Sputtering target

A sputtering target comprising:

• an aluminum matrix;
• and
• (1) a material or phase containing aluminum and further containing a rare earth element, at a content of 10 to 70 mol % in the aluminum matrix, or
• (2) a material or phase containing a rare earth element, at a content of 10 to 70 mol % in the aluminum matrix;
• wherein an intermetallic compound including at least two elements selected from the group consisting of aluminum, and a rare earth element, is present in the sputtering target as said material or phase;
• wherein the sputtering target is a sintered body of a powder compact;
• wherein a difference between a composition of the sputtering target and a reference composition is within ±3% both in an in-plane direction of a sputter surface and in a target thickness direction under (Condition 1) or (Condition 2),
• the reference composition being an average of compositions at 18 sites in total measured in accordance with (Condition 1) or (Condition 2),
• (Condition 1) in which
• the sputtering target is a disk-shaped target having a center O and a radius of r, and in the in-plane direction of the sputter surface, measurement sites for composition analysis are 9 sites in total including, on imaginary crossing lines orthogonally crossing at the center O as an intersection, 1 site at the center O, 4 sites 0.45r away from the center O, and 4 sites 0.9r away from the center O, and
• in the target thickness direction, a cross section including one of the imaginary crossing lines is formed, the cross section is a rectangle having a longitudinal length of t (that is, the sputtering target has a thickness of t) and a lateral length of 2r, and measurement sites for composition analysis are 9 sites in total including 3 sites, on a vertical transversal passing through the center O, at a center X and 0.45t away from the center X upward and downward (referred to as a point a, a point X, and a point b) and including, on the cross section, 2 sites 0.9r away from the point a toward left and right sides, 2 sites 0.9r away from the point X toward the left and right sides, and 2 sites 0.9r away from the point b toward the left and right sides, or
• (Condition 2) in which
• the sputtering target has a rectangle shape having a longitudinal length of L1 and a lateral length of L2 (note that examples of the rectangle include a square in which L1 and L2 are equal and a rectangle obtained by developing a side surface of a cylindrical shape having a length J and a circumferential length K, and in a form of the rectangle, L2 corresponds to the length J, L1 corresponds to the circumferential length K, and the length J and the circumferential length K have a relationship of J>K, J=K, or J<K), and in the in-plane direction of the sputter surface, measurement sites for composition analysis are 9 sites in total including, on imaginary crossing lines orthogonally crossing at a center of gravity O as an intersection in a case where each line orthogonally crosses a side of the rectangle, 1 site at the center of gravity O, 2 sites away by a distance of 0.25L1 from the center of gravity O on the imaginary crossing line in the longitudinal direction, 2 sites away by a distance of 0.25L2 from the center of gravity O in the lateral direction, 2 sites away by a distance of 0.45L1 from the center of gravity O in the longitudinal direction, and 2 sites away by a distance of 0.45L2 from the center of gravity O in the lateral direction, and
• in the target thickness direction, a cross section including one imaginary crossing line that is parallel to any one of a longitudinal side having a length of L1 and a lateral side having a length of L2 is formed, and in a case where the imaginary crossing line is parallel to the lateral side having a length of L2, the cross section is a rectangle having a longitudinal length of t (that is, the sputtering target has a thickness of t) and a lateral length of L2, and measurement sites for composition analysis are 9 sites in total including 3 sites, on a vertical transversal passing through the center of gravity O, at a center X and 0.45t away from the center X upward and downward (referred to as a point a, a point X, and a point b) and including, on the cross section, 2 sites 0.45L2 away from the point a toward left and right sides, 2 sites 0.45L2 away from the point X toward the left and right sides, and 2 sites 0.45L2 away from the point b toward the left and right sides.