# US 8,784,700 B2 · Sputtering target and oxide semiconductor film

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- Number: US 8,784,700 B2
- Document ID: US8784700B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 12/518,988
- Filed: 2007-11-30
- Published: 2010-05-06
- Granted: 2014-07-22
- Earliest claimed: 2006-12-13
- Assignees: Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Kazuyoshi Inoue; Koki Yano; Futoshi Utsuno
- Inventors: Kazuyoshi Inoue; Koki Yano; Futoshi Utsuno
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8784700B2

## CPC

- H01J 37/3429: {Plural materials}
- C01G 15/00: Compounds of gallium, indium or thallium
- 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 35/62625: {Wet mixtures}
- C04B 35/62655: {Drying, e.g. freeze-drying, spray-drying, microwave or supercritical drying}
- C04B 35/64: Burning or sintering processes (C04B33/32 takes precedence {; powder metallurgy B22F})
- C23C 14/086: {of zinc, germanium, cadmium, indium, tin, thallium or bismuth}
- C23C 14/3414: {Metallurgical or chemical aspects of target preparation, e.g. casting, powder metallurgy}
- 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)}
- C04B 2235/3229: Cerium oxides or oxide-forming salts thereof
- C04B 2235/3244: Zirconium oxides, zirconates, hafnium oxides, hafnates, or oxide-forming salts thereof
- C04B 2235/3251: Niobium oxides, niobates, tantalum oxides, tantalates, or oxide-forming salts thereof
- C04B 2235/3256: Molybdenum oxides, molybdates or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. cadmium molybdate
- C04B 2235/3258: Tungsten oxides, tungstates, 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 2235/3287: Germanium oxides, germanates or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. copper germanate
- C04B 2235/3293: Tin oxides, stannates or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. indium tin oxide [ITO]
- C04B 2235/5409: expressed by specific surface values
- C04B 2235/5436: micrometer sized, i.e. from 1 to 100 micron
- C04B 2235/5445: submicron sized, i.e. from 0,1 to 1 micron
- C04B 2235/604: Pressing at temperatures other than sintering temperatures
- C04B 2235/6585: at an oxygen percentage above that of air
- C04B 2235/6586: Processes characterised by the flow of gas
- C04B 2235/725: Metal content
- C04B 2235/77: Density
- C04B 2235/80: Phases present in the sintered or melt-cast ceramic products other than the main phase
- H01J 2237/332: Coating
- H01J: ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS (spark-gaps H01T; electric arc lamps H05B31/00; particle accelerators H05H)
- C01G: COMPOUNDS CONTAINING METALS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C01D OR C01F (metal hydrides {monoborane, diborane or addition complexes thereof} C01B6/00; salts of oxyacids of halogens C01B11/00; peroxides, salts or peroxyacids C01B15/00; thiosulfates, dithionites, polythionates C01B17/64; compounds containing selenium, or tellurium C01B19/00; binary compounds of nitrogen with metals C01B21/06; azides C01B21/08; {compounds containing nitrogen, other non-metals and metal C01B21/082}; metal amides C01B21/092; nitrites C01B21/50; {compounds of noble gases C01B23/0005}; phosphides C01B25/08; salts of oxyacids of phosphorus C01B25/16; carbides C01B32/90; compounds containing silicon C01B33/00; compounds containing boron C01B35/00; compounds having molecular sieve properties but not having base-exchange properties C01B37/00; compounds having molecular sieve and base-exchange properties, e.g. crystalline zeolites, C01B39/00; cyanides C01C3/08; salts of cyanamide C01C3/16; thiocyanates C01C3/20)
- 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)
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

A sputtering target containing oxides of indium (In), gallium (Ga) and zinc (Zn), which includes a compound shown by ZnGa2O4 and a compound shown by InGaZnO4.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A sputtering target containing oxides of indium (In), gallium (Ga) and zinc (Zn), which comprises a spinel structure compound shown by ZnGa2O4 and a homologous structure compound shown by InGaO3(ZnO)m wherein m is an integer of 1 to 20, and wherein the atomic ratio shown by In/(In+Ga+Zn) and the atomic ratio shown by Ga/(In+Ga+Zn) satisfy the following relationship:
In/(In+Ga+Zn)>Ga/(In+Ga+Zn),
in the form of a sputtering target.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A sputtering target according to claim 1, which comprising a homologous structure compound shown by InGaZnO4.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

A sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein an atomic ratio shown by In/(In+Ga+Zn), an atomic ratio shown by Ga/(In+Ga+Zn) and an atomic ratio shown by Zn/(In+Ga+Zn) satisfy the following relationship:
0.2<In/(In+Ga+Zn)<0.77
0.2<Ga/(In+Ga+Zn)<0.50
0.03<Zn/(In+Ga+Zn)<0.50,
provided that In/(In+Ga+Zn)>Ga/(In+Ga+Zn).

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

A sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein the sputtering target comprises a metal element with an atomic valency of positive tetravalency or higher, and the atomic ratio of the metal element with an atomic valency of positive tetravalency or higher relative to the total metal elements is 0.0001 to 0.2.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

A sputtering target according to claim 4, wherein the metal element with an atomic valency of positive tetravalency or higher is one or more elements selected from tin, zirconium, germanium, cerium, niobium, tantalum, molybdenum and tungsten.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

A sputtering target according to claim 1, which has a bulk resistance of less than 5×10−3 Ω·cm.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

A sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein the average diameter of the spinel structure compound shown by ZnGa2O4 is 10 μm or less.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

A sputtering target according to claim 1, which has a sintered body density of 6.0 g/cm3 or more.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

A sputtering target according to claim 1, which has a surface roughness (Ra) of 2 μm or less and an average transverse rupture strength of 50 MPa or more.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

A sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein the content of each of Fe, Al, Si, Ni and Cu is 10 ppm (weight) or less.