# US 11,078,120 B2 · Oxide sintered body, sputtering target and oxide semiconductor film

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- Number: US 11,078,120 B2
- Document ID: US11078120B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/096,641
- Filed: 2017-04-26
- Published: 2020-10-15
- Granted: 2021-08-03
- Earliest claimed: 2016-04-26
- Assignees: Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Kazuyoshi Inoue; Futoshi Utsuno; Shigekazu Tomai; Masatoshi Shibata; Mami Itose
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11078120B2

## CPC

- C04B 35/01: based on oxide ceramics
- C04B 35/453: based on zinc, tin, or bismuth oxides or solid solutions thereof with other oxides, e.g. zincates, stannates or bismuthates
- C04B 35/6261: {Milling}
- C04B 35/64: Burning or sintering processes (C04B33/32 takes precedence {; powder metallurgy B22F})
- C23C 14/08: Oxides (C23C14/10 takes precedence)
- C23C 14/083: {of refractory metals or yttrium}
- C23C 14/086: {of zinc, germanium, cadmium, indium, tin, thallium or bismuth}
- C23C 14/3407: {Cathode assembly for sputtering apparatus, e.g. Target}
- C23C 14/3414: {Metallurgical or chemical aspects of target preparation, e.g. casting, powder metallurgy}
- H10D 30/6755: {Oxide semiconductors, e.g. zinc oxide, copper aluminium oxide or cadmium stannate}
- H10D 30/6756: {Amorphous oxide semiconductors}
- H10D 62/402: {Amorphous materials}
- H10D 62/80: characterised by the materials
- H10D 86/0221: {comprising manufacture, treatment or patterning of TFT semiconductor bodies}
- H10D 86/423: {comprising semiconductor materials not belonging to the Group IV, e.g. InGaZnO}
- H10D 86/60: wherein the TFTs are in active matrices
- H10P 14/22: using physical deposition, e.g. vacuum deposition or sputtering
- H10P 14/3434: {being oxide semiconductor materials (Group IIB-VIA semiconductor materials H10P14/3424)}
- H10P 14/3454: {Amorphous}
- C04B 2235/3225: Yttrium oxide or oxide-forming salts thereof
- C04B 2235/3284: Zinc oxides, zincates, cadmium oxides, cadmiates, mercury oxides, mercurates or oxide forming salts thereof
- C04B 2235/3286: Gallium oxides, gallates, indium oxides, indates, thallium oxides, thallates or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. zinc gallate
- C04B 2235/3293: Tin oxides, stannates or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. indium tin oxide [ITO]
- C04B 2235/604: Pressing at temperatures other than sintering temperatures
- C04B 2235/6562: Heating rate
- C04B 2235/6567: Treatment time
- C04B 2235/76: Crystal structural characteristics, e.g. symmetry
- C04B 2235/761: Unit-cell parameters, e.g. lattice constants
- C04B 2235/77: Density
- C04B 2235/80: Phases present in the sintered or melt-cast ceramic products other than the main phase
- H10P 14/3426: {Oxides}
- C04B: LIME, MAGNESIA; SLAG; CEMENTS; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDING MATERIALS; ARTIFICIAL STONE {(roofing granules E04D7/005)}; CERAMICS (devitrified glass-ceramics C03C10/00); REFRACTORIES; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE
- C23C: COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL (making metal-coated products by extrusion B21C23/22; covering with metal by connecting pre-existing layers to articles, see the relevant places, e.g. B21D39/00, B23K; metallising of glass C03C; metallising mortars, concrete, artificial stone, ceramics or natural stone C04B41/00; enamelling of, or applying a vitreous layer to, metals C23D; treating metal surfaces or coating of metals by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25D; single-crystal film growth C30B; by metallising textiles D06M11/83; decorating textiles by locally metallising D06Q1/04)
- H10D: INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

An oxide sintered body is characterized in that it comprises an oxide including an In element, a Zn element, a Sn element and a Y element and that a sintered body density is equal to or more than 100.00% of a theoretical density.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An oxide sintered body comprising an oxide including an In element, a Zn element, a Sn element and a Y element, wherein
the oxide sintered body density is equal to or more than 100.01% of a theoretical density,
the oxide sintered body is mainly composed of the bixbyite phase represented by In2O3
and atomic ratios of the Zn element, the Y element, the Sn element and the In element are within the following ranges:
0.01≤Zn/(In+Zn+Y+Sn)≤0.25,
0.03≤Y/(In+Zn+Y+Sn)≤0.25,
0.03≤Sn/(In+Zn+Y+Sn)≤0.30, and
0.20≤In/(In+Zn+Y+Sn)≤0.93.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The oxide sintered body according to claim 1, wherein the oxide sintered body includes a pyrochlore phase represented by Y2Sn2O7.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The oxide sintered body according to claim 2, wherein any one or more of the Y element and the Zn element form a substitutional solid solution with the bixbyite phase.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

A sputtering target comprising the oxide sintered body according to claim 1.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

An oxide semiconductor film formed by sputtering a sputtering target according to claim 4.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The oxide semiconductor film according to claim 5, wherein the oxide semiconductor film is amorphous.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

A thin-film transistor comprising the oxide semiconductor film according to claim 5.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The oxide sintered body according to claim 1, wherein the proportion of presence of the bixbyite phase represented by In2O3 in the oxide sintered body is equal to or more than 50 wt %.

### Claim 9

An oxide sintered body comprising an In element, a Zn element, a Sn element and a Y element, wherein
atomic ratios of the Zn element and the In element are within ranges below,
the sintered oxide body includes no spinel phase represented by Zn2SnO4, and
the oxide sintered body is mainly composed of the bixbyite phase represented by In2O3:
0.01≤Zn/(In+Zn+Y+Sn)≤0.25
0.50≤In/(In+Zn+Y+Sn)
wherein atomic ratios of the Y element and the Sn element are within the following ranges:
0.03≤Y/(In+Zn+Y+Sn)≤0.25, and
0.03≤Sn/(In+Zn+Y+Sn)≤0.30.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The oxide sintered body according to claim 9, wherein the oxide sintered body includes a pyrochlore phase represented by Y2Sn2O7.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The oxide sintered body according to claim 10, wherein any one or more of the Y element and the Zn element form a substitutional solid solution with the bixbyite phase.

### Claim 12 (depends on 9)

The oxide sintered body according to claim 9, wherein the proportion of presence of the bixbyite phase represented by In2O3 in the oxide sintered body is equal to or more than 50 wt %.

### Claim 13

An oxide sintered body comprising an In element, a Zn element, a Sn element and a Y element, wherein
atomic ratios of the Zn element and the In element are within ranges below, wherein
the oxide sintered body consists of a bixbyite phase represented by In2O3 and a pyrochlore phase represented by Y2Sn2O7, or
the oxide sintered body consists of a bixbyite phase represented by In2O3, a pyrochlore phase represented by Y2Sn2O7 and an indium trizincoindate phase represented by In((Zn3In)O6)
0.01≤Zn/(In+Zn+Y+Sn)≤0.25
0.50≤In/(In+Zn+Y+Sn).

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The oxide sintered body according to claim 13, wherein any one or more of the Y element and the Zn element form a substitutional solid solution with the bixbyite phase.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The oxide sintered body according to claim 13, wherein atomic ratios of the Y element and the Sn element are within the following ranges:
0.03≤Y/(In+Zn+Y+Sn)≤0.25, and
0.03≤Sn/(In+Zn+Y+Sn)≤0.30.