EP2220265A1

EP2220265A1 - Pvd vacuum coating unit

Info

Publication number: EP2220265A1
Application number: EP08856536A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Juergen Ramm; Christian Wohlrab
Original assignee: Oerlikon Trading AG Truebbach
Current assignee: Oerlikon Surface Solutions AG Pfaeffikon
Priority date: 2007-12-06
Filing date: 2008-11-17
Publication date: 2010-08-25
Also published as: BRPI0820014A2; CN101889102A; TW200936795A; US20090148599A1; MX2010006214A; KR20100094558A; CN101889102B; RU2010127857A; SG186624A1; TWI498442B; SG10201604607PA; JP2011505262A; CA2707581A1; WO2009070903A1; JP5449185B2; RU2486280C2; US8968830B2

Abstract

A vacuum coating unit contains a reactive gas inlet (12), at least one PVD coating source (8, 21) having a sheet-like cathode (11) and a substrate carrier (6) containing a plurality of substrates (7), where the substrate carrier (6) forms a two-dimensional horizontal extension and is positioned between at least two PVD coating sources and the plurality of substrates (7) are cutting tools having at least one cutting edge (E) in the peripheral region of the sheet-like substrate (7) and are distributed in a plane of the two-dimensional extension of the substrate carrier (6), where the substrate carrier (6) is positioned in a horizontal plane (3) in the vacuum process chamber (1) at a spacing between the sheet-like cathodes (11) of the at least two PVD coating sources (8, 21) in such a way that at least a part of each of the at least one cutting edge (E) contains an active cutting edge (E') which is at all times exposed in direct line of sight to at least one of the cathodes (11) of the PVD coating sources (8, 21).

Description

PVD - Vacuum coating system

The invention relates to a vacuum coating system according to the preamble of claim 1. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for the simultaneous coating of several sheet-like substrates with a hard material layer, according to the preamble of claim 23.

There are PVD vacuum coating systems with substrate holders for tools, which are especially optimized for rotationally symmetrical workpiece geometries, such as, for example, shank tools with different dimensions. Examples of this are described production systems of the company OC Oerlikon Balzers AG Liechtenstein, such as the system of the type RCS described in EP 186 681 A1 and in the EP 0 886 880 B1 detail running system type BAI 1200. Typical rotating holders for indexable inserts, the used in these production systems are shown in Figures 1a and 1b. The indexable inserts 7 can be fastened, for example, on drum-like magnetic workpiece carriers 40 or arranged on rods for the tool holder 27 and in alternation with spacers 39.

For the coating of small parts PVD systems are known in which small parts are rotated as bulk material in lattice drums and thereby moved, while they are simultaneously exposed to the coating of outside or inside the drum mounted cathodes as coating sources. Such methods, as mentioned for example in EP 0 632 846, have the disadvantage that the small parts strike against one another or against the drum as a result of the drum movement and thus, especially with hard metal parts, scratch surfaces and damage sharp edges such as cutting edges.

CVD coating machines for cutting tools such as indexable inserts have been known for a long time. A typical example of such an installation type, in which indexable inserts are designed in lattices and coated in one or more planes, is known from WO 99/27155 A1, FIG. 4a. In this case, the chemical process for separating the desired material from the gas phase either purely thermally or, as in the present specification, additionally excited by a plasma applied between substrates and electrodes, such as a pulse plasma.

From applications CH 00518/05 and CH 1289/05 it is known to pulse the spark current either by simultaneously applying a DC and a pulse power supply to an arc evaporator source, or by applying a single pulsed power supply to two DC powered arc evaporator sources. In this way, several arc sources can even continue to operate lent and stable, if they are operated in a strongly oxygen-containing or pure oxygen atmosphere and occupy their surfaces with an insulating layer during the process. This makes it possible to produce insulating, especially oxide layers in PVD batch production plants.

Industrial PVD equipment for the coating of tools and components are usually not designed so that they are optimized only to a substrate shape and size. The reason for this is that, for profitability reasons, a multiplicity of very different substrate sizes and shapes must be coated in these coating systems and that only thickness ranges of approximately 4 μm to approximately 6 μm are desired for the previously used PVD layers or these can not be made thicker because of the then occurring high residual stresses. In order to provide the workpieces with often complex three-dimensional structures evenly with a layer system that is several micrometers (μm) thick, a multiple substrate rotation is therefore usually required. However, this in turn means that only relatively small growth rates of a few μm / h can be achieved in such processes and therefore PVD systems today have relatively large coating chambers in order to enable economic operation.

A disadvantage of such with respect to the substrate size and shape universal equipment is the loading and unloading of the substrates in the brackets and in the system. The universality requirement with regard to the substrates rather requires an adaptation of the substrate holders to the system than to the substrates, thereby making it more difficult to automate the loading and unloading of the substrates.

There are other major disadvantages that arise from the universality requirement. The dense packing of the substrates in the PVD production system and the rotation thus required periodically interrupt the directional material flow of the PVD sources towards the substrate, while the reactive gases supplied continuously act on the layer. There are indications that additional PVD sources could be centrally placed in PVD coating systems to reduce the problem. This virtually reduces the problem somewhat, but does not really solve it, since here too the material flow can not be kept sufficiently constant over time, at least under the requirement of high loading density with high productivity. The variation in the material flow of the PVD sources to the substrate leads to a sub-multilayer structure in the layer structure, ie a variation of the structure or composition of the layer over the layer thickness. This may be advantageous, for example with regard to the stress in the layer, but also has disadvantages if very thick layers must be made. Above all, this submultilayer structure depends on the geometry of the substrate supports. In the current state of technology, the disadvantages outweigh the disadvantages and the coating with PVD batch equipment is not economical because of too low coating rates, especially with regard to thick oxide layers.

Another very important disadvantage of current PVD coating technology is the layer thickness distribution on the tool. This will be explained in greater detail using the example of the indexable insert (shown schematically in FIG. 2), but applies analogously to all cutting tools which have cutting surfaces in different planes and are essentially of two-dimensional geometry. In the case of a holder of the indexable inserts for double or triple rotation, it is almost impossible, with reasonable effort, for example, an equal layer thickness on free and To produce clamping surface, let alone realize a predetermined layer thickness ratio. For this purpose, the freedoms in the rotating operation in a batch system are too limited and it can meet such requirements neither by an economical substrate rotation nor by a movement of the PVD sources with reasonable effort.

This is one reason why for CVD coatings with layers thicker than about 6 μm, CVD processes have been established so far for economic reasons, which are capable of producing large batches in large-volume CVD coating systems (US Pat. Batches) with indexable inserts despite moderate CVD coating rate cost-effective coating. The CVD approach was also supported until recently by the fact that there was no PVD production technology for indexable oxide production and CVD alone seemed possible. An important feature of the CVD coating is a largely uniform distribution of the layers over the indexable insert or the region of the cutting edge, which is advantageous in many cases. However, it should also be noted here that this advantage is disadvantageous if a predetermined layer thickness ratio of free and rake face is to be realized on an indexable insert. And finally, the high process temperatures in the CVD approach are not suitable for all tools and therefore undesirable.

