The invention provides a sputter deposition assembly that includes a sputtering chamber, a sputtering target, and a magnet assembly. The magnet assembly includes a two-part magnetic backing plate that includes first and second plate segments, of which at least one is laterally adjustable. Also provided are methods of operating the sputter deposition assembly.

Provided is a magnetic recording medium having a large magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant K.sub.u and a high coercivity H.sub.c as well as a sputtering target used for producing such a magnetic recording medium.

A Pt-oxide-based sputtering target consists of 60 vol % or more and less than 100 vol % of a Pt-base alloy phase and more than 0 vol % and 40 vol % or less of an oxide, where the Pt-base alloy phase contains 50 at % or more and 100 at % or less of Pt.

Nanoclusters are produced in a gas phase using a nanocluster manufacturing section including: a vacuum container; a sputtering source that has a target as a cathode, performs magnetron sputtering by pulse discharge, and generates plasma; a pulse power source that supplies pulsed power to the sputtering source; a first inert gas supply section that supplies a first inert gas to the sputtering source; a nanocluster growth cell that is contained in the vacuum container; and a second inert gas introduction section that introduces a second inert gas into the nanocluster growth cell. A multitude of supports are rolled in the gas phase and each of the supports is sprinkled with a multitude of nanoclusters to cause each support to support the multitude of nanoclusters.

A window has an ion exchange substrate with a top surface. To improve robustness, the top surface has a polycrystalline aluminum oxide film formed from a plurality of crystals. At least 95% of the plurality of crystals in the aluminum oxide film has a largest dimension of no greater than about 10 nanometers. In addition, both the ion exchange substrate and aluminum oxide film are transparent or translucent.

A window has an ion exchange substrate with a top surface. To improve robustness, the top surface has a polycrystalline aluminum oxide film formed from a plurality of crystals. At least 95% of the plurality of crystals in the aluminum oxide film has a largest dimension of no greater than about 10 nanometers. In addition, both the ion exchange substrate and aluminum oxide film are transparent or translucent.

A micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor includes a substrate, a diaphragm portion and a piezoelectric film. The diaphragm portion is located at the substrate. The piezoelectric film is located on the diaphragm portion. The piezoelectric film is made of scandium aluminum nitride. A carbon concentration of the piezoelectric film is 2.5 atomic percent or less while an oxygen concentration of the piezoelectric film is 0.35 atomic percent or less.

A micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor includes a substrate, a diaphragm portion and a piezoelectric film. The diaphragm portion is located at the substrate. The piezoelectric film is located on the diaphragm portion. The piezoelectric film is made of scandium aluminum nitride. A carbon concentration of the piezoelectric film is 2.5 atomic percent or less while an oxygen concentration of the piezoelectric film is 0.35 atomic percent or less.

A film forming apparatus includes a chamber that is a container in which a sputter gas is introduced, a carrying unit provided inside the chamber, and circulating and carrying a work-piece on a trajectory of a circular circumference, and a film formation processing unit including a sputter source depositing, on the work-piece circulated and carried by the carrying unit, a film formation material by sputtering to form a film, and a dividing member dividing a film forming position where the film is formed on the work-piece by the sputter source. The dividing member is installed so as to divide the film forming position in a way that, in the trajectory of the circular circumference, a trajectory of passing through a region other than the film forming position performing the film formation is longer than a trajectory of passing through the film forming position performing the film formation.

A cathode unit includes first and second magnet units that are driven to rotate around an axis on a side opposed to a sputtering surface of a target. The first magnet unit is configured to cause a first leakage magnetic field to act on a space in front of the sputtering surface including a target center inward. The second magnet unit is configured to cause a second leakage magnetic field to act locally in the space in front of the sputtered surface located between the target center and the outer edge of the target and to enable self-holding discharge under low pressure of plasma confined by the second leakage magnetic field.

A method for fabricating a micro resistance layer and a method for fabricating a micro resistor are provided. The method for fabricating a micro resistance layer includes: providing a substrate; forming a first resistance layer on the substrate by using a screen printing process or a sputtering process; dividing the first resistance layer into second resistance layers, wherein each one of the product regions includes a second resistance layer, and an area of each one of the product regions is smaller than 0.4*0.2 mm.sup.2; and trimming the second resistance layer of each one of the product regions according to a predetermined resistance value to enable the pattern of each one of the second resistance layers to correspond to the predetermined resistance value. The method for fabricating a micro resistor uses the method for fabricating a micro resistance layer for fabrication of the micro resistor.