# US 9,039,944 B2 · Sputtering target

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 9,039,944 B2
- Document ID: US9039944B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/130,857
- Filed: 2012-06-28
- Published: 2014-05-29
- Granted: 2015-05-26
- Earliest claimed: 2011-07-06
- Assignees: Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Kazuaki Ebata; Shigekazu Tomai; Kota Terai; Shigeo Matsuzaki; Koki Yano
- Inventors: Kazuaki Ebata; Shigekazu Tomai; Kota Terai; Shigeo Matsuzaki; Koki Yano
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9039944B2

## CPC

- H10P 14/3434: {being oxide semiconductor materials (Group IIB-VIA semiconductor materials H10P14/3424)}
- C01G 15/00: Compounds of gallium, indium or thallium
- C04B 35/01: based on oxide ceramics
- C04B 35/6261: {Milling}
- C23C 14/08: Oxides (C23C14/10 takes precedence)
- C23C 14/081: {of aluminium, magnesium or beryllium}
- 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}
- H01B 1/08: oxides
- H10D 30/6755: {Oxide semiconductors, e.g. zinc oxide, copper aluminium oxide or cadmium stannate}
- 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
- C04B 2235/3201: Alkali metal oxides or oxide-forming salts thereof
- C04B 2235/3206: Magnesium oxides or oxide-forming salts thereof
- C04B 2235/3232: Titanium oxides or titanates, e.g. rutile or anatase
- C04B 2235/3244: Zirconium oxides, zirconates, hafnium oxides, hafnates, 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 2235/3418: Silicon oxide, silicic acids or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. silica sol, fused silica, silica fume, cristobalite, quartz or flint
- 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 2235/6562: Heating rate
- C04B 2235/6565: Cooling rate
- C04B 2235/6567: Treatment time
- C04B 2235/6584: at an oxygen percentage below that of air
- C04B 2235/6585: at an oxygen percentage above that of air
- C04B 2235/664: Reductive annealing
- C04B 2235/763: Spinel structure AB2O4
- C04B 2235/77: Density
- C04B 2235/80: Phases present in the sintered or melt-cast ceramic products other than the main phase
- C04B 2235/963: Surface properties, e.g. surface roughness
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
- 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)
- H01B: CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES (selection for magnetic properties H01F1/00; waveguides H01P {; printed circuits H05K})
- H10D: INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

## Abstract

A sputtering target including a sintered body including In, Ga and Mg, the sintered body including one or more compounds selected from a compound represented by In2O3, a compound represented by In(GaMg)O4, a compound represented by Ga2MgO4 and a compound represented by In2MgO4, and having an atomic ratio In/(In+Ga+Mg) of 0.5 or more and 0.9999 or less and an atomic ratio (Ga+Mg)/(In+Ga+Mg) of 0.0001 or more and 0.5 or less.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A sputtering target comprising a sintered body comprising In, Ga and Mg,
the sintered body comprising a compound redresented by In2O3,
the sintered body comprising one or more compounds selected from a compound represented by In(GaMg)O4, a compound represented by Ga2MgO4 and a compound represented by In2MgO4, and
having an atomic ratio In/(In+Ga+Mg) of 0.5 or more and 0.9999 or less and an atomic ratio (Ga+Mg)/(In+Ga+Mg) of 0.0001 or more and 0.5 or less.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein the atomic ratio satisfies the following relationship:
In/(In+Ga+Mg)=exceeding 0.7 and 0.9999 or less and
(Ga+Mg)/(In+Ga+Mg)=0.0001 or more and less than 0.3.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein the relative density of the sintered body is 90% or more.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein the sintered body further comprises a positive tetravalent metal oxide M.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The sputtering target according to claim 4, wherein the metal oxide M is one or more oxides selected from SnO2, TiO2, SiO2, ZrO2, GeO2, HfO2 and CeO2.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The sputtering target according to claim 5 which satisfies the following atomic ratio:
[M]/[all metals]=0.0001 to 0.20
wherein [M] is the total of the positive tetravalent metal atoms contained in the sintered body and the [all metals] is the total of all metal atoms contained in the sintered body.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

A method for producing the sputtering target according to claim 1, comprising:
mixing indium oxide powder having an average particle size of 0.1 to 1.2 μm, gallium oxide powder having an average particle size of 0.1 to 1.2 μm and magnesium oxide powder having an average particle size of 0.1 to 1.2 μm at an atomic ratio In/((In+Ga+Mg) of 0.5 or more and 0.9999 or less and an atomic ratio (Ga+Mg)/(In+Ga+Mg) of 0.0001 or more and 0.5 or less;
forming the resulting mixture to obtain a formed body;
heating the resulting formed body at a heating rate of 0.1 to 2° C./min from 800° C. to a sintering temperature; and
sintering the formed body by holding the formed body at the sintering temperature for 10 to 50 hours;
the sintering temperature being 1200° C. to 1650° C.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

A method for producing an oxide thin film, wherein a film is formed by a sputtering method by using the sputtering target according to claim 1.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method for producing an oxide thin film according to claim 8, wherein the film formation by a sputtering method is conducted in an atmosphere of a mixed gas comprising rare gas atoms and at least one or more selected from water molecules, oxygen molecules and nitrous oxide molecules.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method for producing an oxide thin film according to claim 9, wherein the film formation by a sputtering method is conducted in an atmosphere of a mixed gas comprising rare gas atoms and at least water molecules.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method for producing an oxide thin film according to claim 10, wherein the content of water molecules in the mixed gas is 0.1% to 25% in terms of partial pressure.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

A thin film transistor comprising an oxide thin film formed by the method according to claim 8 as a channel layer.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The thin film transistor according to claim 12 comprising a protective film which comprises SiNx on the channel layer.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

A display comprising the thin film transistor according to claim 12.