Much more efficient than the PVD systems, however, is the way in which the indexable inserts are loaded and unloaded for operation in a CVD coating system. This is essentially due to the fact that the indexable inserts are designed on plate-shaped grids. Above all, this substrate handling approach is also determined by the preceding and subsequent production steps, such as, for example, sintering, surface, side, edge grinding, sandblasting, polishing, etc., which make sense in small lot sizes of about 20 to 400 and whose machining infrastructure is designed for these lot sizes. The substrate handling in the CVD technology is therefore adapted to the above-mentioned lot sizes and only in the coating for productivity reasons typically 5 to 30 such lots combined into one CVD batch.

A disadvantage of the CVD technology is, in addition to the low coating rates, the low flexibility in the choice of materials for the coating materials, which are supplied via gaseous precursors. On the one hand, the availability of the corresponding precursor is limited; on the other hand, rare precursors are associated with high production costs. In addition, the gaseous precursors are difficult to handle for certain materials, the chemical reactions can not be controlled as freely and independently as is the case with PVD sources, and the CVD reactions are temperature-controlled and a greater variety of precursors in the process chamber makes it difficult to control the desired reaction. These are all reasons why only TiC ₁ TiN, TiCN and Al 2 O 3 layers can be produced today with this technology. TiAIN coatings, for example, which are easily possible with PVD and have great advantages in many cutting applications, have not yet found their way into standard CVD technology.

In summary, the disadvantages of the existing brushing technologies can be represented as follows:

PVD:

1. unsuitable substrate state ling for large batches of the same, especially smaller two-dimensional substrates such as indexable inserts,

2. too low coating rates due to the necessary substrate rotation in large batch plants,

3. rotation-related interruption of the material flow of the solid source towards the substrate, 4. almost impossible adjustment of the layer thickness ratio between

Free and rake surface. CVD:

1. The need for batch plants for economic reasons, because of small coating rates and long heating and cooling cycles,

2. low flexibility of the CVD process approach with regard to different materials, since the precursor selection is limited and the reaction mechanisms can be controlled essentially only via the process temperature,

3. Complicated process development for new materials and material combinations with high costs when using new precursors.

Conclusion:

Metal oxides have recently been made using production-ready PVD technology. In batch systems, however, only small coating rates can be realized because of the necessary rotation, which is suitable for universal substrate sizes, but not especially for indexable inserts. The existing state of the art is based on a rather inadequate system with inappropriate substrate support, which makes PVD technology useful in certain applications that require extra thick layers and that make very simple, partially automated handling of indexable inserts useful - Technology is inferior to productivity. In addition, in PVD batch plants for economic reasons (highest possible loading density), the indexable inserts usually have to be held in such a way that the free area is coated thicker than the chip area. This approach has hitherto only supported the specific use of indexable inserts for milling purposes, but is not a preferred approach for turning applications.

The CVD coating rates are small and the heating and cooling cycles are long, so there is a compulsion to large batch plants. The high temperatures and the inflexibility of the materials are disadvantageous. Pooling lots of lots in one batch increases process risk, interrupts substrate manufacturing flow, and reduces process control. The CVD technology is limited and at least associated with high costs for the development of new materials, if at all possible.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate or reduce the disadvantages of the prior art.

In particular, it is the object of the present invention to provide a PVD vacuum coating system for the hard material coating of cutting tools, which are designed in particular as almost two-dimensional flat substrates, such as preferably indexable inserts (also called inserts) and the like Enables productivity or a very rapid layer growth and is preferably suitable for use in indexable insert production, ie Allows for easy, automated assembly and fits into the machine infrastructure of a CVD production line for indexable inserts. The coating system is intended to enable high throughput even in the deposition of thick layers, in particular with poorly conductive, insulating such as oxide-containing layers, in which the substrate holders may have a substantially two-dimensional geometry and which equipped with a variety of substrates and coated at the same time with high efficiency can be.

Furthermore, the solution should enable so-called batch systems in CVD and PVD

- To replace technology and to avoid the above-mentioned disadvantages in the current PVD and in particular CVD coating equipment.

Another object is to provide a new arrangement which PVD

Coating sources with substrate holders are combined in such a way that similar areal shaped substrate holders can be used, which can also meet handling requirements in the CVD coating technology already in use and preferably no longer make it absolutely necessary to rotate the substrates. Furthermore, a high flexibility is to be made possible both in the batch size as well as in the layer design with this approach.

Another object is the possibility of coating Schneidwerkzeu- gene, in particular indexable inserts, in which the layer thickness ratio of free surface to rake surface varies and can be selectively adjusted.

A further task is the simultaneous, as far as possible, simultaneous application of material from the PVD solid sources over the entire substrate surface during the coating, without any possible substrate rotation interrupting the material flow of the solid material sources.

Another mission is to develop the typical elements of training from the existing, previously used, CVD substrate mount, and which previously only fit into this technology and was previously only suitable for coating in batch systems, for a new PVD technology that offers higher coating rates makes it possible to take on important aspects and thereby preserve the remaining technical infrastructure of indexable insert production.

A further object is to provide a PVD technology by combining CVD substrate support and PVD source arrangement, for which preferably no substrate movement, such as in particular substrate rotation, is necessary, and nevertheless both a substantially uniform layer distribution over the cutting surfaces of the Indexable insert as well as a certain layer thickness ratio for the different cutting surfaces of the insert can be achieved.

The economy for the production of cutting tools with high flexibility of the adjustability of the desired layer parameters with the high coating quality to be achieved should therefore be substantially improved. The object is achieved by the arrangement according to the features of claim 1 and the procedure of claim 23. The dependent claims define further advantageous embodiments of the invention.

The object is achieved according to the invention in that a vacuum coating system comprises the following elements: a vacuum process chamber connected to a pumping system, at least one reactive gas inlet connected to at least one reactive gas container, at least one PVD coating source having an anode and a planar cathode a substrate carrier with a plurality of substrates, at least one door, which is arranged on the vacuum process chamber for loading or unloading the chamber with the substrate carrier or for passing in another chamber, a transport device for passing the substrate carrier through the door and positioning in the Vacuum process chamber spaced in the region of the flat cathode, at least one power supply, which is connected to the at least one PVD - Beschichtungsquelle.

