Fixture for cylindrical elongated substrates used in PVD processes

Abstract

A fixture mechanism for use within a vacuum chamber (16) of a vacuum processing mechanism comprises a spindle (1), a gear, herein referred to as a sun gear (2), a cylindrical object, herein referred to as a reel (3), which allows the gear to mesh with the cylindrical object to rotate the cylindrical object, and a retaining plate (4), wherein the sun gear (2) and reel (3) are fabricated to rotate the reel by allowing the sun gear (2) to mesh with the reel (3).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a fixture used in a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process for processing cylindrical elongated workpieces. In the context of the present invention, the term workpiece also includes tools such as cutting tools. The fixture of the present invention is suitable for coating workpieces made of any substrate, which workpieces are suitable for being coated by a PVD process using any type of coating mechanism and can be produced using a PVD process. The fixture of the present invention is particularly suitable for coating substrates using any type of cathodic arc deposition and sputter deposition process. [Background technology]

[0002] It is known in the art to pretreat, coat, and post-treat workpieces in the vacuum chamber of a vacuum processing system to enhance certain properties of the workpieces. These properties include, but are not limited to, resistance to abrasive and corrosive wear. Coating processes used for this purpose include, but are not limited to, thin-film deposition methods such as PVD, CVD, and PACVD, as well as thick-film deposition methods. To ensure reliable adhesion and uniformity of the coating on all workpieces, the workpieces must be thoroughly cleaned before the PVD coating is deposited. Proven pretreatment methods for enhancing adhesion of the coating to the substrate include heating by electron bombardment, as known from DE 3330144, sputter etching using noble gas ions, as described in DE 2833876, and etching the workpiece by chemical reaction. PVD techniques include cathodic arc deposition, electron beam physical vapor deposition, evaporation, proximity sublimation, pulsed laser deposition, sputter deposition, pulsed electron deposition, and sublimation sandwich methods. Additionally, the workpiece can be post-treated, for example, by polishing the surface to remove droplets that typically form during cathodic arc deposition and to improve anti-friction behavior. However, this list of methods for pre-treating, coating, and post-treating workpieces is not exhaustive.

[0003] PVD deposition techniques, such as cathodic arc evaporation or sputter deposition (sometimes referred to as sputtering), are carried out in a vacuum chamber of a vacuum processing facility. As mentioned above, PVD is a method for depositing thin films on the surface of a substrate. The use of PVD methods is generally suitable for depositing coatings with thicknesses of several microns, preferably 1 to 50 microns.

[0004] In order to obtain as uniform a distribution of coating thickness and quality as possible, it is extremely important to control the movement of the workpiece past the processing and etching sources. The parts to be pre-treated, coated, and / or post-treated are often fixed to individual workpiece holders that are arranged symmetrically about a mechanism axis or rotatably mounted on a carousel-like workpiece support. Known industrial equipment usually uses workpiece holders or carousel-like workpiece supports that are rotatably connected to a vacuum chamber, typically the bottom of the vacuum chamber.

[0005] Uniform treatment of the workpieces being processed, and therefore uniform coating thickness, is often achieved by using a workpiece carrier device with a triple motion. Accordingly, a first mechanism is provided that can rotate about a central axis relative to the equipment. The first rotation mechanism is hereinafter referred to as the sun mechanism. A second rotation mechanism is provided on the sun mechanism, with its rotation axis offset parallel to the rotation axis of the sun mechanism. The second rotation mechanism is hereinafter referred to as the planetary mechanism. A third rotation mechanism, hereinafter referred to as the lunar mechanism, is provided on the planetary mechanism, with its rotation axis parallel to the planetary and sun mechanisms. The connections between the sun mechanism, planetary mechanism, and lunar mechanism are often realized through forced connections and gear mechanisms. The lunar mechanism can be set to rotate intermittently or continuously.

