A maintenance method for a sputtering device includes the steps of: moving a cathode carriage to take a plurality of targets and a plurality of cathodes out of a vacuum chamber; operating a plurality of cathode rotating apparatuses to rotate the targets and the cathodes so as to cause the targets to face upwards; operating a plurality of cathode sliding apparatuses to move the targets and the cathodes located in places at high height to places at low height; removing the targets from the cathodes to attach a plurality of new targets to the cathodes; returning the targets and the cathodes to an original height thereof; returning the targets and the cathodes to original rotation angles; and putting the targets and the cathodes back into the vacuum chamber.

Certain example embodiments relate to techniques for improving the uniformity of, and/or conformance to a desired pattern for, metal island layers (MILs) formed on a substrate (e.g., a glass or other substrate), and/or associated products. Certain example embodiments form MILs using a laser or other energy source or magnetic field assisted technique, e.g., to compensate for non-uniformities that otherwise likely would result in the MIL diverging from its desired configuration. For example, a laser or other energy source may introduce heat onto a substrate, enable pulsed laser deposition, raster a target including the MIL metal to be deposited, raster a substrate where the MIL is to be formed, etc. These and/or other techniques may be used to enable the MIL to be formed on the substrate in a desired pattern, e.g., by compensating for implicit non-uniformities of the substrate and/or by selectively creating non-uniformities in how the MIL is formed.

Certain example embodiments relate to techniques for improving the uniformity of, and/or conformance to a desired pattern for, metal island layers (MILs) formed on a substrate (e.g., a glass or other substrate), and/or associated products. Certain example embodiments form MILs using a laser or other energy source or magnetic field assisted technique, e.g., to compensate for non-uniformities that otherwise likely would result in the MIL diverging from its desired configuration. For example, a laser or other energy source may introduce heat onto a substrate, enable pulsed laser deposition, raster a target including the MIL metal to be deposited, raster a substrate where the MIL is to be formed, etc. These and/or other techniques may be used to enable the MIL to be formed on the substrate in a desired pattern, e.g., by compensating for implicit non-uniformities of the substrate and/or by selectively creating non-uniformities in how the MIL is formed.

A sputtering chamber includes at least two sputtering targets, one of the at least two targets disposed on a first side a substrate conveyor extending within the chamber, and another of the at least two targets disposed on a second side of the conveyor. The at least two targets may be independently operable, and at least one of the targets, if inactivated, may be protected by a shielding apparatus. Both of the at least two targets may be mounted to a first wall of a plurality of walls enclosing the sputtering chamber.

The invention relates to an object having a coating arranged on at least one surface of the object, which comprises at least one antimicrobially active layer having an antimicrobial agent, wherein the agent comprises a copper (I) compound and/or a copper (II) compound.

Provided is a mask blank including an etching stopper film. The mask blank has a structure where an etching stopper film and a thin film for pattern formation are stacked in this order on a transparent substrate, featured in that the thin film includes a material containing silicon, the etching stopper film includes a material containing hafnium, aluminum, and oxygen, and a ratio by atom % of an amount of hafnium to a total amount of hafnium and aluminum in the etching stopper film is 0.86 or less.

A gas blocking layer forming apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber that provides a space where a chemical vapor deposition process and a sputtering process are performed; a holding unit that is provided at a lower side within the vacuum chamber and mounts thereon a target object on which an organic/inorganic mixed multilayer gas blocking layer is formed; a neutral particle generation unit that is provided at an upper side within the vacuum chamber and generates a neutral particle beam having a high-density flux with a current density of about 10 A/m.sup.2 or more; and common sputtering devices that are provided at both sides of the neutral particle generation unit, wherein each common sputtering device has a sputtering target of which a surface is inclined toward a surface of the target object.

A piezoelectric thin film is formed through sputtering and consists essentially of scandium aluminum nitride. The carbon atomic content is 2.5 at % or less. When producing the piezoelectric thin film, scandium and aluminum are sputtered simultaneously on a substrate from a scandium aluminum alloy target material having a carbon atomic content of 5 at % or less in an atmosphere where at least nitrogen gas exists. The sputtering may be conducted also by applying an ion beam on an opposing surface of the alloy target material at an oblique angle. Moreover, aluminum and scandium may be also sputtered simultaneously on the substrate from an Sc target material and an Al target material. As a result, a piezoelectric thin film which exhibits excellent piezoelectric properties and a method for the same can be provided.

A method for depositing a rare material in a thin layer at the surface of an horological or jewellery external part includes providing a rough part of rare material, shaping the rough part of rare material so that it is adapted to be used as a target part for a PVD method, depositing material of the target part at the surface of a substrate consisting of an horological or jewellery eternal part by a PVD method so as to cover the external part.

A system and a method for fabricating crystals, the method comprising heating an irradiation target to a temperature comprised in a range between a boiling point temperature of a material of the irradiation target and a critical point temperature of the material of the irradiation target, thereby generating a plasma plume of particles ablated from a surface of the irradiation target.