The substrate carrier in which a plurality of substrates are deposited is in this case formed two-dimensionally, horizontally expanded, whereby it is positioned between at least two PVD coating sources. The plurality of substrates are cutting tools with at least one cutting edge formed thereon, which is arranged in the peripheral edge region of the planar substrate. These substrates are deposited distributed in a plane of the two-dimensional extent of the substrate carrier, wherein the substrate carrier is positioned in a horizontal plane in the vacuum process chamber spaced between the planar cathodes of the at least two PVD coating sources such that at least a part of each of the at least one cutting edge Contains active cutting edge and this is at least one of the cathodes of the PVD coating sources aligned at all times in visual communication exposed. The active cutting edge is that part of the edge which is used on the cutting tool in the cutting insert for cutting. The cutting edge includes at least a respective part of the lateral surfaces along the edge which are referred to as chip and open spaces.

During the coating process, these cutting edges with the lateral cutting areas are therefore always exposed to at least one of the cathodes of a PVD coating source in direct line of sight. As a result, the material flow which is deposited on the cutting edges is never interrupted, at least in the part of the edge which is the active cutting edge. The material flow can vary at most in the deposition rate. As a result, layers are deposited at high speed with high quality. In certain cases, the substrate carrier or even the substrates can be moved on the substrate carriers in order to achieve additional homogenization of the layer thickness distribution. For example, substrates can also be rotated relative to the substrate carrier by means of a drive. In such a case, the cutting edges are alternately coated exposed from opposite sources, but always such that there is always a flow of material from at least one source on the at least one cutting edge or the at least two cutting edges of each substrate.

However, an arrangement in which the substrates are deposited fixedly on or within the substrate carrier is substantially preferred. The cutting edges, in particular if several per substrate are present on its circumference, are thereby preferably assigned to the corresponding material flow with respect to one or the other opposite source, depending on which edge or which edge part in direct line of sight with respect to the relevant cathode Source is exposed. In certain cases, edge parts can also be acted on from both sides, depending on the position of the substrates in the substrate carrier arrangement. It is advantageous if the two-dimensional substrates are deposited at right angles to one another in relation to the flat substrate carrier, advantageously slightly spaced apart from one another. In In certain cases, the substrates can be deposited slightly inclined relative to the plane of the substrate support, in order to additionally expose certain areas to the sources in an additional preferred manner. It is advantageous if the at least one cutting edge of each substrate on the substrate carrier, on the correspondingly assigned side of the at least one cathode at any time at least 50%, preferably 70% of its length is exposed in visual connection to this aligned and coated there and not there the support in the holder or in the substrate carrier is shaded. Within this area is then the coated active cutting edge, as used in the cutting process with the cutting tool. It can thereby be achieved that the cutting edge of the cutting tool to be used is completely desirably coated and is not disturbed by shading effects.

Since the flow of material is never interrupted at the cutting edge to be coated, this highest can vary by a certain allowable degree, whereby a high layer quality can be achieved with low residual stresses. The efficiency (EFZ) of the PVD material flow can be defined as follows:

EFZ: is the incorporation of target material amount into the layer per time / mass loss of target material per time. This is to some extent a transmission factor which states how much target material of the cathode arrives at the usable surfaces to be coated. The variation of the deposition rate at the substrate surface to be coated (active cutting edge) is denoted by delta (EFZ). This is the temporal variation of this value with the goal of achieving a uniform coating, with or preferably without substrate movement or substrate rotation, based on the time average of EFZ. The delta (EFZ) should be maximum ± 30%, preferably ± 20%, preferably ± 10%. The substrate carrier with the areal extent can, for example, have a lattice-shaped structure, in the spaces of which a plurality of substrates can be easily inserted during charging. Then, in the PVD vacuum process plant, the desired areas of the cutting edges can be coated simultaneously with the associated two-sided cutting surfaces in one process, very economically. By individual control of the sources, the coating of the lateral surfaces, the rake surfaces and the free surfaces, according to specification targeted to each other, for example, different layer thicknesses and / or material composition and / or layer Eigen shadow.

With the present invention, the following advantageous results are achieved over the prior art:

• high coating rates with PVD sources due to the advantageous geometry, even without substrate rotation (20 μm / h and more),

• no interruption of PVD source material flow, allowing for stress adjustment and thicker layers,

• multilayer design is possible

• simple, manageable and automatable substrate holder, • possibility of multi-chamber systems by combining the single chambers for the entire process sequence in one chamber or dividing the process sequence into several chambers,

• adaptation of the lot size to the existing production and infrastructure,

• Short process or cycle times (1h versus 24h CVD, or 12h PVD so far),

• Targeted layer thickness ratios of free to chip surface of the workpiece adjustable,

• no or greatly reduced substrate movement,

• Economical handling of small parts such as indexable inserts, • No need for a new infrastructure for adaptation to CVD production lines, The invention will now be explained in more detail by way of example and with schematic figures. Show it:

1a, b A typical holder for indexable inserts for 2-fold (a) or 3-fold (a and b) rotation, which is used in PVD batch production systems, according to the prior art,

Fig. 2 Schematic representation of an indexable insert with free surface

(B), rake face (A) and the areas exposed to scoring (C) and flank wear (D) during cutting,

3 shows a schematic diagram of a single-chamber system as an example with a PVD evaporator source,

4 shows a schematic representation of a single-chamber system with two opposing sources and a horizontally arranged, flat substrate carrier,

Fig. 5a, b, c a: Spiesshalterung for indexable inserts with hole, b: Spiesshalte- tion for indexable inserts without hole, c: workpiece holder with rotating skewers,

6 concept of an in-line system with linear movement of the substrate carrier,

FIG. 7 a, b a: substrate carrier with indexable inserts simply inserted into a rectangular grid, b: inserted into a circular grid, FIG.

8 concept of an in-line system with separate process chambers, 9 multi-chamber system with central transport chamber and pre-treatment chamber,

10 a, b Schematic representation of a preferred PVD coating system with opposing arc source pairs (a) and two-dimensionally extended substrate carrier arranged therebetween and, for illustration, a sectional view of the same (b).

The substrates to be coated essentially have a two-dimensional shape or a planar expanded form. This means that the side lengths a and b are substantially greater than the third side length c of the body, as is the case with the preferred cutting tools 7 to be coated, the indexable inserts and as shown schematically and by way of example in FIG. The aim of the coating is to coat the cutting edges E with the associated flank face B and the rake surface A. In such a cutting tool usually only a part of all formed on the tool edge lengths is used with the associated side surfaces during the cutting process. This part is referred to as the active cutting edge E 'and is within 50% or even only 30% of the total length of a cutting edge available on the workpiece. The expansions E "away from the edge E in the flank B where the flank wear D occurs and away from the edge E into the rake face A where the scoring occurs are in the range of 50 μm to 5.0 mm and must also be coated It may be advantageous to provide the coating in these regions of the rake face and the flank face selectively with different layer thickness, which additionally makes the present invention possible.As the cutting tool has to be coated with the necessary high quality only in these specified areas, the others can Unused areas on the tool are used for the support, for example, by placing in a grid 25 'with openings 25 on the substrate carrier or by using a hole 28 in the central region of the substrate 7, which also lies in the unused area of the tool do not have to have planar surfaces and may also be curved on individual sides or on all sides or may also have other flat contours or contain depressions or elevations for example mounting arrangements in a tool holder or a better chip removal in the cutting process. The extent a, b of the preferred flat cutting tools is advantageously in the range of 5.0 mm to 60 mm. Cutting tools are preferably polygonal, flat bodies. Triangular and quadrangular bodies are preferably used, with the active cutting edges each starting from the corners, as shown in FIG. By rotating the tool 7 about the central axis and / or by folding over, after wear of the active cutting edge E 'a new unused active cutting edge E' can be set, as has been known for a long time in mechanical material processing. Although less common, it is also possible to make the cutting tool round, in which case one or two edges E enclose the cutting tool in an annular manner and partial areas thereof can be used as active cutting edges.