[0006] In US6620254, Zaech and Kunz disclose a workpiece support for vacuum processing, particularly a coating machine, exhibiting triple motion. A sun mechanism is rotatable about an axis relative to the machine and is coupled to a drive mechanism on the machine side. A second rotation mechanism, called a planetary mechanism, whose rotation axis is offset parallel to the rotation axis of the sun mechanism, is provided with a drive connection to the machine. A third rotation mechanism, called a lunar mechanism, whose rotation axis is parallel to the rotation axes of the sun mechanism and planetary mechanism, is rotatably mounted and provides a drive connection with the lunar mechanism. The drive connection is established to provide continuous motion. Due to a forced connection and gear mechanism, the disclosed workpiece support exhibits the characteristic motion of a lunar mechanism during operation, which is known to those skilled in the art.

[0007] In EP 2048263 B1, Esser and Zaech disclose a workpiece carrier with a configuration that provides the ability to easily change the transmission ratio. The primary advantage of the disclosed workpiece carrier is that it simultaneously provides a simple starting mechanism and the ability to change the transmission ratio. The base frame is rotatable about a main axis and is powered by a single electric motor. Starting is not performed using a central actuator. Instead, a torque-resistant gear is fixed to the swivel base, and another gear is mounted on the periphery of the carousel. The two gears mesh with each other. The motor provides power to the gear on the periphery of the carousel, which rotates the workpiece carrier. The workpiece holder is connected to the central axis via a gear to create forced rotation of the workpiece holder. This type of configuration results in continuous rotation of the workpiece, which is particularly important for depositing thin, multi-layer coatings. The transmission ratio can be adjusted by changing the size, i.e., the number of teeth, of the gear.

[0008] For elongated workpieces, as in the above-mentioned patents, the workpiece holder is often mounted on the lunar mechanism so that the workpiece is positioned vertically, e.g., the axis of elongation of the workpiece is parallel to all of the rotational axes of the lunar mechanisms described in the above-mentioned patents.

[0009] If the workpiece size is small enough, the carrier structure can be provided with tables evenly distributed longitudinally in order to coat as many workpieces as possible in only one workpiece batch, which is obviously limited by the size and elongation of the workpieces.

[0010] A problem arises when large-diameter cylindrical workpieces must be processed evenly across their entire surface. The processing quality in the front area is not the same as that in the side areas. To avoid this problem, these types of workpieces are usually mounted on special workpiece holders that tilt the workpiece at a specific angle relative to the workpiece holder's central axis of rotation. While other angles are possible, a 45° tilt has been found to provide the best processing quality. The entire workpiece rotation can be described as a double rotation of the workpiece. The first rotation is the rotation of the workpiece mounted in the center of the spindle, and the second rotation is the rotation of the carousel that carries the spindle.

[0011] The elongation of some workpieces and the design of current state-of-the-art fixtures limits the number of workpieces that can be processed within the vacuum chamber of a vacuum processing mechanism. The length of an elongated workpiece that can be inserted into a vacuum processing chamber is highly dependent on the angle at which the elongated workpiece is tilted. A 45° tilt angle of the workpiece has been found to be ideal for coating processes, so current state-of-the-art fixtures are often designed with this angle in mind.

[0012] However, tilting the elongated workpiece at an angle of approximately 45° results in a loss of space within the vacuum chamber of such a vacuum mechanism, thereby severely limiting the number of workpieces that can be loaded and processed within said vacuum chamber at the same time. Summary of the Invention

[0013] The present invention aims to provide a fixture for cylindrical elongated workpieces that allows for simultaneous processing of the side and front regions of the workpiece. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fixture that allows for processing of workpieces that are elongated further than can be processed in state-of-the-art fixtures, and in particular, when using a coating chamber of a given size and volume, the workpieces of the present invention can be elongated further than state-of-the-art workpieces. Another object of the present invention is to increase the number of such elongated workpieces that can be inserted into the vacuum chamber of a vacuum mechanism at one time in order to reduce production costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] These objectives are achieved by the present invention, which provides a fixture for cylindrically elongated workpieces. The dual tilt of the fixture in both the radial and rotational directions reduces the volume occupied by each elongated workpiece, allowing the vacuum chamber of a vacuum mechanism to load larger workpiece batch sizes while still operating economically feasibly. Furthermore, the fixture design of the present invention also allows for the insertion of more elongated workpieces that cannot be loaded into the vacuum chamber with state-of-the-art fixtures. Additionally, the rotation of the fixture of the present invention allows for uniform coating thickness distribution throughout the side and front regions of the workpiece. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the fixture of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a top view of one embodiment of a fixture of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of a fixture of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a fixture of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 illustrates one preferred aspect of the present invention in which multiple fixtures of the present invention are stacked and mounted on a spindle. [Figure 6]1 is a schematic diagram of a PVD coating chamber with a carousel and spindles. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a fixture of the present invention showing the maximum enclosing cylindrical diameter Dx.

