A piezoelectric film that includes crystalline AlN; at least one first element partially replacing Al in the crystalline AlN; and a second element doping the crystalline AlN and which has an ionic radius smaller than that of the first element and larger than that of Al.

A DC magnetron sputtering apparatus is for depositing a film on a substrate. The apparatus includes a chamber, a substrate support positioned within the chamber, a DC magnetron, and an electrical signal supply device for supplying an electrical bias signal that, in use, causes ions to bombard a substrate positioned on the substrate support. The substrate support includes a central region surrounded by an edge region, the central region being raised with respect to the edge region.

Provided is a coated cutting tool, which includes a hard coating film containing a layer (b) formed of a nitride or a carbonitride, a layer (c) which is a layered coating film formed by alternately layering a nitride or carbonitride layer (c1) that contains 55 atom % or more and 75 atom % or less of Al, Cr having a second highest content percentage, and at least Si and a nitride or carbonitride layer (c2) that contains 55 atom % or more and 75 atom % or less of Al and Ti having a second highest content percentage, each layer having a film thickness of 50 nm or less, and a layer (d) that is a nitride or carbonitride that contains, with respect to a total amount of metal elements (including metalloid elements), 55 atom % or more and 75 atom % or less of Al, Cr having a second highest content percentage.

A cutting tool comprises a substrate and a coating layer provided on the substrate, the coating layer including a multilayer structure layer composed of a first unit layer and a second unit layer, and a lone layer, the lone layer including cubic Ti.sub.zAl.sub.1-zN crystal grains, an atomic ratio z of Ti in the Ti.sub.zAl.sub.1-zN being 0.4 or more and less than 0.55, the lone layer having a thickness with an average value of 2.5 nm or more and 10 nm or less, the multilayer structure layer having a thickness with an average value of 10 nm or more and 45 nm or less, one multilayer structure layer and one lone layer forming a repetitive unit having a thickness with an average value of 20 nm to 50 nm, a maximum value of 40 nm to 60 nm, and a minimum value of 10 nm to 30 nm.

The present invention provides a method for depositing aluminum on a permanent Nd—Fe—B magnet including a step of cooling the chamber and the arc source by feeding a fluid of water at a cooling temperature of between 0° C. and 5° C. through the chamber and the arc source. The method also includes a step of adjusting a target source and a control magnet of the arc source in the chamber of the multi-arc ion plating apparatus to define a predetermined distance of between 1 cm and 10 cm. The step of depositing the film of aluminum further including steps of applying a current of between 50 A and 70 A and an electrical potential of between 100V and 200V to the target source of aluminum and directing the ions of aluminum using the arc source to the purified permanent Nd—Fe—B magnet for a time period of between 0.5 hours and 5 hours.

A method is provided for forming a piezoelectric layer during a corresponding deposition sequence. The method includes sputtering aluminum nitride onto a sputtering substrate inside a reaction chamber having a gas atmosphere, the gas atmosphere initially including nitrogen gas and an inert gas, causing growth of the piezoelectric layer with a polarity in a negative direction. The method further includes adding a predetermined amount of oxygen containing gas to the gas atmosphere over a predetermined period of time, while continuing the sputtering of the aluminum nitride onto the sputtering substrate during a remainder of the deposition sequence, such that the piezoelectric layer is monolithic. The predetermined amount of oxygen containing gas causes the polarity of the aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer to invert from the negative direction to a positive direction, opposite the negative direction.

An MBE system is disclosed for eliminating the excess flux in an MBE growth chamber before growth, during growth or growth interruption, and/or after growth by evaporating getter material from an effusion evaporator to the cold panel. The cold panel can be the cryopanel of the MBE growth chamber or a cold panel in an attached chamber. Said MBE system includes the cyropanel in the MBE growth chamber or a cold panel in the chamber attached to the MBE growth chamber. With a proper process such as cooling the cold panel, loading a substrate for the MBE process, providing necessary flux for the MBE growth, heating the effusion evaporator and opening the shutter for the evaporator to get the getter material flux onto the said panel, the excess flux will be eliminated. The cross contamination of the grown layer is then avoided.

A cutting tool comprises a substrate and a coating layer provided on the substrate, the coating layer including a multilayer structure layer composed of a first unit layer and a second unit layer, and a lone layer, the lone layer including cubic Ti.sub.zAl.sub.1-zN crystal grains, an atomic ratio z of Ti in the Ti.sub.zAl.sub.1-zN being 0.4 or more and less than 0.55, the lone layer having a thickness with an average value of 2.5 nm or more and 10 nm or less, the multilayer structure layer having a thickness with an average value of 40 nm or more and 95 nm or less, one multilayer structure layer and one lone layer forming a repetitive unit having a thickness with an average value of 50 nm to 100 nm, a maximum value of 90 nm to 110 nm, and a minimum value of 40 nm to 60 nm.

A cathodic arc evaporation apparatus including a target which has a target surface including an active surface from where material can be evaporated in a cathodic arc process; a confinement surrounding an outer boarder of the target surface; an anode having an electron receiving surface, the anode encompassing at least one of the target and the confinement in at least one of a target plane and an axial distance in front of the active surface; and a magnetic guidance system adapted to provide a magnetic field at the target surface being essentially in parallel to at least an outer region of the target surface so that magnetic field lines are in parallel to the target surface or inclined to it in an acute angle α, whereat an active surface is defined in a surface area where magnetic field lines enter the target surface in an acute angle α≤45°.

Bulk acoustic wave resonator structures include a bulk layer with inclined c-axis hexagonal crystal structure piezoelectric material supported by a substrate. The bulk layer may be prepared without first depositing a seed layer on the substrate. The bulk material layer has a c-axis tilt of about 32 degrees or greater. The bulk material layer may exhibit a ratio of shear coupling to longitudinal coupling of 1.25 or greater during excitation. A method for preparing a crystalline bulk layer having a c-axis tilt includes depositing a bulk material layer directly onto a substrate at an off-normal incidence. The deposition conditions may include a pressure of less than 5 mTorr and a deposition angle of about 35 degrees to about 85 degrees.