A sputtering apparatus includes a placement portion where a target having a first opening is placed, an anode, and a metal member. The anode and the metal member are disposed at positions corresponding to the first opening of the target in the placement portion. The anode and the metal member are electrically insulated from each other. The metal member is set to a ground potential or a floating potential.

Electrochromic devices and methods may employ the addition of a defect-mitigating insulating layer which prevents electronically conducting layers and/or electrochromically active layers from contacting layers of the opposite polarity and creating a short circuit in regions where defects form. In some embodiments, an encapsulating layer is provided to encapsulate particles and prevent them from ejecting from the device stack and risking a short circuit when subsequent layers are deposited. The insulating layer may have an electronic resistivity of between about 1 and 10.sup.8 Ohm-cm. In some embodiments, the insulating layer contains one or more of the following metal oxides: aluminum oxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide, silicon aluminum oxide, cerium oxide, tungsten oxide, nickel tungsten oxide, and oxidized indium tin oxide. Carbides, nitrides, oxynitrides, and oxycarbides may also be used.

Provided is a sputtering target, the sputtering target containing 0.05 at % or more of Bi and having a total content of metal oxides of from 10 vol % to 60 vol %, the balance containing at least Co and Pt.

A sputtering apparatus is provided. The sputtering apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber in which a substrate is located; a target having one surface facing an inner surface of the vacuum chamber; a gas supplier configured to supply a gas for generating plasma in the vacuum chamber; a power supplier configured to supply a power to the target to generate the plasma, sputter the target, and form a film on the substrate; and an abnormality detector configured to detect abnormality caused by a temperature of the target.

A method of manufacturing an electronic component including a substrate is provided. The method includes generating a plasma remote from a sputter target, generating sputtered material from the sputter target using the plasma, and depositing the sputtered material on a substrate as a crystalline layer.

In a magnetron sputtering reaction space a magnetron magnetic field is generated. A further magnetic field is generated in the reaction space whereby a resultant magnetic field has a directional component parallel to a target plane which is larger than the directional component of the magnetron magnetic field parallel to the target plane in the reaction space.

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 comprising a top coat including a composition of lithium cobalt oxide LiyCozOx. x is smaller than or equal to y+z, and the lithium cobalt oxide has an X-Ray diffraction pattern with a peak P2 at 44°±0.2° 2-theta. The X-Ray diffraction pattern is measured with an X-Ray diffractometer with CuKα1 radiation.

A PVD apparatus can be operated in a cleaning mode to remove material from an electrically conductive feature formed on a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate with the electrically conductive feature formed thereon is positioned on a substrate support in a chamber of the PVD apparatus. A shutter is deployed within the chamber to divide the chamber into a first compartment in which the semiconductor substrate and the substrate support are positioned, and a second compartment in which a target of the PVD apparatus is positioned. A first plasma is generated in the first compartment to remove material from the electrically conductive feature and a second plasma is simultaneously generated in the second compartment to clean the target.

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.