[0016] Labeling the Drawing 1 spindle 2 Sun gear 3 Rotating sleeves / reels 4 Retaining Plate 5 Support Plate 6 slots 7 Rotation axis of sleeve 3 8 Rotation axis of spindle 1 9 Central part 10 Arm 11 Longitudinal arm direction 12 hands 13 Longitudinal hand direction 15. Carousel 16 PVD coating chambers α angle between arms β Angle between hand and arm γ: Inclination angle of the rotation axis of the reel (substrate) with respect to the center of the holding plate (plane B) B A plane that is at a 90° angle to the spindle and overlaps the center of the retaining plate DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] In the context of the present invention, the rotating sleeve, also referred to herein as reel 3 shown in FIG. 1, is preferably defined as a cylindrical object. In other embodiments not shown, the rotating sleeve can have another shape, such as a cone or a sphere. The rotating sleeve can also have a combination of shapes, such as a combination of a cylindrical object and a conical object. The rotating sleeve, being a cylindrical object, includes a bottom, a top, and a wall. The wall, also referred to as a side region, connects the bottom to the top. In the embodiment shown in the present invention, the rotating sleeve is hollow. In other embodiments, the rotating sleeve can also be filled with a material. Preferably, the rotating sleeve is made of a single material, but it can also be made of different parts containing the same or different materials.

[0018] The rotating sleeve, which is preferably a cylindrical body, has properties that allow gears to mesh with it to rotate it. The rotating sleeve can be realized, for example, as a cylindrical body with slots 6 along its side regions, which are manufactured so that suitable gears can mesh with the slots 6. The slots 6 preferably extend along substantially the entire length of the wall, specifically, the slots 6 extend along more than 70%, preferably more than 75%, preferably more than 80%, and most preferably more than 90% of the entire length of the wall. The slots 6 are preferably arranged symmetrically around the rotation axis 7 of the rotating sleeve 3 (FIGS. 1 and 5). The slots 6 have the shape of elongated holes, oval holes, and slots, also known as long slots. The elongation direction of the slots 6, which is the direction of their longest extension, is inclined with respect to the rotation axis 7 of the rotating sleeve 3. As will be explained later, the inclination depends on the inclination of parts of the holding plate 4, such as the hands 12.

[0019] Each rotating sleeve comprises at least four, more preferably at least six, more preferably at least eight, and even more preferably eleven or more slots 6. Furthermore, in the context of the present invention, a sun gear is defined as a gear in a first rotatable mechanism called the sun mechanism.

[0020] The present invention discloses a fixture for use within a vacuum chamber of a vacuum processing mechanism, preferably for processing elongated cylindrical workpieces. Of course, workpieces that are not elongated or have non-cylindrical shapes can also be processed. Workpieces that can be coated using the fixture of the present invention include, for example, sanitary parts such as: -faucet -Faucet body - spout -Pump operator head -cap -Dispenser body, e.g. soap dispenser -Coat hook body -Toilet paper roll holder body

[0021] However, the workpieces, also referred to as substrates, that can be coated using the fixture of the present invention are not limited to the above list. Additionally, the fixture of the present invention allows for substrates of various sizes to be coated simultaneously.