In the preferred indexable insert 7 shown in FIG. 2, the active cutting edges E 'to be coated with the associated lateral parts of the free surface B and the rake surface A to be coated are in the vicinity of the 4 cutting corners. In this case, these surfaces should be largely uniformly coated from the corner of the indexable insert about 2 to 5 mm, without the substrate carrier 6 leading to shadowing during the coating. Usually, the indexable inserts 7 are used in the corners and a few hundred microns along the edges for the cutting process. This is the areas of crater wear C and flank wear D.

FIG. 3 greatly simplifies the basic arrangement of a vacuum coating system with which substrates 7 such as indexable inserts can be coated on a quasi-planar substrate carrier 6, preferably a grid. The system consists of a vacuum chamber 1, which can be evacuated via a pumping system 2. The workpiece carrier 6 with the several workpieces 7 are brought via a door or lock 4 in the transport direction 5 on the horizontal transport plane 3 in the coating position in front of the source 8. The coating takes place with a PVD coating source 8, which is preferably an arc evaporation source, which is equipped with an ignition device 9, an anode 10 and a cathode or target 11. For the reactive coatings, the necessary reactive gases are introduced via at least one reactive gas inlet 12 from at least one reactive gas container 13. In addition, an inert gas inlet 14 is provided for noble gases such as argon, which is connected to the inert gas container 15. The reactive gas container 13 preferably contains one of the gases nitrogen, oxygen, hydrocarbon, silane, hydrogen boride, hydrogen, combinations of these gases and preferably oxygen for the reactive deposition of the desired layer compounds. A plurality of reactive gas containers 13 may be connected to the plant containing various of these gases in order to produce multi-layer multilayer coating systems of various materials and / or to change the types of layers as needed.

The Arcverdampferquelle is fed with a DC power supply 16 and / or advantageously with a pulse high current supply 17.

According to the invention, a further DC power supply 18 is used for a second source 21 on the opposite side of the plant, as shown in FIG. The substrate carrier then lies in a plane 3 between the two sources 8 and 21, preferably parallel to the flat cathodes 11. It is also possible to arrange a plurality of planar substrate carriers 6, although a single large-area one is preferably used. The substrates 7 are preferably acted upon via the substrate carrier 6 with an electrical bias by means of a bias current supply 19, which can be carried out both DC, AC, MF, RF, DC and / or preferably pulsed unipolar and bipolar. Normally, all power supplies are operated against ground 20. However, in the case of the arc evaporator source it is also possible to keep the anode 10 separate from ground and to operate the source power supplies 16, 17, 18 therewith in a groundless manner between the anode 10 and the cathode 11. Although the coating preferably takes place without substrate movement, it is possible to place the substrate carrier before, after or during the coating in the horizontal direction or towards the one or the other cathode while maintaining the parallel orientation to the horizontal plane. The cathodes 11 can in this case also be tilted relative to this horizontal plane in order to favor the material flow preferably in a certain direction. It is also possible to rotate the entire substrate carrier 6 about its vertical axis in the horizontal coating plane. Such a rotation is particularly preferred when layer thickness ratios of free and rake surface must be set specifically or different materials are to be deposited on these surfaces.

The PVD coating sources proposed here may be sources of sputtering, such as magnetron sources and / or preferably arc-evaporation sources. Preferably, at least two opposing coating sources 8, 21, which form at least one PVD source pair and are substantially opposite, are provided with substrate carrier 6 therebetween, with each of the two sources being operated with a DC power supply 16, 18, and preferably both Cathodes 11 of the two sources 8, 21 are operated with a single pulse high current supply, as shown in the figures 4 and 6. The one source of the source pair is thus positioned at a distance above the substrate carrier 6 and the other source is spaced below the substrate carrier. It is advantageous if at least one PVD source pair consists of arc evaporation sources.

An arrangement with only one source 8 on one side of the substrate carrier 6, as shown in FIG. 3, alone does not yet permit all-round coating of the substrates 7, in particular if they are deposited in a substrate carrier which is extended in a planar manner. For this purpose, a rotation of the held indexable inserts 7 would have to be realized. To produce a rotation 31, workpiece receivers 27, a kind of rods or skewers, which are inserted in a frame 23 and on which the indexable inserts 7 are held, are schematically illustrated in FIGS. 5a to 5c for indexable inserts. In the figure 5a this is shown for indexable inserts with hole 28 and without hole in Figure 5b with the fastener 29. The rotation is via a rotary drive 30 with the direction of rotation 31. The rotary drive is coupled to a gear 33 and the motor drive 32. Although the arrangement with only one source and the rotation of the substrates 6 allows a sufficiently good layer thickness distribution, but the necessary layer qualities without interruption of the material flow in the coating are not achieved and the high required cost-effectiveness of the process is not achieved. These problems are only achieved by the arrangements according to the invention with at least two oppositely arranged sources with a flat substrate carrier arrangement positioned therebetween, as shown in FIGS. 4, 6, 10. Additional rotation within the substrate carrier 6 in these arrangements may be desirable in some circumstances, as long as the edges to be coated are permanently exposed to the material flow of the sources, ie, it is not periodically interrupted. However, it is much more advantageous to work without such a rotation and to place the substrates 7 fixed in the substrate carrier. The coating can be deposited better and individually controlled at the desired areas on the substrate 7 and the arrangement is easier and more economical to handle. As a result, the edge parts to be coated always see at least one of the at least two sources and are exposed to them. On the correspondingly assigned side of the one cathode 11, at least 50%, preferably 70%, of the length of the cutting edge (E) of its length are thus exposed in visual contact to the corresponding cathode. As already mentioned, movements 22 of the entire substrate carrier 6 in the horizontal plane and / or in the direction of the cathodes 11 between the at least one source pair are possible. However, the stationary arrangement of the Sustratträgers 6 with the fixed therein substrates 7 is preferred.

