Mask automation, film fabrication, and design automation in the BuWeps/NAFI thin-film technology

The development of thin-film circuitry and the urgent need for thin-film circuits in military and space applications has created a demand for improved manufacturing techniques in the tooling and fabrication of vacuum-deposited circuits. This paper describes how numerical control and automation offer a simple and economical approach to obtain consistent and repeatable results, and presents an analysis of the effect of mask errors on the deposited circuits. A numerically-controlled milling machine is utilized in the production of graphite masks and a semiautomatic, modular four-chamber vacuum system (an in-line machine) is employed in the deposition of thin film on glass substrates.