Appeal No. 2001-2455
Application 08/439,490
target assembly removably connected to the housing where the
target assembly includes a cooling jacket connected in water-
sealing relationship to the back of a target to enclose a cooling
water cavity between the cooling jacket and the target and
removable with the target from the cathode assembly, an
electrical insulator between the cathode assembly and the chamber
wall around the opening and surrounding the sputtering face of
the target; and a power supply having a negative output connected
to the cathode assembly and a positive output connected at least
indirectly to the chamber wall, the target comprising:
a circular target unit that is formed at least in part
of a volume of sputtering material, the unit having a forward
facing front sputtering face of the sputtering material and a
rearward facing rear face having a water impermeable cooling
surface lying in an annular area thereon around a center, the
rear face being configured to form a boundary of the cavity in
direct contact with cooling fluid in the cavity when the target
unit is connected to a cooling jacket;
a forward facing front edge having a vacuum-sealing
surface thereon bordering the front sputtering face to form a
vacuum seal when the target is connected in the apparatus; and
a rearward facing rear edge having a water-sealing
surface thereon bordering the rear face of the target unit to
seal the cavity when the target is connected to the cooling
jacket.1
1The version of claim 40 included in the Appendix to
appellant’s brief is incorrect. Claim 40 was originally added by
appellant’s amendment filed June 23, 1997, Paper No. 5.
Thereafter, an amendment after final rejection was filed December
5, 1997, Paper No. 7 in which appellant requested that the word
“back” in claim 40, line 26 be changed to “rear”. The examiner
indicated that this amendment would be entered upon the filing of
an appeal. See Advisory Action, Paper No. 8, mailed December 17,
1997. The amendment has not been made to claim 40 as the word
“back” could not be found. Thus, the current version of claim 40
is the claim as originally presented in Paper No. 5.
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