The arrangement and number of Arcverdampferquellen or Arcquellen used depends on their size, their source magnetic fields (if used), the

Arc current, the set gas pressure and the resulting coating characteristics and can with the help of the known in the art simulation method be optimized so that a largely uniform coating thickness distribution on the areas to be coated of the substrates 7, in particular in the coated cutting edge areas of indexable inserts can be achieved. With a fixed source arrangement, the source evaporation characteristic can be further influenced and optimized by variable magnetic fields, the pulsing of the arc current and the gas pressure, which in addition allows a source arrangements with still greater degree of freedom than shown for example in Figures 3 and 4.

So far, it has been shown about the coating in single-chamber systems. Since throughput is of decisive economic importance in the production processes, in many cases it makes sense to combine several single-chamber systems as an in-line arrangement or as a multi-chamber system in order to carry out short process steps in one chamber without thereby reducing the actual coating time is extended. Layer systems based on different materials, such as TiCN / Al-Cr-O or TiAIN / Al-Cr-O, can then be designed to process the Ti-based layers in one system, while the oxide layers in a next system be coated. The freedom to combine this substrate handling approach and the large coating rates with an in-line or multi-chamber system opens up additional possibilities for higher productivity, optimum process flow and greater material diversity. These advantageous possibilities will now be explained in more detail.

An advantage of the simple construction of the single chamber system as discussed above is that it can be extended to in-line concepts or multi-chamber concepts to further increase productivity. FIG. 6 shows how an in-line system is constructed based on this concept. A plurality of indexable inserts (workpieces) 7 are again laid out on at least one workpiece carrier or substrate carrier 6. As a simple form, these are formed like a lattice, as shown in FIGS. 7a and 7b. The workpiece carrier 7 consists of a frame 23 which surrounds the lattice-like workpiece support 24 with the corresponding plurality of openings 25 for insertion. supply of the substrates 7 in these openings. The workpiece support may preferably be formed as a grid 25 'and is preferably made of conductive material, for example as a wire grid 25', so that a bias voltage can be applied to the substrates 7 in a simple manner. This at least one workpiece carrier 6 is brought either by differential pumping or in corresponding pre-chambers in the process pressure environment. A pretreatment such as heating and etching can be done, for example, in antechambers. The coating then takes place in the system, as shown in FIG. 6, by introducing the substrate carriers 6 into the system via a door 4 or lock with a transport device 5 and transporting them between the sources, and then finally, for example, into Another chamber to be cooled again and brought back to atmospheric pressure (not shown) or transported back through the original antechamber and discharged.

For multilayer systems, if they are not to be produced in a single-chamber system for reasons of productivity or process technology or multilayer coating systems which have to be produced with different reactive gases and thus avoid "cross talk" or the risk of "cross contamination" of the individual process steps The individual chambers must be correspondingly separated, either by differential pumping or by valves or locks, as shown in FIG. 8, which shows such a multi-chamber in-line system 34. Here, locks and pretreatment chamber (s) 35 are vacuum-technologically separated from the actual coating chambers 1a, 1b by valves or locks and / or differential pumps.

A preferred version of a multi-chamber system 34 as regards flexibility in designing the process flow is shown in FIG. In this multi-chamber system 34, the individual chambers 1a, 1b, 1c communicating with each other via a transport chamber 36 with central handling system connected to each other and the substrate carrier 6 with the several inserted indexable inserts 7 are according to predetermined process flow of a single chamber 1a - 1c to the other transported. The advantage of such a system is that process steps of different lengths with a high duty cycle can also be inserted into the process flow. Another advantage is, for example, that the coating with oxidic and nitridic materials can take place in different process chambers and that these chambers then have to be equipped only with the necessary components especially for these coatings. This advantage is particularly clear for the pre- and post-treatment steps such as heating, etching, cooling or other plasma treatment steps, for example in a pre-treatment chamber 35 with treatment device 37, which serve only for surface modification of substrates or layers, and therefore have other typical process times than the coating steps However, the flexibility of such a system also becomes important when different layer thicknesses have to be coated in small batches. Then, as already mentioned, an effective process sequence can be adapted to the processes to be carried out.

The following descriptions again refer to a single chamber system 1. From the previous explanations, it is apparent that such single-chamber systems 1 can be modularly combined to form multi-chamber systems 34 in the manner described above. In addition, the following descriptions primarily mention the preferred arc sources 8, 21, although the use of sputter sources gives similar results. However, the arc sources 8, 21 are the preferred PVD sources for the process concept described herein. One reason for this is that, if it is necessary for reasons of uniformity and if one wishes to operate a large number of sources or source pairs, these can be kept geometrically small. This is particularly easy with arc sources because it is possible for many applications to work with small (and therefore structurally small) or no source magnetic fields. The arc sources preferably have a magnet system with which it is possible to generate at the target surface a very small perpendicular magnetic field, for example between 3 and 50 Gauss, but preferably in a range between 5 and 25 Gauss. Alternatively, and particularly preferred in view of the small size, the arc sources are completely without magnetic operated and it can be achieved with Arcverdampferquellen nevertheless very high evaporation rates.

Another reason why the arc sources are preferred in this context is that the pulsed operation of the sources, which is also preferred, can influence the directionality of the vaporized source material. In other words, for pulsed arc sources, it is particularly easy to work with a variety of architecturally small arc sources, which in turn has a positive influence on the Schichtuniformität. In addition, the evaporation rates of arc sources can easily be adjusted to achieve coating rates of up to 20 μm / hr and greater on the substrates 7, such as preferably indexable inserts.

In the case of arc evaporation, a pulse bias supply is preferred, preferably bipolar, for example with short positive and long negative voltage pulses, alternatively with alternating voltage (AC), and / or with DC supply at the substrate carrier 6 and one DC generator for the operation of each arc source connected. In addition, the arc sources are preferably additionally connected to a pulse generator, either with a pulse generator between two arc sources, ie an arc source pair, or a pulse generator per arc source, superimposed parallel to the associated DC supply, as described in WO 2006/099760 and which hereby declared the integral part of this application.

An electronic ignition device is advantageously used, which enables the ignition of the arc sources even with an oxide occupancy of the cathodes (targets).

In the case of single-chamber systems, a gas inlet system with connection for at least one inert gas 14 for heating or etching steps and connections for at least two reactive gases 12 (eg nitrogen, oxygen, hydrocarbons, borane hydrogen, silicon hydrogen, hydrogen etc.) for the coating is advantageously provided. This makes it easy to produce multi-layer layers of different materials with just one target material. For example, a metallic Adhesive layer, followed by a nitridic or carbide hard layer followed by an oxide cover layer with hard or even flowing transitions between the individual materials of the different layer areas are deposited. The production of multi-layer layers with micro- or nanometer-thick layer layers are thus easily adjustable, as this only a corresponding change in the gas flows, such as nitrogen and oxygen, is made. For example, such systems may consist of alternately deposited TiAIN / TiAIO, CrAIN / CrAIO, ZrAIN / ZrAIO layers.

