Case 6:20-cv-00636-ADA Document 48-19 Filed 02/16/21 Page 1 of 9
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`Exhibit 16
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`Case 6:20-cv-00636-ADA Document 48-19 Filed 02/16/21 Page 2 of 9
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`By R.A. Scholl, Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.
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`There are several approaches avail.able for deposition of insulating films, and a
`number of means for arc control in such processes. In addition to the classical direct
`sputtering of insulating targets by the use of radio-frequency power, reactive sputtering
`using direct-current power has been frequently used because of its higher rate of deposition,
`and several processes and equipment configurations have been devised for this purpose.
`These include simple de sputtering from a single target; single-target sputtering using de plus
`an alternating voltage component, either pulsed or sinusoidal; dual-cathode sputtering using
`sinusoidal power; and new techniques using pulsed power and dual cathodes. This paper tvill
`describe the methods used or proposed for de reactive sputtering and the equipment, physical
`principles, and operating features of each.'
`
`POWER SYSTEMS
`FOR REACTIVE
`SPUTTERING OF
`INSULATING Fil.MS
`
`DC SPUTTERING-CONTROLLING ARC ENERGY
`Except for a few high-power industrial processes,
`switchmode de power supplies have come to dominate the
`plasma sputtering power market. This has occurred because of
`the intrinsic positive features of this topology as compared to the
`formerly-used thyristor types. These features result from the basic
`nature of the switchmode topology, shown in Figure 1 on page 6.
`
`The Switchmode Supply
`The supply outlined in Figure 1 is a single-phase pulse(cid:173)
`width-modulated (PWM) design; most commercial units on the
`market today utilize this approach. In this design, the mains
`voltage is rectified to produce an uncontrolled de voltage by the
`ac-dc converter (C), which is delivered to the switch element
`(S). The switch element is the heart of the power supply; it
`produces a controlled alternating voltage from its uncontrolled
`de input and applies this voltage to the primary of transformer
`(T). The transformer is used not only to provide isolation from
`the mains, but also to move the output voltage and current to
`the levels required by the load. The output of the transformer is
`applied to a rectifier (R), which produces a de output with ripple
`at the switching frequency. This ripple is reduced by L-C filter
`(F). The other elements shown in Figure 1 will be described
`later.
`
`Advantages of the Approach
`The three principal advantages of the switchmode topology
`all derive from the high frequency of the alternating voltage
`created by the switch element (S). First, the transfom1er (T) can
`be made smaller and lighter for a given power by the ratio of
`the mains frequency to the switching frequency. For a switching
`frequency of 50 kHz, this ratio is 1000:1. In actual practice the
`transformer cannot be shrunk by quite this much because of
`the insulation and because available magnetic materials at the
`higher frequencies saturate sooner than the steel alloys used
`in mains transformers. Nevertheless, it is possible to make a
`
`transformer capable of handling
`10,000 watts that one can easily
`hold in one's hand. Second, the
`energy stored in the output filter
`(F) can be reduced, also by the
`ratio of the frequencies. This not
`only reduces the size and weight of
`the elements of the filter but also
`reduces the energy delivered to a "hard
`arc" should one occur during processing.
`The third advantage is speed of response.
`The switch element (S) not only creates
`an alternating waveform but also controls
`the amount of power that reaches the
`output. Since it is operating at a high
`frequency, it can be controlled at a high
`frequency, making switchmode power supplies
`much more agile than their thyristor
`counterparts. In most designs output power is
`determined by the percentage of time the switch
`element (S) is turned on out of each cycle.
`Also, unlike thyristors, the switches usually used in
`switchmode power supplies can be turned off in the
`middle of a cycle, generally within a fraction of a
`microsecond. This fact, coupled with the low stored
`energy in the output filter (F), greatly reduces damage
`to the system or to growing film under arcing conditions.
