A device includes a housing unit and a number of magnets. The housing unit includes a number of holes therein. The magnets are positioned in the holes. The magnets have a same pole orientation. It is appreciated that the magnets are positioned in the holes to form a mechanically balanced and magnetically unbalanced structure.

Provided is a magnetic material sputtering target produced from a sintered compact having a B content of 17 at % or more and 40 at % or less, and remainder being one or more elements selected from Co and Fe, wherein the target includes a B-rich phase and a B-poor phase, and a number of the B-rich phases in which a maximum inscribed circle having a diameter of 15 m or more can be drawn is one or less. The B-rich phase is finely dispersed in the magnetic material sputtering target of the present invention, and the machinability of the target is consequently improved. Moreover, significant effects are yielded in that the generation of particles is inhibited and the yield in the production of thin films is improved when the target is used for sputtering with a magnetron sputtering equipment comprising a DC power supply.

Methods and apparatus for a magnetized substrate carrier apparatus are described herein. In some embodiments, a substrate carrier apparatus includes: a carrier plate having a support surface to support a substrate, a mask assembly disposed above the support surface, wherein the mask assembly includes an annular frame and a shadow mask disposed within the annular frame, and wherein the shadow mask includes one or more openings arranged in a predetermined pattern and disposed through the shadow mask, and one or more magnets disposed on or embedded within at least one of the carrier plate and the shadow mask to create a magnetic field above the support surface.

Methods and apparatus for a magnetized substrate carrier apparatus are described herein. In some embodiments, a substrate carrier apparatus includes: a carrier plate having a support surface to support a substrate, a mask assembly disposed above the support surface, wherein the mask assembly includes an annular frame and a shadow mask disposed within the annular frame, and wherein the shadow mask includes one or more openings arranged in a predetermined pattern and disposed through the shadow mask, and one or more magnets disposed on or embedded within at least one of the carrier plate and the shadow mask to create a magnetic field above the support surface.

The present invention provides a thin film structural body comprising a sapphire substrate having a principal plane of a {11-26} plane and a first epitaxial thin film which is grown directly on the principal plane of the sapphire substrate and has a principal plane of a {100} plane. As one example, in a fabrication method of the thin film structural body, a first epitaxial thin film is grown on a principal plane of a {11-26} plane of the sapphire substrate. The grown first epitaxial thin film has a principal plane of a {100} plane.

The soft magnetic material multilayer deposition apparatus includes a circular arrangement of a multitude of substrate carriers in a circular inner space of a vacuum transport chamber. In operation the substrate carriers pass treatment stations. One of the treatment stations has a sputtering target made of a first soft magnetic material. A second treatment station includes a target made of a second soft magnetic material which is different from the first soft magnetic material of the first addressed target. A control unit controlling relative movement of the substrate carriers with respect to the treatment stations provides for more than one 360 revolution of the multitude of substrate carriers around the axis AX of the circular inner space of the vacuum transport chamber, while the first and second treatment stations are continuously operative.

The soft magnetic material multilayer deposition apparatus includes a circular arrangement of a multitude of substrate carriers in a circular inner space of a vacuum transport chamber. In operation the substrate carriers pass treatment stations. One of the treatment stations has a sputtering target made of a first soft magnetic material. A second treatment station includes a target made of a second soft magnetic material which is different from the first soft magnetic material of the first addressed target. A control unit controlling relative movement of the substrate carriers with respect to the treatment stations provides for more than one 360 revolution of the multitude of substrate carriers around the axis AX of the circular inner space of the vacuum transport chamber, while the first and second treatment stations are continuously operative.

A multilayer film includes a substrate; a first magnetic layer disposed on the substrate and a second magnetic layer disposed on the first magnetic layer. The first magnetic layer includes Fe.sub.(50-80)N.sub.(10-20)B.sub.(1-20)M.sub.(0-10), wherein M is Si, Ta, Zr, Ti, Co, or a combination thereof. The second magnetic layer includes Fe.sub.(50-90)N.sub.(10-50) or Fe.sub.(60-90)N.sub.(1-10)Ta.sub.(5-30). The multilayer magnetic film has, over a frequency range of 50 MHz to 10 GHz, a magnetic permeability of greater than or equal to 1800 over a selected frequency band in the frequency range; a magnetic loss tangent of less than or equal to 0.3 over a selected frequency band in the frequency range; and a cutoff frequency of greater than or equal to 1 GHz, or greater than or equal to 2 GHz.

A multilayer film includes a substrate; a first magnetic layer disposed on the substrate and a second magnetic layer disposed on the first magnetic layer. The first magnetic layer includes Fe.sub.(50-80)N.sub.(10-20)B.sub.(1-20)M.sub.(0-10), wherein M is Si, Ta, Zr, Ti, Co, or a combination thereof. The second magnetic layer includes Fe.sub.(50-90)N.sub.(10-50) or Fe.sub.(60-90)N.sub.(1-10)Ta.sub.(5-30). The multilayer magnetic film has, over a frequency range of 50 MHz to 10 GHz, a magnetic permeability of greater than or equal to 1800 over a selected frequency band in the frequency range; a magnetic loss tangent of less than or equal to 0.3 over a selected frequency band in the frequency range; and a cutoff frequency of greater than or equal to 1 GHz, or greater than or equal to 2 GHz.

A magnetic material sputtering target formed from a sintered body containing at least Co and/or Fe and B, and containing B in an amount of 10 to 50 at %, wherein an oxygen content is 100 wtppm or less. Since the magnetic material sputtering target of the present invention can suppress the generation of particles caused by oxides, the present invention yields superior effects of being able to improve the yield upon producing magnetoresistive films and the like.