FIG. 10 a shows schematically a preferred PVD arc source arrangement 8, 21 for a single-chamber system 1 and as a two-dimensional section (b). With such an arc source arrangement, an almost complete wrap-around of the cutting edge regions of the substrates 7 to be coated, in particular of indexable inserts, is achieved with good uniformity of the coating on the respective cutting surfaces E on both sides of the substrate carrier 6. The handling or the handling The indexable insert, as already mentioned, is simple and strongly based on CVD handling and the existing infrastructure in CVD technology. In FIG. 10b, the indexable inserts are simply inserted into grids 25 'as shown in more detail in FIGS. 7a and 7b. On the familiar to the expert options for placing the substrate carrier in the chamber has been omitted for reasons of clarity on the representation in the drawing. The uniformity of the coating is achieved by the arc source assembly 8, 21, which are mounted in the recipient wall. Ideally, but not necessarily, the recipient consists of two hemispherical parts, in the middle of which the substrate carrier 6 is positioned with the grid 25 'with the indexable inserts 7 (FIG. 10). Accordingly, for multilayer systems based on different source materials, multiple sources, in particular source pairs with oppositely disposed sources, should be provided for different materials. It is convenient to arrange the sources accessible from the outside to the chamber wall, as shown in Figure 10. However, sources can also be positioned within a vacuum chamber, whereby the chamber wall is not additionally exposed, at least in the source area, inclined or curved must be formed when the sources are to be aligned to certain areas of substrate carrier assemblies. In addition, ionization sources or orifices may be disposed in front of the arc sources and heaters in the chamber, which is not shown here, but is known to those skilled in the art. FIG. 10 shows a particularly suitable arrangement with four source pairs 8, 21, that is to say with a total of eight sources, which are slightly inclined relative to one another and directed towards the substrate carrier. As a result, the coating conditions on the regions of the substrates to be coated can be set well, for example the deposition rates by individually different feeding of the sources with different arc currents or source power and / or the layer composition with different materials. These settings can also be varied during operation, whereby even different profiles, for example, the layer composition and / or the crystalline layer structure can be driven. You can also use only two source pairs or more than 4 source pairs, depending on the application. The source pairs may also be preferred in one direction, for example arranged in a line depending on how the substrates 7 are positioned with their cutting edges E positioned in the substrate carrier 6 and certain regions of the substrates 7, for example the cutting surface more or less preferably on certain Art to be coated.

In contrast to the existing state of the art, in this coating system according to the invention, the at least one paired, opposing source arrangement 8, 21 and the two-dimensional design of the substrate carrier 6 between them replaces a necessary substrate rotation. In addition, the high evaporation rates of the PVD sources enable an economically high coating rate on the substrates 7.

The cutting edges with the cutting surfaces of the indexable inserts are continuously exposed during the coating to the material flow of the solid sources, which allows targeted multilayer structures on the substrate, without causing any rotation of these structures. This feature of the presented process solution is of great importance for thick layer systems, in which the layer stress and other layer properties, such as hardness, must be controlled.

Although the coating can advantageously take place without substrate movement, it is additionally possible to connect the substrate carrier 6 to a movement device 22 which moves it, for example, periodically relative to the PVD coating sources 8, 21, preferably in a horizontal movement, for example parallel to the horizontal transport plane. As a result, a further homogenization effect can be achieved without generating unwanted shadows on regions of the substrate 7, as would occur in the known rotational movement. The substrate carrier 6 can accommodate at least 30 substrates 7, preferably up to a maximum of 1000. A very suitable lot size is preferably at least 200 pieces to a maximum of 600 pieces. A particularly important hard material coating arrangement comprises a source in which at least one cathode 11 contains one of the materials AL, Cr, Ti or Zr or its alloys, wherein at least one reactive gas container 13 contains the gas oxygen to the reactive coating.

The system may have a loading robot outside the vacuum for the efficient charging or discharging of the substrate carrier 6 with the substrates 7, which is operatively connected to the transport device 5. The system door 4 can be designed as a vacuum lock for introducing at least one substrate carrier 6 into a pretreatment chamber 35 and / or vacuum processing chamber 1, 1a-1c. At least two, preferably a plurality of vacuum chambers 1, 1a-1c can be operated to communicate with one another via openings 4, preferably via locks 4, for processing a plurality of process steps, wherein at least one of the vacuum chambers 1, 1a-1c has at least one arc vapor source 8, 21 ,

At least two arc evaporator sources 8, 8 ', 21, 21' can be arranged on one side, preferably on both sides, of the flat substrate carrier 6 and the surfaces of the associated cathodes 11 can be arranged inclined relative to one another in the direction of the substrate carrier 6 for focusing the material flow on preferred regions of the substrates 7, wherein the sources 8, 21 are preferably individually operable, for example by adjusting the arc current electrical power and / or pulse conditions. Preferably, at least four arc evaporator sources 8, 8 ', 21, 21' are arranged on one side, preferably on both sides, of the planar substrate carrier 6, and the surfaces of the associated cathodes 11 are arranged inclined relative to one another in the direction of the substrate carrier 6, the sources preferably are individually operable.

For the preferred substrates 7, such as cutting tools and in particular for indexable inserts, a layer deposited on the substrate 7 is economically produced on the side surfaces of the active cutting edge E with thicknesses in the range of 0.1 μm to 50 μm.

In Figur.10b the simple approach of the substrate handling on lattices 25 'was illustrated. In the case of the frequent rectangular indexable insert geometry, for example, a grid 25 'with relatively thin wires can be advantageously used, wherein the mesh or the opening 25 in the grid are designed so that the individual indexable insert rests in each case in the center of two adjoining peripheral surfaces (FIG. 7). This ensures that the coating of the edges and corners and the cutting surface areas, which are later exposed to the cutting process, are uniform. The preferably electrical contacting, in particular during bias operation, likewise takes place via the grid 25 '. For indexable inserts with hole 28, for example, a grid with rods 27, which are guided through the holes, suitable as shown in Figure 5a, preferably without rotation device.

