, the selection module 25 generates an element control signal based on the substrate parameter values ​​38 and / or element parameter values ​​26 and / or layer parameter values ​​37 received from the system module 16 for controlling the loading of the substrate holder 5 with the functional elements 1 selected by the selection module and sends this to the system module 18. The system module 18 generates a control signal 14 based on the element control signal and sends this via the system interface 15 to the loading device 7 and to the lock device 3 for loading the selected functional elements 19 from the storage device, positioning and securing the selected functional elements 19 on the substrate holder 5.The element control signal further comprises an error signal for signaling missing functional elements 19, which is signaled by means of the HMI 41 and / or by means of a peripheral device not shown, further functional elements 19 are introduced into the process chamber 2 by means of the lock device 3.

[0053] In the substrate infeed 62, the uncoated substrates 6 to be coated and stored in the substrate magazine are fed by means of the lock device 3 into the process chamber 2 of the coating system 1, which is vacuumed to the process pressure.

[0054] During coating 63, the substrates 6 to be coated are automatically separated from the substrate magazine by the loading device 5 controlled by the control unit 10 and positioned on the substrate holder 5, and releasably secured to the substrate holder 5 by means of selected functional elements 19. The substrates 6 positioned on the substrate holder 5 are positioned by the drive 42 relative to the coating device 7 and coated by the coating device. The coating sensor 40 measures the coating on the substrates 6 secured to the substrate holder 5 ex situ and generates the coating parameters 13 in real time. The coating parameters 13 are sent via the system interface 15 to the system module 18 to generate the control parameters for controlling the coating process. The element method 70 comprises an element monitoring 36 for continuously monitoring the coating on the functional elements 19 selected by the selection module 25.The selection module 25 generates, on the one hand, the functional element parameter values ​​20 of the selected functional elements 1 based on the selected coating recipe 29 and, on the other hand, generates the layer indicator 28 based on the pre-existing functional element parameter values ​​20 of the selected functional elements 19 and the threshold value 33, wherein the layer indicator 28 includes the values ​​"non-critical" or "critical." Functional elements 19 with the layer indicator "critical" are no longer suitable for performing further coating and are automatically replaced by the loading device 7.

[0055] In addition, the selection module 25 performs an element configuration 29 for each discharge of substrates 64 of the coated substrates 6, wherein the selection module 25 generates the element control signal based on the layer indicator 28 in order to automatically exchange selected functional elements 19 with a layer indicator 28 "critical", in particular to remove them from the substrate holder 5 and to position them in the lock device 3 for discharge into the storage device.wherein the substrates (6) are automatically positioned on the substrate holder (5) for coating by means of a loading device (9) of the substrate holder (5) controlled by a control unit (10) and are unloaded from the substrate holder (5) after coating, and wherein coating material is applied to the substrates (6) by means of a coating device (8) of the coating system (1), wherein the coating device (8) is automatically controlled by means of a control unit (10) based on measured coating parameter values ​​of the substrates (6), at least comprising the layer thickness applied to a substrate (6) and / or the number of coatings of a substrate (6).

[0056] In the subsequent discharge section 62, the substrates 6 coated with the layer sequence are discharged from the process chamber 2 by means of the lock device 3. During a coating process, a recipe is loaded into the recipe memory of the system module 18 by means of the human machine interface 41. Based on the stored recipe, the substrate holder 5 is equipped with the functional elements 19 required for implementation and, if necessary, are fed into the process chamber 2 by means of the lock device 3. The substrates 6 to be coated are fed into the process chamber 2 in a substrate magazine, and the system module 18 generates the system parameters based on the stored recipe and the measured coating parameters. The stored recipe is applied to a number of substrates 6 according to the inputs on the human machine interface 41.If the number of substrates 6 exceeds the loading capacity of the substrate magazine, additional loading and unloading of substrates 6 is carried out by means of the lock device 3.

[0057] The element module 18 has functional element parameters 20, a determination unit and a threshold value, wherein the functional element parameter 20 comprises at least a number of coatings carried out with a functional element 1 and / or number of substrates 6 coated with a functional element 19 and / or layer thickness of the coating material measured on the functional element 19, and the determination unit generates the element control signal 13 for the automatic exchange of the functional element(s) 19 based on the functional element parameter 20 and the threshold value and sends it to the loading device 7 and the lock device 3 by means of the system interface 13.

