The present disclosure relates to a preparation method of a niobium diselenide (NbSe.sub.2) film with ultra-low friction and low electrical noise under sliding electrical contact in vacuum. The method uses a direct current (DC) closed field magnetron sputtering method for preparation. Through process design of low deposition pressure and low sputtering energy, on one hand, a purity of an NbSe.sub.2 sputtered product is kept, generation of interference phases such as NbSe.sub.3 is avoided, and electrical conductivity of the sputtered NbSe.sub.2 film is greatly improved, and on the other hand, a nanocrystalline/amorphous superlattice composite structure is formed, and excellent mechanical and lubricating properties are achieved. Under sliding electrical contact in vacuum, compared with those of a common electroplated gold coating, a friction coefficient of the film is reduced to 0.02 from 0.25, a wear life is prolonged by at least 7 times, and the electrical noise is reduced by about 50%.

A sputtering target according to the present invention contains Co and Pt as metal components, wherein a molar ratio of a content of Pt to a content of Co is from 5/100 to 45/100, and wherein the sputtering target contains Nb.sub.2O.sub.5 as a metal oxide component.

A sputtering apparatus includes a rotary target extending in a first direction, a gas supply bar disposed on the rotary target, and a substrate holder positioned opposite the gas supply bar with respect to the rotary target. The gas supply bar includes a first flow path extending in the first direction, and a second flow path spaced apart from the first flow path in the first direction and separated from the first flow path.

A sputtering target structure includes a back plate characterized by a first size, and a plurality of sub-targets bonded to the back plate. Each of the sub-targets is characterized by a size that is a fraction of the first size and is equal to or less than a threshold target size. Each sub-target includes a ferromagnetic material containing iron (Fe) and boron (B). Each of the plurality of sub-targets is in direct contact with one or more adjacent sub-targets.

A film forming apparatus includes: a processing container; a substrate holder that holds the substrate in the processing container; and a target assembly disposed in an upper side of the substrate holder. The target assembly includes: a target made of metal, including a main body and a flange provided around the main body, and emitting sputter particles from the main body; a target holder including a target electrode configured to supply power to the target, and holding the target; a target clamp that clamps the flange of the target to the target holder; and an anti-deposition shield provided around the main body of the target to cover the flange, the target clamp, and the target holder, and having a labyrinth structure in which an inner tip end thereof is disposed to enter a recess between the main body of the target and the target clamp.

A substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate using particles, includes a conveyance mechanism configured to convey the substrate along a conveyance surface, a particle source configured to emit particles, a rotation mechanism configured to make the particle source pivot about a rotation axis, and a movement mechanism configured to move the particle source such that a distance between the particle source and the conveyance surface is changed.

Apparatus and methods for controlling plasma profiles during PVD deposition processes are disclosed. Some embodiments utilize EM coils placed above the target to control the plasma profile during deposition.

An electrically and magnetically enhanced ionized physical vapor deposition (I-PVD) magnetron apparatus and method is provided for sputtering material from a cathode target on a substrate, and in particular, for sputtering ceramic and diamond-like coatings. The electrically and magnetically enhanced magnetron sputtering source has unbalanced magnetic fields that couple the cathode target and additional electrode together. The additional electrode is electrically isolated from ground and connected to a power supply that can generate positive, negative, or bipolar high frequency voltages, and is preferably a radio frequency (RF) power supply. RF discharge near the additional electrode increases plasma density and a degree of ionization of sputtered material atoms.

Methods for depositing a dielectric oxide layer atop one or more substrates disposed in or processed through a PVD chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, such a method includes: sputtering source material from a target assembly onto a first substrate while the source material is at a first erosion state and while providing a first amount of RF power to the target assembly to deposit a dielectric oxide layer onto a first substrate having a desired resistance-area; and subsequently sputtering source material from the target assembly onto a second substrate while the source material is at a second erosion state and while providing a second amount of RF power to the target assembly, wherein the second amount of RF power is lower than the first amount of RF power by a predetermined amount calculated to maintain the desired resistance-area.

A physical vapor deposition (PVD) chamber and a method of operation thereof are disclosed. Chambers and methods are described that provide a chamber comprising an upper shield with two holes that are positioned to permit alternate sputtering from two targets.