It has been explained above that the combination of quasi-two-dimensional substrate support and PVD source arrangement allows for a largely uniform layer deposition on the cutting surfaces of the indexable inserts. Such a distribution is normally obtained in a CVD coating but not with a PVD coating. However, there are now also applications for cutting tools in which, depending on the workpiece material and the cutting parameters during machining, especially the free surface A or especially the chip surface B is claimed. This means that it is often desirable to adhere to a predetermined layer thickness ratio between free and rake face in order to protect as far as possible that area with a thicker layer, without occupying the unclaimed or under-stressed area with an excessively thick layer, which is not would be functional and would only harbor liability problems. The solution to this problem will be explained with reference to FIG. As an example we start from this source arrangement and use the simple flat substrate carrier 6 for indexable insert 7 fixedly placed on a grid 25 '. If it is now desired to increase the layer thickness on the chip surface B, in particular those arc sources 8, 21 are operated, which coat in the direction of this surface, while all perpendicularly coating arc sources 8, 21 are switched off or operated at a lower coating rate by adjustment the electrical power supply. If you want to coat the open space thicker, accordingly, the sources that allow a normal coating to the open space operated and the perpendicular reduced or turned off. It can be seen that this combination of flat substrate holder and directional PVD coating allows for the first time the setting of predetermined layer thickness ratios of free and rake surface without substrate rotation. This was not possible with previously known coating systems. This feature now makes it possible to realize a very application-specific design for indexable insert coating. What has been said here for the layer thickness adjustment can also be applied analogously to the combination of different materials, for example, a first material can preferably be deposited on the flank A and a second material preferably on the rake face B, ie it can be scouring and flanking. It can be separated and optimized for specific coating material, which was not possible until now.

Claims

claims

1. Vacuum coating system comprising:

a vacuum processing chamber (1) connected to a pumping system (2),

at least one reactive gas inlet (12) which is connected to at least one reactive gas container (13),

at least one PVD coating source (8, 21) having an anode (10) and a planar cathode (11), a substrate carrier (6) having a plurality of substrates (7),

a door (4) which is arranged on the vacuum process chamber (1) for loading the chamber with the substrate carrier (6),

a transport device (5) for passing the substrate carrier (6) through the door (4) and positioning in the vacuum process chamber (1) spaced in the region of the planar cathode (11),

- a power supply (16, 18) connected to the PVD coating source (8, 16), characterized in that the substrate carrier (6) forms a two - dimensional horizontal extension and is positioned between at least two PVD coating sources and that the several substrates

(7) cutting tools are provided with at least one cutting edge (E), in the peripheral edge region of the sheet substrate (7), which are distributed in a plane of the two-dimensional extent of the substrate carrier (6), wherein the substrate carrier (6) in a horizontal plane ( 3) spaced apart in the vacuum process chamber (1), positioned between the planar cathodes (11) of the at least two PVD coating sources (8, 21) such that at least a portion of each of the at least one cutting edge (E) has an active cutting edge (E ') and at least one of the cathodes (11) of the PVD coating sources (8, 21) is always exposed in visual communication.

2. Coating plant according to claim 1, characterized in that

Substrates (7) with a moving device (26, 27, 30) are connected and these are arranged together in a plane on the substrate carrier (6), preferably such that a rotational arrangement for the substrates (7) is formed.

3. Coating installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the substrates (7) are stored fixedly positioned within the substrate carrier (6), wherein the at least one cutting edge (E), on the correspondingly assigned side of a cathode (11) at any time at least 50th %, preferably 70% of its length is aligned in visual contact exposed to the corresponding cathode.

4. Coating installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the PVD coating sources (8, 21) sputter sources, in particular magnetron sources, and / or preferably Arcverdamp- ferquellen are.

5. Coating installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the substrate carrier (6) has a substrate support (24) which is provided with a plurality of openings (25) into which the flat substrates (7) are inserted, wherein the arrangement is preferably formed as a grid structure, such as a wire grid (25 ') which is held by a surrounding frame (23) and this vorzugswei- se consists of electrically conductive material.

6. Coating installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the substrate carrier (6) is connected to a bias power supply.

7. Coating plant according to claim 6, characterized in that the

Biasstromversorgung is a DC, AC, MF, RF or preferably a pulse power supply, which forms bipolar or unipolar pulses.

8. Coating installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that two PVD - coating sources (8, 21) are provided and these are substantially opposite each other and the substrate carrier (6) lying in the horizontal transport plane (3), between the flat cathodes (11) is spaced such that one source is positioned above and the other source below the substrate support (6) and these sources form a facing coating source pair (8, 21).

9. Coating plant according to claim 8, characterized in that at least two PVD coating source pairs (8, 21) are provided.

10. Coating plant according to one of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that the two cathodes (11) of a coating source pair (8, 21) with a pulse - high current supply (17) are connected and that at least one coating source pair (8, 21) from Arcverdampferquellen consists.

11. Coating installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the substrates (7) are substantially flat, preferably plate-shaped, and have an extent in the range of

5mm to 60 mm and are preferably indexable inserts.

12. Coating plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reactive gas container (13) contains one of the gases nitrogen, oxygen, hydrocarbon, silane, hydrogen boride, hydrogen, preferably oxygen.

13. Coating plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the substrate carrier (6) receives at least 30 substrates (7), preferably at most 1000, preferably at least 200 to a maximum of 600 pieces.

14. Coating plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the substrate carrier (6) is connected to a movement device (22) for periodic, relative movement with respect to the PVD coating sources (8, 21), wherein the movement device (22) is preferably a horizontal movement device.

15. Coating plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one cathode (11) contains the material AL, Cr, Ti or Zr or their alloys and at least one Reaktivgasbe- container (13) contains oxygen.

16. Coating plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the system outside the vacuum has a Beschik- kungsroboter for charging or discharging the substrate support (6) with the substrates (7), which is operatively connected to the transport device (5).

17. Coating installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the door (4) is designed as a lock.

18. Coating installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least two, preferably a plurality of vacuum chambers (1, 1a, 1b, 1c) are operatively connected to each other via openings, preferably via sluices for processing a plurality of process steps, wherein at least one of the vacuum chambers (1, 1a, 1b, 1c) at least one Arcverdampferquelle (8, 21).

19. Coating installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least two Arcverdampferquellen (8, 8 ', 21, 21') are arranged on one side, preferably on both sides, of the planar substrate support (6) and the surfaces whose cathodes ( 11) are arranged inclined relative to each other in the direction of the substrate carrier (6) and the sources are preferably operated individually.

20. Coating installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that on one side, preferably on both sides, of the planar substrate support (6) at least four Arcverdampferquellen (8, 8 ', 21,

21 ') are arranged and the surfaces whose cathodes (11) against each other in the direction of the substrate carrier (6) are arranged inclined and the sources are preferably operated individually.

21. Coating plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the layer thickness of the deposited on the substrate (7) layer on the side surfaces of the active cutting edge (E) has a thickness in the range of 0.1 .mu.m to 50 .mu.m.

22. Coating installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the alignment of the substrates (7) in the substrate support with the arrangement of the PVD coating sources ensures permanent, uninterrupted exposure of at least the active cutting edges (E ') of the substrates (7) that the coating in the layer thickness includes a maximum variation of ± 30%, preferably of maximum

± 20%, and more preferably of at most ± 10%.