`
`Arc Control
`Should a short appear across the output of the power
`supply, the entire output voltage will appear across (L) and
`the inductor in filter (F). This causes the current in these
`elements to ramp up linearly with time. A current transformer
`(CT) senses this cmTent rise on the primary side of (T) and,
`before the current reaches a level that would be dangerous for
`the switches, turns them off, stopping the current. This sequence
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`Case 6:20-cv-00636-ADA Document 48-19 Filed 02/16/21 Page 3 of 9
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`POWER SYSTEMS FOR REACTIVE SPUTTERING OF INSULATING FILMS
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`of events also occurs for arcs, which act like short circuits on the
`output of the supply ( to speed up arc detection and thus reduce
`the energy delivered to the arc, the current sense circuitry is
`often additionally programmed to detect a significant change
`from the nominal current). The so-called "hard arcs," arcs
`occurring between the sputtering target and earthed points
`in the system, can be sustained by them1ionic emission of
`small spots within the system, and to ensure the arc does not
`reinitiate, the power supply must be left off long enough for the
`emission to reduce below a critical threshold. Much less than
`0.1 % of all arcs are of this type, however, and if every arc was
`controlled in this way, process throughput would be reduced
`because the power supply would be off for a significant fraction
`of the time.
`
`To address this issue, an arc control inductor (L) is added
`in series with the output. When an arc occurs, this inductor is
`effectively placed in parallel with the capacitor in filter (F), with
`which it fonns a resonant circuit. Provided the element values
`are properly chosen, during an arc, the current in this inductor
`will ring in a sinusoid and after one-half cycle will attempt to
`reverse. Most arcs are unipolar; that is, they have a definite
`cathode and cannot be sustained under conditions of reversing
`current. These arcs are extinguished by the reversing current
`long before the primary current of transfom1er (T) reaches the
`critical value sensed by the current transformer (CT) to tum
`off the switches. This simple circuit thereby extinguishes almost
`every arc in a few microseconds, long before the current can rise
`in the transformer primary. It is important to note that for this
`reason, a count of the number of tum-off cycles reported by the
`power supply logic circuits will not include these automatically(cid:173)
`extinguished arcs. Many power supplies therefore include special
`arc-detect circuits for arc-counting purposes.
`
`of the switch element (S) and energy will flow from the mains
`to the arc through the power supply circuitry. This is called
`"let-through" energy. For a typical design, the total energy
`delivered to a "hard arc" will be between 100 and 800 millijoules
`at an output power of 10 kW, and correspondingly less at lower
`powers.
`
`For processes sensitive to hard-arc energy, this value can
`be lowered by increasing the sensitivity of the logic circuits to
`detection of an arc, thereby shortening the delay in detection
`of an arc and reducing "let-through" energy. Alternatively, the
`values of the elements of output filter (F) can be reduced,
`increasing ripple but lowering the energy stored there; as many
`processes are not particularly sensitive to ripple and may actually
`be helped by the presence of high frequency alternating voltage,
`this can sometimes be a good strategy. Active devices can be
`placed at the output of a power supply to open the circuit
`connection to an arc when one is detected or to shunt the
`energy away from an arc. These devices can reduce the energy
`delivered to an arc to the low millijoule level, but of course also
`increase complexity and cost. To address this, alternative design
`approaches to that represented by Figure 1 are being developed
`that store only a few millijoules at 10 kW. However, these are
`just emerging at the time of writing.
`
`Problems in reactive sputtering
`Reactive sputtering of insulators using de power alone can
`present difficulties with arc control. As reactions occur at the
`target surface, insulating layers are formed there that charge up
`due to ion bombardment. The resulting electric fields inside the
`layers can easily exceed the dielectric strength of the material
`and breakdown can then occur 11l. This breakdown generally
`causes an arc to which the power supply must respond.
`
`Energy Delivered to Arcs by the Supply
`The energy delivered by the power supply to such auto(cid:173)
`matically-extinguished arcs is small, generally less than 20
`millijoules. To ensure that unipolar arcs are extinguished by
`the arc control inductor, however, the element values must be
`chosen such that the current will indeed reverse. This requires
`that the peak current delivered from the power supply during
`the ringing process be many times the sputtering current. Some
`processes are sensitive to peak current as well as energy delivered
`and in these cases a modification of the power supply can be
`made to improve yields at the expense of throughput.