[0058] Reference list

[0059] 1 coating system process chamber lock device

[0060] 5 substrate holders

[0061] 6 Substrat

[0062] 7 Loading device

[0063] 9 Coating device

[0064] 10 Control unit

[0065] 12 Element control signal

[0066] 13 Coating parameters

[0067] 14 control parameters

[0068] 15 System interface

[0069] 16 Investment module

[0070] 17 Shift system database

[0071] 18 Element module

[0072] 19 functional elements

[0073] 20 function element parameters

[0074] 21 Identification

[0075] 22 Element layer thickness

[0076] 23 number of element layers

[0077] 24 element storage

[0078] 25 Selection module

[0079] 26 element parameters

[0080] 27 Determination unit

[0081] 28 Shift indicator

[0082] 29 Coating recipe

[0083] 30 Element criterion

[0084] 31 process parameters

[0085] 33 Threshold

[0086] 34 First loading lock 35 Second loading lock

[0087] 36 Storage device

[0088] 37 layer parameters

[0089] 38 Substrate parameters 39 Element control signal

[0090] 40 layer sensor

[0091] 41 Human Machine Interface

[0092] 42 drive

[0093] 43 Magnetron sputter cathode 44 Vacuum pump

[0094] 45 layer thickness

[0095] 46 number of shifts

Claims

Claims 1. A coating system (1) for coating substrates (6), comprising a vacuumable process chamber (2), a lock device (3) for introducing and removing the substrates (6) into and from the process chamber (2), a substrate holder (5) mounted in the process chamber (2), wherein, for applying coating material to a substrate (6) with a coating device (9), the substrates (6) can be releasably positioned on the substrate holder (5), a loading device (9) for automatically loading and unloading the substrate holder (5) with the substrates (6), and a control unit (10) for controllably controlling the coating device (9) based on measured coating parameter values of the applied coating material, at least comprising an applied layer thickness and / or a number of coatings, characterized in that the coating system (1) comprises a plurality of functional elements (19),which can be removably secured to the substrate holder (5) by means of a functional element holder, wherein the substrates (6) can be releasably positioned on functional elements (19) during coating, and that the control unit (10) comprises storable functional element parameters (20) comprising at least the number of coatings carried out with a functional element (19) and / or the number of substrates (6) coated with a functional element (19) and / or the layer thickness of the coating material measured on the functional element (19), wherein a functional element (19) is automatically exchangeable independently of substrates (6) based on the measured functional element parameters (20) by means of the loading device (9) controlled by the control unit (10).

2. Coating system (1) for coating substrates (6) according to claim 1, characterized in that the coating system (1) has a storage device (36) for storing at least one of the functional elements (19).

3. Coating system (1) for coating substrates (6) according to claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the control unit (10) comprises an element control signal (39), wherein the element control signal (39) can be generated by the control unit (10) based on at least one functional element parameter (20) and the lock device (3) and the loading device (9) can be controlled by the element control signal (12).

4. Coating system (1) for coating substrates (6) according to claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the coating system (1) comprises a second lock device for introducing and discharging the functional elements (19) from the process chamber (2).

5. Coating system (1) for coating substrates (6) according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the functional elements (20) comprise a substrate holding ring and / or a test glass and / or a substrate bearing ring and / or a cover glass.

6. Coating system (1) for coating substrates (6) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the coating system (1) comprises a layer sensor (40) for measuring the layer thickness.

7. Coating system (1) for coating substrates (6) according to claim 6, characterized in that the layer sensor (40) comprises an optical sensor.

8. Coating system (1) for coating substrates (6) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the control unit (10) has a layer system database (17) with at least one coating recipe (29), wherein the coating recipe (29) has an identification of at least one functional element and / or the layer characteristic of the layer structure (8).

9. Coating system (1) for coating substrates (6) according to claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the control unit (10) has a human machine interface (41) for displaying at least one functional element parameter (20).

10. A method for coating substrates (6) by means of a coating system (1), wherein substrates (6) to be coated are introduced into a vacuumable process chamber (2) of the coating system (1) by means of a lock device (3) and, after coating, are removed from the vacuumable process chamber (2) by means of the lock device (3), wherein the substrates (6) to be coated are held by means of a substrate holder (5) during coating, wherein the substrates (6) are automatically positioned on the substrate holder (5) for coating by means of a loading device (9) of the substrate holder (5) controlled by a control unit (10) and are unloaded from the substrate holder (5) after coating, and wherein the substrates (6) are coated by means of a coating device (8) of the coating system (1),wherein the coating device (8) is automatically controlled by means of a control unit (10) based on measured coating parameter values of the substrates (6), at least comprising the layer thickness applied to a substrate (6) and / or the number of coatings of a substrate (6), characterized in that functional elements (19) are removably positioned on the substrate holder (5) by means of the loading device (9), wherein the substrates (6) are releasably positioned on the functional elements (19) for coating by means of the loading device (9), and that functional elements (19) are automatically exchanged by means of the loading device (9) controlled by the control unit (10) based on measured functional element parameters (20), at least comprising the number of coatings carried out with a functional element (19) and / or the number of substrates (6) coated with a functional element (19).wherein a functional element (19) is positioned on the substrate holder (5) for coating a plurality of substrates (6). 1 1. Method for coating substrates (6) according to claim 10, characterized in that the control unit (10) generates an element control signal (12) for controlling the exchange of the functional elements (19) based on at least one functional element parameter (20).

12. Method for coating substrates (6) according to claims 10 to 11, characterized in that the control unit (10) communicates with the lock device (3) and, based on the element control signal (12), regulates the introduction and removal of the functional elements (19) through the lock device (3).

13. Method for coating substrates (6) according to claims 10 to 11, characterized in that the control unit (10) communicates with the loading device (9) and the lock device (9) and regulates the exchange of the functional elements (19) by the loading device (9) and the lock device (3) by means of the element control signal (13), wherein the functional elements (19) are loaded and unloaded by the loading device (9) from the substrate holder (5) and / or the interior of the process chamber (2) and the functional elements (19) can be stored in a storage device (36).

14. A method for coating substrates (6) according to claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the functional elements (19) and the substrates (6) can be introduced into and removed from the process chamber (2) separately.

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