[0022] The fixture of the present invention comprises a spindle 1, a sun gear 2, a holding plate 4, and a reel 3. A workpiece holder, not shown, is adaptably mountable on the reel 3. Thus, the at least one reel 3 and the at least one substrate are tilted in radial and rotational directions, as will be described in more detail below.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 5, multiple holding plates 4 can be mounted on the spindle 1. For ease of explanation, only one holding plate 4 is exemplarily shown below as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. At least one holding plate 4 is mounted on at least one spindle 1. The holding plate is preferably mounted on the spindle 1 by clamping. However, multiple holding plates 4 (FIG. 5) can be mounted on the same spindle 1 by stacking them vertically. Vertically means that the holding plates 4 are stacked on top of each other along the rotation axis 8 of the spindle 1 (FIG. 5). When multiple holding plates 4 are stacked in this way, the number of holding plates 4 that can be stacked depends on the substrate length. In other words, the distance between two holding plates 4 measured parallel to the rotation axis 8 of the spindle 1 is smaller for shorter substrates than for longer substrates.

[0024] In this text, the portion of the retaining plate 4 where the retaining plate 4 is mounted on the spindle 1 is referred to as the central portion 9 of the retaining plate 4. The central portion 9 of the retaining plate 4 is preferably a flat plate, but can have a cylindrical shape. The central portion 9 of the retaining plate 4 is preferably rotationally symmetrical with respect to the axis of rotation 8 of the spindle 1 when mounted on the spindle 1. When mounted on the spindle 1, the central portion 9 of the retaining plate 4 lies in a plane B (FIG. 5), and a normal N of the plane B is parallel to the axis of rotation 8 of the spindle 1.

[0025] In addition to the central portion 9, the holding plate 4 includes at least one portion extending substantially radially outward from the center, hereinafter referred to as an arm 10. The arm 10 extends in a longitudinal arm direction 11. In this embodiment, the longitudinal arm direction 11 is the main direction of extension of the arm 10. However, the longitudinal arm direction 11 can also be defined as a direction extending radially from the rotation axis 8 of the spindle 1. The arms 10 are attached to the central portion 9 in a rotationally symmetrical manner. Therefore, the angle between the two longitudinal arm directions 11 of two adjacent arms 10 is 360° divided by the number of arms 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the holding plate 4 includes three arms 10, so the angle between the two arms 10, or more precisely, the angle between the longitudinal arm directions 11 of two adjacent arms 10, is 120°. The longitudinal arm direction 11 forms an angle of approximately 90° with respect to the rotation axis 8 of the spindle 1.

[0026] As mentioned above, the holding plate 4 can include two or more arms 10, preferably two to ten arms 10. Another portion of the holding plate 4, referred to herein as the hand 12, is attached to the arm 10. The hand 12 extends in a longitudinal hand direction 13. In this embodiment, the longitudinal hand direction 13 is the primary direction of extension of the hand 12 in the plane of the central portion 9. The hand 12 is attached to the central portion 9 in a rotationally symmetric manner via the arm 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the longitudinal hand direction 13 forms an angle of approximately 90° with respect to the longitudinal arm direction 11 attached to the holding plate 4. In other embodiments, this angle may be preferably between 70° and 110°. In a preferred embodiment, this angle may be preferably between 50° and 130°. Again, this angle is measured in the plane of the central portion 9, e.g., plane B.

[0027] Furthermore, as best seen in FIGS. 5 and 3, the hands 12 are oriented outwardly of plane B of the central portion 9. In manufacturing terms, the hands 12 are bent from the arms 10. The hands 12 are oriented along a tangent to the sun gear 2, as described later in this text. Furthermore, the longitudinal hand direction 13 outside of plane B is inclined at an angle of about 20° to 70°, preferably about 45°, relative to plane B, or in other words, at an angle of 70° to 20°, preferably about 45°, relative to the normal N of plane B. Coating quality is maximized at this angle of the central portion 9 of the holding plate 4 relative to plane B (shown as B in all drawings). The arms 10 of the holding plate 4 include means for mounting the reels 3 thereon. By changing the type of holding plate 4 (e.g., by changing the number of arms 10, thereby changing the number of hands 12), and thereby changing the number of reels 3, the fixture of the present invention can be adapted to various quantities of substrates.

[0028] The reel 3 simultaneously performs the functions of both bevel and planetary gears. Replacing the bevel and planetary gears with the reel 3 ensures a more compact and lightweight structure compared to state-of-the-art fixtures. Furthermore, fewer parts are required to construct a reel 3 of this type compared to state-of-the-art fixtures that use bevel and planetary gears, reducing the overall complexity of the fixture of the present invention.

