Abstract: A material deposition arrangement for depositing a material on a substrate in a vacuum deposition chamber is described. The material deposition arrangement includes at least one material deposition source having a crucible configured to evaporate the material, a distribution assembly configured for providing the evaporated material to the substrate, and a force application device configured for applying a contact force at a connection between the crucible and the distribution assembly.

Abstract: A method of operating a deposition apparatus is provided. The method comprises: Deposition of an evaporated source material on a substrate by guiding the evaporated source material from one or more outlets of an evaporation source toward the substrate, wherein part of the evaporated source material is blocked by and attaches to a shielding device arranged between the one or more outlets and the substrate, followed by a cleaning of the shielding device by at least locally heating the shielding device for releasing at least part of the attached source material from the shielding device. According to a further aspect, a deposition apparatus is provided that can be operated according to the described methods.

Abstract: A method of operating a deposition apparatus is provided. The method comprises: Deposition of an evaporated source material on a substrate by guiding the evaporated source material from one or more outlets of an evaporation toward the substrate, wherein part of the evaporated source material is blocked by and attaches to a shielding device arranged between the one or more and the substrate, followed by a cleaning of the shielding device by at least locally heating the shielding device for releasing at least part of the attached source material from the shielding device. According to a further aspect, a deposition apparatus is provided that can be operated according to the described methods.

Abstract: A lock valve is adapted for locking a process chamber. The lock valve includes a valve flap adapted for sealing an aperture of the process chamber where a substrate to be processed may be inserted or ejected. A cooling unit is adapted for cooling the valve flap by means of a cooling fluid. At least one valve flap hinge is adapted for connecting the process chamber with the valve flap. The valve flap hinge furthermore includes at least one pipe in fluid communication with the cooling unit of the valve flap.

Abstract: The invention relates to a vacuum coating installation with a transport system for planar substrates which are transported through a vacuum chamber. This transport system comprises several cylinders disposed in parallel. As the driving means for these cylinders one or several motors may be provided, which are located within or outside of the vacuum chamber. The coupling between the motor or the motors and the cylinders in any event takes place via magnet couplings. Since hereby no mechanical coupling established between the driving means and the cylinders, these can readily be separated from one another, which permits providing the cylinders, and with them the sputter cathodes, in a slide-in element which can be moved into and out of the vacuum chamber. If not every cylinder is provided with its own driving means, the cylinders, which are coupled with a driving means, can be connected via V-belts or the like with the other cylinders.

Abstract: In order that an installation for coating panes of glass can be operated more reliably, the invention proposes a modification of the light barriers used in the installation. On the receiver side of these light barriers there is a row of individual cells which are more or less shaded according to the thickness of the glass pane passing through the ray path of the light barrier. Some cells always deliver a significantly reduced signal which can be evaluated as a reliable indication of the presence of an object in the ray path.

Abstract: A holding device 12 for mounting at least one screen 9 in a coating chamber 2 of an installation for coating a substrate, especially a glass substrate, is configured such that a screen 9 held by the holding device 12 can be moved at least from a first position within the coating chamber 2 to a second position by movement of the holding device 12. The holding device 12 has means 13 of such kind as to enable the screen 9 to avoid obstructions on the way from the first position to the second position. In particular, during its movement from the first to the second position, the screen 9 is mounted slewably on the holding device 12.