`
`To achieve stoichiometric films, the gas flow must be near
`a critical value that can result in poisoning of the target surface;
`only the presence of the sputtering power is then keeping the
`sputtering region of the target metallic. If the power supply turns
`off for an arc, this metal region of the target will quickly poison
`and the process will go out of control due to the hysteretic
`nature of reactive sputtering 12J. A number of approaches have
`been developed in an attempt to overcome this problem, most
`based upon gas separation l3Al, but with limited success. For this
`reason it is difficult to use de power alone to sputter insulators
`such as metal oxides, and another approach must be sought.
`
`The energy delivered to a "hard arc" is determined by
`several factors. First, the energy stored in the output filter (F)
`must be dissipated by the arc, as there is no other path for it.
`Second, there may be energy stored on the primary side of the
`transformer (T) that finds its way to the arc. Third, any delay in
`recognition of the arc by the logic circuits will delay the opening
`
`QUASI-DC SPUTTERING: PREVENTING ARCING
`The above-mentioned difficulties have been classically
`avoided by the use of radio-frequency power on the target
`surface. Electrons are attracted to the target surface on the
`positive peak of every RF cycle and these discharge any
`insulating regions formed there, preventing buildup of charge to
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`Case 6:20-cv-00636-ADA Document 48-19 Filed 02/16/21 Page 4 of 9
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`POWER SYSTEMS FOR REACTIVE SPUTTERING OF INSULATING FILMS
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`the destructive level. Radio-frequency power is very expensive
`to produce, however, and is difficult to deliver uniformly to large
`target areas. The required matching networks are expensive and
`absorb power. In addition, substrate heating can be a problem.
`For these reasons, this approach has not found use outside of a
`few specialized applications and in laboratory experiments.
`
`Pulsed DC approaches
`For the thin insulating layers formed on the target during
`reactive sputtering, however, there is no need to resort to
`radio-frequency power. Depending upon the dielectric constant
`of the reaction product and the current density of the arriving
`ions, the layers can be kept discharged with relatively low
`frequencies. If the layers are kept discharged, arcing can be
`prevented altogether. For Al203' a discharge rate of only 20 kHz
`is sufficient to prevent dielectric breakdown for current densities
`of up to 103 A/m3
`, and it can be shown that the rate required to
`prevent breakdown is not dependent upon the film thickness 15l.
`This fact has been taken advantage of in the use of a number of
`approaches to reactive sputtering.
`
`Some workers have used "choppers" or "modulators" to
`remove the de from the target periodically 16•7l. The circuitry
`used effectively short-circuits the power supply periodically; this
`causes the built-up charge to raise the surface potential of
`insulating regions of the target to positive values, and electrons
`attracted from the plasma discharge the surface. As the surface
`is discharged, the potential attracting the electrons decreases,
`and complete discharge of the smface is not achieved. Some
`"unipolar pulsed de" supplies based upon a slightly different
`principle are available commercially; these contain a series
`switch that periodically disconnects the supply from the plasma.
`These are not so useful for reactive sputtering because discharge
`of the target is obtained only through the mechanism of
`self-discharge of the layers, which is too slow to be of practical
`use in this arc-prevention context 18l.
`
`Considerable success has been achieved by an approach
`that forcibly reverses the target voltage to a few tens of volts
`higher than the plasma potential 15·9J. This device, Advanced
`Energy's Spare-le® unit, for which patents are pending, has a
`basic schematic diagram as shown in Figure 2 on page 6.
`
`When the switch element (S) is open, the Spare-le® unit acts
`as a simple series inductance. The energy stored in the magnetic
`field of the inductor acts to steady the cun-ent into the plasma.
`Periodically (the rate can be varied from 2 to 50 kHz) a signal is
`sent to the switch to close. When the switch is closed, the circuit
`is changed to that shown in Figure 3 on page 6. The tapped
`inductor becomes a transfmmer with a ratio adjustable from 20:1
`to 4:1 (some models are not adjustable; these are preset at 8:1).
`Note that the transformer polarity is such that the voltage is
`
`reversed at the output, so the output when the switch is pulsed
`is positive and varies from 5% to 25% of the nominal sputtering
`voltage. The pulse width of some models is fixed at 5 or 10 m;
`in others the pulse width can be adjustable from 1 to 20 m. The
`voltage waveform for a fixed unit is shown in Figure 4 on page 7.