[0029] The reel 3 is provided with a means for allowing the sun gear 2 to mesh with the reel 3, causing the reel 3 to rotate as the sun gear 2 rotates. This can be achieved, for example, but not limited to, by a slot along the periphery of the reel 3 or by a protrusion, such as a gear, as in the state of the art. Preferably, an inclined slot extends along the periphery of the reel 3, allowing the sun gear to mesh with the reel, thereby causing the reel to rotate. The reel 3 is manufactured at a predetermined angle and radius to ensure ideal operation on the sun gear 2. This benefits from a continuous and uniform coating of the side and front areas of the workpiece.

[0030] The sun gear 2 is a gear mounted on the spindle and manufactured to mesh with the reel 3 to rotate the reel. During operation, the sun gear 2 interlocks externally. The locking can be achieved, for example, by a bolt. Another example of locking is a small brake similar to a vehicle's handbrake. In yet another example of locking, a metal sheet is fixed to the sun gear 2, specifically, by screwing, welding, gluing, or soldering the metal sheet to the sun gear 2. The metal sheet preferably includes a metal sheet arm attached to the metal sheet. Preferably, the metal sheet arm and the metal sheet are one piece. The metal sheet arm is preferably fixed by the carousel's central rod. Thus, a restraint can be achieved. If multiple holding plates are stacked on one spindle 1, multiple sun gears 2 are required. More precisely, one sun gear 2 is required to rotate one or more reels 3 of one holding plate 4.

[0031] The sun gear 2 and the reel 3 form a special type of sun and planet combination, as is known from the prior art. However, since at least one reel 3 is inclined with respect to the sun gear 2, it is possible to accommodate workpieces that are even more elongated than the fixtures of the prior art. Furthermore, the inclination of the reel 3 is necessary in order to obtain a uniform coating throughout the entire side and front regions of the workpiece. Due to the adapted structure of the sun gear 2 and the reel 3, workpieces of various sizes can be processed in the vacuum chamber. The gear ratio of the sun gear 2 and the reel 3 can be adjusted by changing the diameter. The gear ratio i = sun gear: reel is preferably selected such that 1:2 < i < 1:10. The limiting factor when changing the above-mentioned diameter for using the substrate fixture of the present invention in the coating chamber can preferably be the maximum circumferential cylinder diameter Dx of the spindle 1 (Fig. 7). The term "maximum circumferential cylinder diameter of the spindle" specifically means the maximum circumferential cylinder diameter Dx of each spindle of the carousel that can be used to hold the highest quality substrate (workpiece) when performing a process (e.g., a coating process) in the coating chamber. In this embodiment, the circumferential circle, or in three dimensions (as already described above) the circumferential cylinder, is the space in which the substrate to be coated can be placed. If it goes outside this circle / cylinder, the substrates from two different spindles of the carousel will collide. Generally, since each plant can preferably have its own carousel, the diameter of the circumferential circle / cylinder can vary from plant to plant. Fig. 7 shows what is to be understood as the maximum circumferential cylinder diameter Dx in the context of this embodiment. Therefore, the maximum circumferential diameter D of the spindle 1 (compare with Fig. 1) is smaller than the maximum circumferential cylinder diameter Dx (compare with Fig. 7).

[0032] One workpiece holder (not shown) can be mounted on each reel 3. Adaptive mounting of the workpiece holders on the reel 3 allows for changes in the type of substrates processed in various batches. Furthermore, the workpiece holders can be easily interchanged and quickly mounted on the reel 3 to accommodate different workpiece sizes and shapes. One or more retaining plates 4 can be mounted on the spindle 1, which in turn can be mounted on the carousel 15 (FIG. 6). One or more spindles 1 of the above types can be mounted on the carousel 15. As noted above, the fixture of the present invention is referred to as the first rotatable mechanism. The retaining plate 4 is secured to the spindle 1, preferably by clamping. Starting the spindle 1 forces the retaining plate 4 to rotate. The sun gear 2 is constrained outward during spindle 1 startup, resulting in the third rotation of the mechanism, rotation of the reel 3. In this first rotatable mechanism, the sun gear 2 is related to the sun, the rotation of the retaining plate 4 about the spindle 1 is related to the planetary rotation, and the rotation of the tilting reel about the central axis is related to the lunar rotation. The rotation of the carousel 15 on which the spindle 1 can be mounted is referred to as the second rotatable mechanism. The rotation of the carousel 15 can be either clockwise or counterclockwise. The direction of rotation of the carousel 15 does not affect the coating quality. The same applies to the spindle 1 and the fixture.

