Design of a Nozzle Beam Type Metal Vapor Source.

A prototype design of a directional high flux source for use in vapor deposition of electrode materials during fabrication of precision quartz crystal resonators is presented. The design is based on the theory and technology of nozzle beams. This nozzle beam type source is conceived 1 to permit large deposition rates with minimum wastage of electrode materials, 2 to operate in the high vacuum, 3 to emit vapor in a horizontal direction, thereby permitting the use of a pair of sources to plate both sides of a substrate simultaneously, and 4 to operate for extended periods without requiring frequent breaking of the vacuum in order to replenish the source. It is estimated that this design can operate at a deposition rate equal or above that of a conventional evaporation type source with less than one percent of the wastage of electrode material experienced with a conventional source. Author