`
`Meanwhile, an arc detect circuit, (D), sends a signal to
`close the switch when an arc is sensed. This has the effect
`of removing the electrons from the arc and quenching it. The
`voltage wavefonn for this case is shown in Figure 5 on page 7.
`Should a hard arc occur that is not quenched by the voltage
`reversal, some models will leave the switch closed to shunt
`the system's stored energy away from the plasma. Provision can
`be made to trigger the arc-detect circuit remotely so that in
`systems with multiple Spare-le® units, all will act together. This
`is important because otherwise the triggered unit will act as an
`anode for the other, still-operating, cathodes, and the resulting
`current can be quite high in some circumstances.
`
`Workers have been quite successful using these devices
`to create stoichiometric films of Al203' Ti02
`, and the
`, Ta20 5
`oxides, nitrides, and carbides of these and Hf, Nb, Cr, Mo, Zr,
`and Vanadium 110•11•12l.
`
`"Bipolar pulsed de" supplies are also available that contain
`reversal-switching for a de supply. These units apply the full
`output voltage of the de portion of the power supply to the
`plasma, in either a positive or negative polarity. The positive
`and negative pulse widths are adjustable over a considerable
`range (from a few ms up to½ s) and variable off-times are
`available between the pulses. Provided the positive pulse is kept
`short enough to avoid transport of the ions in the plasma to the
`chamber walls, such a unit can be used for quasi-de sputtering.
`Disadvantages of currently available commercial units include
`availability of voltage regulation only, large physical size, and
`high cost.
`
`Mixed-Mode Approaches
`Low- or medium-frequency ac can be added to de
`power to achieve arc-free performance in reactive-sputtering
`applications l13l. In this approach, a "combiner" unit permits
`connection of an ac generator in the frequency range of 40
`to 400 kHz and a de power supply to the same target. The
`combiner presents a de block to the ac generator and an
`ac block to the de power supply using series- and parallel(cid:173)
`resonant circuits, respectively. Carbon films sputtered using this
`approach have been shown to have more consistent friction
`characteristics than carbon films sputtered using de alone. The
`carbon targets also showed slower growth of the hard regions
`called "nodules" when mixed-mode power was applied. Silicon
`dioxide has been reactively sputtered using this approach and
`compared with films made by de alone. Optically clear coatings
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`Case 6:20-cv-00636-ADA Document 48-19 Filed 02/16/21 Page 5 of 9
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`POWER SYSTEMS FOR REACTIVE SPUTTERING OF INSULATING FILMS
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`were examined using a Nomarski microscope; total integrated
`scattering at 633 nm was 220 x 10·4 (2.2%) for the de-sputtered
`films, but only 3.0 x 10-4 (0.03%) for mixed-mode films,
`indicating the much lower number of inclusions and defects in
`the latter.
`
`Mixed-mode sputtering also showed promise in the reactive
`0 2 sputtering of alloys in which the metallic constituents oxidize
`at different rates, and in sputtering Indium-Tin Oxide from the
`ceramic target. Investigations of ITO films produced from a
`metallic target showed no loss of film quality using mixed-mode
`sputtering. Generally, however, while the mixed-mode approach
`may be advantageous in some processes, it has not been
`investigated thoroughly because of the ease and lower cost of
`alternate approaches.
`
`Arc Control
`Arc control is more difficult in ac systems and particularly
`difficult in mixed-mode. Arc detection in ac power supplies
`varies from rudimentary circuits that merely detect the average
`voltage to sophisticated circuitry that compares the current on
`each cycle with the average of the past few cycles; the latter
`can, of course, act much more quickly. The fastest circuits
`can shut down the supply within a single ac cycle, greatly
`limiting the energy delivered into an arc. Mixed-mode systems
`are more difficult because shut-down of the two supplies must
`be synchronized.
`
`THE DISAPPEARING ANODE
`Any single-target system sputtering an insulator suffers
`from what can be a serious problem: the current return path to
`the power supply can disappear. In conventional de magnetron
`sputtering, an electron trap is fonned over the cathode surface
`and an intense plasma is formed there from which ions are
`drawn to sputter the target surface. Withdrawal of ions from
`the plasma changes the potential there and causes electrons
`to "leak" from the plasma; these electrons are attracted to the
`anode of the system ( the element to which the positive lead of
`the power supply is attached-often this is simply the chamber
`walls) and form the return-current to the power supply.