[0033] The embodiments of the present invention have been described for purposes of illustration and are meant to be illustrative only and therefore not limiting.

[0034] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the fixture of the present invention is mounted within a vacuum chamber 16 of a vacuum processing mechanism used to perform pre-treatment, post-treatment, and / or PVD processes on a workpiece, including ion etching, cathodic arc deposition, and sputtering, among others.

[0035] According to another aspect of the invention, a plurality of reels 3 are mounted on a carrier plate 4. The carrier plate 4 must then be manufactured to accommodate the desired number of reels 3. The number of reels 3 mounted on the carrier plate 4 depends on the size of the substrate. The number n is preferably selected such that 2≦n≦10. Most preferably, the number of reels is selected such that 3≦n≦5.

[0036] According to a preferred aspect of the present invention shown in Figure 5, multiple inventive fixtures are stacked and mounted on a spindle 1 to allow multiple substrates to be coated simultaneously. The number of inventive fixtures that can be stacked on a single spindle depends on the size of the workpieces to be coated. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the method of manufacturing reel 3 includes process steps, and additive processes are used to build the reel.

[0037] These additional processes include selective laser melting (SLM) techniques, conventional or computer numerically controlled (CNC) turning or milling, laser cutting (e.g., Trumpf Rotoplas). Most preferably, the reel 3 is manufactured using only additive processes. Manufacturing the reel 3 using additive manufacturing methods preferably results in cost reduction and process optimization.

[0038] According to one aspect of the present invention, the sun gear 2 is made of a metallic material. In contrast to plastic materials, metallic materials do not generate gases during elevated operating temperatures. The sun gear 2 is preferably made of stainless steel. Stainless steel exhibits good electrical conductivity, is non-magnetic, and does not rust. This material exhibits good temperature and mechanical stability within the specified operating parameters.

[0039] According to another aspect of the invention, the sun gear 2 is manufactured using water jet cutting, laser cutting, computer numerical control (CNC), or conventional turning or milling. The sun gear 2 is preferably manufactured using water jet cutting because water jet cutting reduces development effort and saves costs.

[0040] According to another aspect of the invention, the retaining plate is made of a metallic material, preferably made of 1.4301 stainless steel, which offers advantages such as weldability and formability, is non-magnetic, and has good machinability.

[0041] Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below. An exploded view of the preferred embodiment is shown in FIG. 1. Various views of this preferred embodiment of the fixture of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 2-4. The sun gear 2 is made of 1.4301 stainless steel and is preferably manufactured by laser cutting for low manufacturing costs. However, manufacturing methods such as turning, milling, and water-jet cutting can also be used. The sun gear 2 is rotatably mounted on the spindle 1. A holding plate 4 made of 1.4301 stainless steel is then fixed to the spindle 1 of the carousel 15 via clamping. Reels 3 can be accommodated on the holding plate 4 using holding sleeves. In this embodiment, the holding plate 4 is manufactured with three arms 10, and therefore three hands 12, to accommodate three reels 3. This results in an angle α between the arms 10 = 120°. As mentioned above, β is always approximately 90° in this embodiment, but in further embodiments it may be 70°-110°, 60°-120°, or 50°-110°. The reels are mounted on the fixture plate such that each reel 3 forms an angle γ=45° with respect to the center 9 (plane B) of the fixture plate. The reels 3 can also be manufactured using, for example, selective laser melting (SLM) technology, which requires increased investment in manufacturing technology. However, the reels 3 can also be manufactured using computer numerical control (CNC) technology. The reels 3 are manufactured with an inclined slot 6 extending along the periphery of the reel 3. The fixture of the present invention is then mounted on the spindle 1. As shown in FIG. 5, multiple fixtures can be stacked on the spindle 1. In this embodiment, for example, if the maximum encircling cylindrical diameter Dx of each spindle of the carousel is approximately 180 mm or more, the maximum encircling diameter D of the spindle 1 can be selected to be approximately 15 mm or more. Preferably, the maximum encircling cylindrical diameter Dx of each spindle of the carousel is approximately 180 mm or more. Preferably, the maximum encircling diameter D of the spindle 1 can be selected to be approximately 15 mm or more. These dimensional ranges are merely examples and should not be understood as limitations of the present invention.

