PURPOSE: To enable the continuous formation of a thin film on a substrate surface without increasing the scale of a device, by segmenting the inside of a vacuum vessel wherein sputtering is accomplished through a film-like substrate into six chambers having the respective functions with separate evacuation pumps by means of slits.

CONSTITUTION: The side wall on the front side of a vacuum vessel 1 is removed, and a film-like substrate P in un-coiled from a feed reel 65 and is passed through low conductance slits 15W21. The substrate P is at the same instant extended along the elements in respective chambers in order of the 1st auxiliary vacuum chamber 9, degassing chamber 10, high vacuum chamber 11, intermediate vacuum chamber 12, sputtering chamber 13 and the 2nd auxiliary vacuum chamber 14. The forward end thereof is wound on a take-up reel 66, then the side wall of the vessel 1 is installed. Vacuum pumps 57W62 are operated to evacuate the inside of the respective chambers and to maintain the same under prescribed pressure, whereafter the elements in the respective chambers are functioned. The substrate P formed with the thin sputtered film to a desired thickness is continuously taken up according to the above-mentioned device.