`
`While this problem may be only a minor nuisance in a
`laboratory or small-scale environment, it can be a major issue
`in systems scaled up to industrial production. A number of
`approaches have been tried to eliminate or ameliorate this
`problem, including anodes placed out of sight of the discharge,
`rotating anodes, wire-fed anodes, and anodes using magnetic
`fields to bend the electrons into a re-entrant structure. In
`many cases, simple maintenance involving replacement of
`removable elements in the system have proved adequate, but for
`very large-scale production of highly insulating films, a clever
`method using two cathodes shows promise.
`
`LF AND DUAL-CATHODE SPUTTERING
`In the late 1970s, a group headed by Robert Connia
`at Airco investigated low-frequency ac reactive magnetron
`sputtering and was granted a patent on the technique 114l. Their
`system used a single magnetron; an alternating voltage with
`frequencies from 60 Hz to some tens of kilohertz was applied
`to the target. Sputtering TiO" and using 10 kHz power, they
`reported no arcing under anyL conditions. This single-target
`system suffers, however, from a disadvantage related to the
`"disappearing anode" problem outlined above. Once the
`chamber is covered with insulating material, there can be no
`average (de) current flowing in the power supply leads. This
`means that a plasma must be formed on every half-cycle of the
`ac waveform, even when the target is positive. Since Cormia
`used a conventional anode in his experiments, the plasma had
`to be ignited in the diode mode (nonmagnetically-enhanced),
`which caused sputtering of the anode and contamination of
`the film. This lead to the suggestion that the counter-electrode
`be a magnetron target and the invention of the dual-cathode
`system. First described by G. Este at BNL 115l, this concept
`was developed by several investigators simultaneously 116•17l. In
`this approach, an ac power supply is connected between two
`cathodes; each acts as an anode for the other during alternate
`half cycles of the ac waveform. The considerable advantage
`offered by the dual-cathode approach is the solution to the
`disappearing anode problem, since the anode on each half-cycle
`is a freshly-sputtered surface and is therefore guaranteed to be
`clean.
`
`When the growing film is an insulator, every smface of the
`chamber will eventually be coated by insulating compounds and
`there will be no path for the electrons to return to the power
`supply. The effect from the power supply's point of view is
`that the impedance of the load begins to rise; this causes the
`voltage to increase,and eventually the power supply will go out
`of regulation. Inside the chamber, the plasma becomes diffuse
`and eventually extinguishes. Even before this happens, the
`coating of the anode structure can cause serious nonunifom1ity
`in the plasma and in the deposition rates in large-area coaters.
`
`SINUSOIDAL SYSTEMS
`In the simplest approach, the ac power supply consists
`of a sinusoidal generator. Idealized waveforms appearing at
`the cathodes for this case are shown in Figure 6 on page
`7. Electrons arriving at elements being driven positive clamp
`the voltage there to the plasma potential, and the full voltage
`therefore appears at the element being driven negative. It
`should be obvious that the targets must "see" each other (be in
`short line of sight) for the electrons to be able to arrive at the
`positive target and complete the electrical circuit. This prevents
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`Case 6:20-cv-00636-ADA Document 48-19 Filed 02/16/21 Page 6 of 9
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`POWER SYSTEMS FOR REACTIVE SPUTTERING OF INSULATING FILMS
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`placement of the two targets on opposite sides of a substrate, for
`example. Sources have been designed that contain two targets
`in a single unit, such as the "dual-ring" source 118l.
`
`In practice, the waveforms are far from ideal. The nonlinear
`nature of the plasma greatly distorts the sinusoidal cunent and
`voltage and asymmetries are frequently seen in spite of the
`apparent symmetry of the system. In addition, high-frequency
`oscillations in high power systems (in the 100-kW-and-up
`region) are created by mechanisms not yet understood. These
`oscillations can contain substantial energy and will damage the
`power source unless it is properly designed.
`
`Arc control in sinusoidal systems has been outlined
`previously in the discussion of mixed-mode sputtering.