[0042] According to one aspect of the invention, the fastener can be rotated outward by using a spring to create intermittent rotation instead of the continuous rotation introduced by the actuator.

[0043] Further preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in the following paragraphs.

[0044] Preferably, the retaining plate comprises a central portion located in a plane (B) that forms an angle of approximately 90° with the rotational axis of the spindle, a portion located in plane (B) and that forms an angle of approximately 90° with the rotational axis of the spindle and that faces generally radially outward from the central portion, referred to herein as the arm, and a portion attached to the arm, referred to herein as the hand, that has an angle of approximately 90° with the arm and an inclination (γ) of 20° to 70° with respect to plane (B), and that includes means for enabling loading of a reel onto the hand. Preferably, a plurality of retaining plates and the same number of sun gears are stacked and loaded onto the spindle, and ideally every sun gear is adjusted to at least one reel of one retaining plate. Preferably, the longitudinal arm direction presents approximately 90° to the axis of rotation of the spindle (1).

[0045] Preferably, the longitudinal direction in this disclosure means the main direction of the arm or hand part. The arm and hand are part of the holding plate (4), i.e. the arm is preferably a plate and the hand is preferably a plate. The longitudinal direction lies in the plane of the plate. The arm preferably has a longitudinal shape. The longitudinal direction of the arm extends along the longitudinal shape. The hand preferably has a longitudinal shape. The longitudinal direction of the hand extends along the longitudinal shape.

[0046] Preferably, one end of the arm is attached to the center portion, and the other end of the arm is attached to the hand.

[0047] Preferably, the holding plate (4) consists of a single part including a central part, arms and hands.

[0048] Preferably, the reel (3) has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, a top, and a wall connecting the bottom to the top. Preferably, the inclined slots are located in the wall. Preferably, the reel (3) is a hollow cylinder.

[0049] The reel (3) preferably comprises at least partly additionally manufactured material.

[0050] Preferably, the rotation speed of the substrate is the speed at which the substrate rotates about its own axis of rotation.Finally, the following alternative descriptions and features of the invention for which independent protection is sought can be provided:

[0051] The fixture mechanism used in the vacuum chamber of a vacuum processing mechanism comprises a spindle, a gear (sun gear), and a cylindrical object that exhibits properties that allow the gear to mesh with the cylindrical object to rotate it. The mechanism is designed so that the sun gear rotates the cylindrical object (which may be referred to as a "reel") about an axis that is curved and inclined relative to the line of rotation of the sun gear and that does not intersect with the line of rotation of the sun gear.

[0052] Protection is claimed for the above structures either independently or in combination with other additional features of the existing claims or specification.

[0053] Generally speaking, the mechanism preferably comprises several sun gears and reels belonging to the sun gears and mounted in a stack along the spindle, as shown in FIG. 5, which represents all possible variations.

[0054] Independent protection is sought for embodiments having the following features, independent of the embodiments and claims described above.

