Sputtering target and methods of making and using same
AssigneeNV Bekaert SA
InventorsKlaus Hartig, Johan Vanderstraeten
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sputtering target may include: a) a backing adapted to be operatively connected to a sputter power source; and b) an outer layer of a sputterable material carried by the backing, the sputterable material including a mixture of zinc and a second metal having a melting point less than that of the zinc, the zinc and the second metal being present in the sputterable material in metallic form and arranged as discrete volumes of the second metal in a matrix of zinc so that the zinc and the second metal are present in the sputterable material in a substantially non-alloyed form.
Claims22
A sputtering target, comprising:
- a) a backing adapted to be operatively connected to a sputtering power source;
- and
- b) an outer layer of a sputterable material carried by the backing, the sputterable material comprising a mixture of zinc and a second metal having a melting point less than that of the zinc, the zinc and the second metal being present in the sputterable material in metallic form and arranged as discrete volumes of the second metal in a matrix of zinc so that the zinc and the second metal are present in the sputterable material in a substantially non-alloyed form.
A method of forming a sputtering target, comprising:
- a) providing a backing having an exterior surface;
- and
- b) simultaneously plasma spraying zinc metal and a second metal, said zinc metal and said second metal existing in a substantially non-alloyed form, to create an outer layer of a sputterable material carried by the backing, the second metal having a melting point less than that of the zinc metal.
A method of depositing a film on a substrate, comprising:
- a) providing a target comprising a backing and an outer layer of a sputterable material carried by the backing, the sputterable material comprising a mixture of zinc and a second metal having a melting point less than that of the zinc, the zinc and the second metal being present in the sputterable material in metallic form and arranged as discrete areas of the second metal in a matrix of zinc so that the zinc and the second metal are present in the sputterable material in a substantially non-alloyed form;
- b) placing the target and a substrate in a sputtering chamber and connecting the target to a power source;
- and
- c) applying power to the target while maintaining in the sputtering chamber a reactive atmosphere comprising oxygen, thereby depositing on a surface of the substrate a film comprising oxides of zinc and the second metal.
A sputtering target, comprising:
- a) a backing adapted to be operatively connected to a sputtering power source;
- and
- b) an outer layer of a sputterable material carried by the backing, the sputterable material comprising a mixture of zinc and a second metal having a melting point less than that of the zinc, the zinc and the second metal being present in the sputterable material in metallic form and arranged as discrete volumes of the second metal in a matrix of zinc so that said sputterable material is substantially inhomogeneous at a level above an atomic level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.