`
`Bipolar Systems
`Bipolar pulse power sources have also been used to power
`dual-cathode systems 118l. These power sources, mentioned
`earlier, have electronic switches in an H-bridge topology so that
`the voltage from a de power supply can be applied in either
`polarity to the targets. The positive and negative pulse widths
`are adjustable over a considerable range (from a few ms up to
`½ s) and variable off-times are available between the pulses.
`Frequency can be varied from a few hertz to 33 kHz in one
`commercially available unit 119J_ There are several potential
`advantages to this approach. For example, with a sinusoidal
`source, it is difficult to change the relative power taken up
`by each source. With bipolar pulsed sources, the power can be
`changed simply by adjustment of the pulse widths. TI1is permits
`cosputtering of alloys if the targets are of different materials,
`with more or less complete control over the alloy composition;
`time-dependent changes can produce graded alloys. The same
`feature can permit control of deposition unifom1ity over
`wide-area substrates and can permit equal erosion rates of
`dual-ring targets. On the negative side of the ledger, such
`pulse sources are difficult to scale up to large powers and are
`intrinsically more expensive than sinusoidal power supplies.
`In practice, they have proved to be less reliable as well,
`possibly because of the difficulty of protecting the delicate
`semiconductor switches used to reverse, the voltage.
`
`Arc control in bipolar systems consists of sensing of the
`cmTent during the pulses and comparing this to a reference
`value. Should the current exceed the reference, the switches are
`not triggered for a period of time.
`
`REACTIVE CATHODIC ARC SYSTEMS
`Cathodic arc systems are commonly used to produce hard
`and decorative coatings. Commonly produced are films of the
`nitrides, carbides, and carbonitrides of titanium, zirconium,
`chromium, hafnium, molybdenum, niobium, vanadium, and
`
`compounds such as Ti05Al0_5N, and Ti.ZrN, cubic boron nitride
`
`(CBN), and carbon nitride. The last of these is predicted to be
`harder than diamond if it could be made in the fonn C 3N 4
`, but
`so far, only CNx with 0.2<x<l.0 has been reported. Many of
`these films are decorative as well as functional. The function
`of such coatings includes their use as barrier, tribological, and
`conosion protection layers in addition to increasing surface
`hardness and wear resistance.
`
`All successful processes for such coatings involve
`ion-assisted deposition wherein ions are caused to bombard the
`growing film. This promotes adhesion, densifies the coating, and
`creates a residual compressive stress in the film, important to film
`strength. As the cathodic arc source produces a high-ion content
`in the vapor stream ( up to 90%), it is usual to bias the substrate
`with de to attract the ions. Typical cunent densities of 5 ma/cm2
`are used with bias voltages from 125 V to 2000 V. Commonly, a
`"clean cycle" is used wherein the substrate is bombarded by argon
`ions or pure metal ions to remove surface impurities.
`
`As in sputter deposition, insulating layers on the substrate
`can cause arcing, which can cause both decorative and
`functional problems. A de supply with a Spare-le® unit and
`unipolar pulsed supplies have both been used for substrate bias
`in these applications to prevent or greatly reduce arcing. The
`pulsed supply must not attempt to drive the substrate positive
`more than a few volts as otherwise the cathodic arc cunent
`could transfer to the substrate. Use of pulsed de as a substrate
`bias in such systems is covered by patents in both Europe and
`the US 120l.
`
`REFERENCES
`W.D. Westwood, Handbook of Plasma Processing Technology (1990)
`
`2 D.K. Hohnke, D.J. Schmatz, and M.D. Hurley Thin Solid Films 118,301, (1984)
`
`3 G. Este and W.D. Westwood, J. Vac. Sci. Techno/. A2 (3), 1238 (1984)
`
`4 M. Scherer and P. Wirz, Thin Solid Films 119, 203-209 (1984)
`
`5 R. Scholl, Proc. 37th SVC Tech. Conf. 312/f (1994)
`
`6 H. Signer, et al, PC Patent application No. o 564 789 A1 (1993)
`
`7 F.l. Williams, H.D. Nusbaum, and B.J. Pond, OSA Technical Digest V. 23 (1992)
`
`8 5. Schiller, K. Goedicke, J. Reschke, V. Kirchoff, 5. Schneider, and F. Mi/de,
`ICMCTF93
`
`9 Advanced Energy Industries, Inc., SPARC-LE® product snapshot.