[0055] The fixture mechanism used within the vacuum chamber 16 of the vacuum processing mechanism includes: a spindle 1, a gear, herein referred to as sun gear 2, a cylindrical object, herein referred to as reel 3, exhibiting properties that enable the gear to mesh with the cylindrical object in order to rotate the cylindrical object, and a retaining plate 4, the retaining plate 4 being mounted on the spindle 1 while the sun gear 2 is rotatably mounted on the spindle 1 and externally interlocked during operation so that preferably the spindle 1 does not rotate the sun gear 2, and the reel 3 is mounted on the retaining plate 4, providing means to allow the loading of a workpiece holder onto the reel 3; the retaining plate 4 includes a central portion 9 located in a plane B, the normal N of which is parallel to the axis of rotation of the spindle 1; the holding plate 4 comprises arms 10 extending in a longitudinal arm direction 11, the arms 10 being attached to a central portion 9, the arms 10, preferably with their longitudinal arm direction 11 pointing substantially radially outwards from the central portion 9, the arms 10, preferably with their longitudinal arm direction 11 lying in a plane B, such that preferably the central portion 9 and the arms 10, preferably with their longitudinal arm direction 11, form an angle of approximately 90° with the rotation axis 7 of the spindle 1; the holding plate 4 comprises a hand 12 extending in a longitudinal hand direction 13, the hand 12 being attached to an arm 10, the hand 12, preferably the longitudinal hand direction 13, forming an angle of 50° to 130° with the arm 10, preferably the longitudinal arm direction 11, the hand 12, preferably the longitudinal hand direction 13, exhibiting an inclination of approximately 20° to 70° with respect to the normal direction N of the plane B, the hand 12 comprising a means for enabling the reel 3 to be mounted on the hand 12; The sun gear 2 and reel 3 are manufactured so that meshing the sun gear 2 with the reel 3 causes the reel to rotate.

Claims

1. 1. A fixture mechanism for use within a vacuum chamber (16) of a vacuum processing mechanism, comprising: A spindle (1), A gear called the sun gear (2), a cylindrical object called a reel (3) on which a workpiece holder is mounted and which exhibits properties that allow said gears to mesh with said cylindrical object in order to rotate said cylindrical object; a holding plate (4), providing means for fixing the holding plate (4) to the spindle (1), for rotatably mounting the sun gear (2) on the spindle (1) and for interlocking the outside during rotation of the spindle (1) so that the spindle (1) does not rotate the sun gear (2), and for rotatably mounting the reel (3) on the holding plate (4) to allow the workpiece holder to be mounted on the reel (3); the holding plate (4) comprises a central part (9) located in a plane (B), a normal (N) of the plane (B) being parallel to the axis of rotation of the spindle (1); the holding plate (4) comprises arms (10) extending in a longitudinal arm direction (11), the arms (10) being attached to the central part (9), the longitudinal arm direction (11) extending radially outward from the central part (9), the arms (10) being located in the plane (B); the holding plate (4) comprises a hand (12) extending in a longitudinal hand direction (13), the hand (12) being attached to the arm (10), the longitudinal hand direction (13) and the longitudinal arm direction (11) forming an angle (β) of 50° to 130°, the hand (12) being inclined so as to face inwards at an inclination of 20° to 70° with respect to the plane (B), the hand (12) comprising a means for enabling the reel (3) to be loaded onto the hand (12), A fixture mechanism that allows the sun gear (2) to mesh with the reel (3), thereby rotating the reel.

2. 2. The fixture mechanism of claim 1, wherein the longitudinal hand direction (13) and the longitudinal arm direction (11) form an angle of 90 degrees.

3. 3. The fixture mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inclination of the hand (12) is 45°.

4. A fastener mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the feature of the reel (3) that allows the gear to mesh with the reel to rotate it is implemented as an inclined slot (6) extending along the periphery of the reel (3).

5. A fixture mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the transmission ratio i = said sun gear: said reel is selected as 1:2<i<1:

10.

6. A fixture arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the holding plate (4) is manufactured to accommodate a plurality of reels (3).

7. 7. A fixture mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein at least two of the retaining plates (4) are mounted on the spindle (1), an equal number of the sun gears (2) are rotatably mounted on the spindle (1), the retaining plates (4) and the sun gears (2) are stacked and mounted on the spindle (1), at least one of the reels (3) is mounted on each of the retaining plates (4), and all of the sun gears (2) are adjusted relative to at least one of the reels (3).

8. 8. The fixture mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the fixture mechanism comprises a first mechanism of the sun gear (2) and the holding plate (4), and the transmission ratio j = sun gear: reel is different from the transmission ratio i of a second mechanism of the sun gear (2) and the holding plate (4), thereby allowing different substrates to be processed simultaneously.

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