23. A method for simultaneous coating of several sheet-like

Substrates (7) with a hard material layer, comprising: - a vacuum process chamber (1) which is connected to a pumping system (2) for evacuation, at least one reactive gas inlet (12) which is connected to at least one reactive gas container (13) for the admission of process gases,

at least one PVD coating source (8, 21) having an anode (10) and a planar cathode (11) for coating the substrate (7),

- a substrate carrier (6) are placed on the plurality of substrates (7),

- A transport device (5) for passing the substrate carrier (6) through the door (4) and positioning in the vacuum process chamber (1) spaced in the region of the flat cathode (11),

- a power supply (16, 18) for operating the PVD coating source (8, 21), characterized in that the substrate carrier (6) is formed as a two - dimensional horizontal extended array and this is positioned between at least two PVD coating sources and that a plurality of substrates (7) cutting tools are used which have at least one cutting edge (E) in the peripheral edge region of the planar substrate (7), which are distributed in a plane of the two-dimensional extent of the substrate carrier (6), wherein the substrate carrier (6 spaced apart in a horizontal plane (3) in the vacuum process chamber (1), are positioned between the planar cathodes (11) of the at least two PVD coating sources (8, 21) such that at least a portion of each of the at least one cutting edge (E ) contains an active cutting edge (E ') and this against at least one of the cathodes (11) of the PVD coating source n (8, 21) are exposed at all times exposed in the line of sight and during the coating no interruption at the surface to be coated of the substrates (7) of the deposited particle flow takes place in the region of the active cutting edge (E ').

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that substrates (7) are coupled to a movement device (26, 27, 30) and this is arranged together in a plane on the substrate carrier (6), preferably in such a way that the substrates (7 ) are moved in rotation.

25. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that the substrates (7) are deposited fixedly positioned on the substrate carrier (6), wherein the at least one cutting edge (E), on the correspondingly assigned side of a cathode (11) at any time at least 50th %, preferably 70% of the cutting edge (E) of its length is aligned in visual contact with the corresponding cathode.

26. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 25, characterized in that sputter sources, in particular magnetron sources, and / or preferably arc vapor sources are used as PVD coating sources (8, 21)

27. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 26, characterized in that the substrate carrier (6) with a substrate support (24) is formed with a plurality of openings (25) in which the flat

Substrates (7) are inserted in such a way, wherein the arrangement is preferably formed as a grid structure, such as a wire mesh which is held by a surrounding frame (23) and this grid is preferably made of electrically conductive material.

28. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 27, characterized in that on the substrate carrier (6) an electrical bias current supply is applied.

29. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that the bias power supply outputs a DC, AC, MF, RF voltage and / or preferred example, electrical pulses, which can form bipolar or unipolar pulses.

30. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 29, characterized in that two PVD coating sources (8, 21) are provided and these are substantially opposite each other and the substrate carrier (6) lying in the horizontal transport plane (3) between the planar cathodes (11) is arranged at a distance, such that one source is positioned above and the other source below the substrate carrier (6) and these sources form a mutually facing coating source pair (8, 21).

31. Method according to claim 30, characterized in that at least two PVD coating source pairs (8, 21) are provided.

32. Method according to claim 30, characterized in that the two cathodes (11) of a coating source pair (8, 21) are operated connected to a pulse high current supply (17) and that at least one coating source pair (8, 21) Arcverdampfer- sources is operated.

33. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 32, characterized in that substantially flat, preferably plate-shaped substrates (7) are used with an extension in the range of 5mm to 60 mm and preferably indexable inserts are coated.

34. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 33, characterized in that as reactive gas of one of the gases nitrogen oxygen, hydrocarbon, silane, hydrogen boride, hydrogen, preferably oxygen in the vacuum process chamber (1) is admitted.

35. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 34, characterized in that on the substrate carrier (6) for simultaneous coating at least 30 substrates (7) are stored, preferably at most 1000, preferably at least 200 to a maximum of 600 pieces.

36. Method according to one of the preceding claims 23 to 35, characterized in that a relative movement takes place between substrate carrier (6) and the PVD coating sources (8, 21) with the aid of a movement device (22), wherein the movement device (22) is preferably a horizontal movement device and preferably the substrate carrier (6) is moved.

37. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 36, characterized in that at least one cathode (11) the material AL, Cr, Ti, or Zr or their alloys is vaporized or atomized and at least one reactive gas is supplied as oxygen to the plasma process ,

38. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 37, characterized in that outside the vacuum process chamber (1) a loading robot is provided for charging or discharging the

Substrate carrier (6) with the substrates (7), which is operatively connected to the transport device (5).

39. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 38, characterized in that the door (4) is designed as a lock through which substrate carrier (6) in the vacuum chamber (1) can be inserted and removed.

40. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 39, characterized in that at least two, preferably a plurality of vacuum chambers (1, 1a, 1b, 1c) communicating with each other via openings, preferably via locks are operatively connected to the settlement of several Process steps, wherein at least one or both of the vacuum chambers (1, 1a, 1b, 1c) at least one Arcverdampferquelle (8, 21) is operated.

41. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 40, characterized in that at least two Arcverdampferquellen (8, 8 ', 21, 21') are arranged arranged on one side, preferably on both sides of the flat substrate support (6) and the Surfaces of the respective cathodes (11) are arranged inclined relative to one another in the direction of the substrate carrier (6) and the sources are preferably operated individually controlled.

42. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 41, characterized in that at least four Arcverdampferquellen (8, 8 ', 21, 21') are arranged arranged on one side, preferably on both sides of the planar substrate support (6) and the Surfaces of the respective cathodes

(11) are arranged inclined towards each other in the direction of the substrate carrier (6) and the sources are preferably operated individually controlled.

43. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 42, characterized in that on the substrate (7) on the side surfaces of the active

Cutting edge (E ') a layer is deposited with a layer thickness in the range of 0.1 .mu.m to 50 .mu.m.

44. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 43, characterized in that the substrates (7) in the substrate carrier together with the

Arrangement of the PVD coating sources ensures a permanent, uninterrupted exposure of at least the active cutting edges (E ') of the substrates (7), so that the material flow from the source to the substrate is not interrupted during the entire coating period, with a maximum variation of the material flow of ± 30% is maintained, preferably of a maximum of ± 20% and more preferably of a maximum of ± 10%.

45. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 44, characterized in that the coating of the plurality of substrates (7) on a substrate carrier (6) within a cycle time of less than 3.0 hours, preferably less than 1.0 hour takes place.

46. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 45, characterized in that at the free surfaces (B) and the clamping surfaces (A) of the substrates (7), at least along and laterally of the cutting edge (E) on both surfaces, different Layer thicknesses are set by individual adjustment of the power supply to the at least two PVD coating sources (8, 21), preferably at the plurality of brushing sources (8, 21).

47. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 23 to 46, characterized in that set at the free surfaces (B) and the rake surfaces (A) of the substrates (7), at least along and laterally of the cutting edge (E) on both surfaces, different material compositions By individual adjustment of the power supply to the at least two PVD coating sources (8, 21), preferably to the plurality of coating sources (8, 21) which are equipped with optional different cathode materials.