`
`10 W.D Sproul, M. Graham, M, Wong, S. Lopez, D. Li, and R. Scholl, AVS Tech.
`Conf., Denver, CO (1994)
`
`11 M.E. Graham, M. 5. Wong, and W. D. Sproul, Proc. 38th SVC Tech. Conf.
`(1995)
`
`12 M. Graham. K. Legg, P. Rudnik, W. Sproul, /CMCTF, San Diego, CA (1995)
`
`13 R. A. Scholl, Proc. 35th SVC Tech. Conf. 391ft (1992)
`
`14 R. l. Cormia, et al, U.S. Patent 4,046,659, issued Sept. 6, 1977 and
`assigned to Airco Corp.
`
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`POWER SYSTEMS FOR REACTIVE SPUTTERING OF INSULATING FILMS
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`15 G. Este and W. D. Westwood, J. Vac. Sci. Tech no/. A6,
`16 M. Scherer, J. Schmitt, R. Lanz, and M. Schanz, leybold AG Technical Note
`17 D. A. Glock er, J. Vac. Sci. Tech no/. A, 2989ft (1993)
`18 5. Schiller, K Goedicke, Ch. Metzner, ICMCTF (1994)
`
`19 Magnetron, Inc., product literature
`
`20 R. Griin, US Patent 5,015,493, issued May 14, 1991
`
`s
`
`R
`
`F
`
`PLASMA
`SYSTEM
`
`C
`
`*
`
`Figure 1. Switch mode power supply block diagram
`
`~ - - SPARC-LE"' UNIT---~
`
`L
`
`MDX
`POWER
`SUPPLY
`
`PLASMA
`SYSTEM
`
`Figure 2. SPARC-LE® unit simplified schematic
`
`N:1
`
`MDX
`POWER
`SUPPLY
`
`+
`
`PLASMA
`SYSTEM
`
`+
`Figure 3. SPARC-LE® circuit with switch closed
`
`6
`
`DEFTS-PA_0003061
`
`

`

`Case 6:20-cv-00636-ADA Document 48-19 Filed 02/16/21 Page 8 of 9
`
`POWER SYSTEMS FOR REACTIVE SPUTTERING OF INSULATING FILMS
`
`ov
`
`...-'!
`
`'
`
`---
`
`-1 usec
`
`SPAR-LE
`triggere
`
`~1-----,--
`i
`-
`
`I
`
`'1-
`
`I
`I
`
`I
`
`6ooV
`I
`I
`
`!
`
`./2,...
`
`/
`
`I
`
`I
`I
`
`I
`I
`
`-
`
`- · - -
`
`--
`
`!
`
`!
`
`!
`
`!
`
`!
`
`Figure 4. SPARC-LE® waveforms, self run mode
`
`1ggere,\
`Spare-le Tr'
`d
`
`ov
`
`I
`
`\
`
`!
`
`\! .......
`/
`
`, -,--
`
`-600V
`
`J
`I
`
`_/
`
`-
`
`i
`I,'
`\./1
`
`Time (1 µs/div)
`
`--
`
`Arc Event
`Figure 5. SPARC-LE® waveforms, arc triggered
`
`In CATHODE
`A
`~ - - - -<
`~
`
`CATHODE
`B
`
`-500V ~ -
`
`0""'7
`\J \_
`-500: ----,\_ __ 7_ ,,---,s: __ ;·--
`
`Figure 6. Dual-cathode system, idealized waveforms
`
`7
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`DEFTS-PA_0003062
`
`

`

`Case 6:20-cv-00636-ADA Document 48-19 Filed 02/16/21 Page 9 of 9
`
`POWER SYSTEMS FOR REACTIVE SPUTTERING OF INSULATING FILMS
`
`ADVANCED
`ENERGY®
`
`All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
`
`SL-WHITEl-270-01 lM 08/01
`
`Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.
`1625 Sharp Point Drive
`Fort Collins, Colorado 80525
`800.446.9167
`970.221.4670
`970.221.5583 (fax)
`support@aei.com
`www.advanced-energy.com
`
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`
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`8
`
`DEFTS-PA_0003063
`
`