A system is disclosed, including a processing chamber for a deposition process; a cathode within the chamber, configured to introduce a sputter gas and a reactive gas adjacent to a target; a substrate holder, disposed opposite the cathode within the processing chamber, configured to secure a substrate to receive a deposition from the target; and a control system configured to monitor a target voltage and to control a flow rate of the reactive gas to maintain the target voltage within a desired range during the deposition process. Methods and devices for deposition processes are also disclosed.

Provided is a zinc oxide-based sputtering target that enables production of a zinc oxide-based sputtered film having higher transparency and electrical conductivity. The zinc oxide-based sputtering target of the present invention is composed of a zinc oxide-based sintered body including zinc oxide crystal grains as a main phase and spinel phases as a dopant-containing grain boundary phase, and the zinc oxide-based sputtering target has a degree of (002) orientation of ZnO of 80% or greater at a sputtering surface, a density of the zinc oxide-based sintered body of 5.50 g/cm.sup.3 or greater, the number of the spinel phases per area of 20 counts/100 μm.sup.2 or greater, and a spinel phase distribution index of 0.40 or less.

An FePt-based sintered sputtering target containing C and/or BN, wherein an area ratio of AgCu alloy grains on a polished surface of a cross section that is perpendicular to a sputtered surface of the sputtering target is 0.5% or more and 15% or less. An object of this invention is to provide a sputtering target capable of reducing particles generation during sputtering and efficiently depositing a magnetic thin film of a magnetic recording medium.

Implementations of the present disclosure relate to a sputtering target for a sputtering chamber used to process a substrate. In one implementation, a sputtering target for a sputtering chamber is provided. The sputtering target comprises a sputtering plate with a backside surface having radially inner, middle and outer regions and an annular-shaped backing plate mounted to the sputtering plate. The backside surface has a plurality of circular grooves which are spaced apart from one another and at least one arcuate channel cutting through the circular grooves and extending from the radially inner region to the radially outer region of sputtering plate. The annular-shaped backing plate defines an open annulus exposing the backside surface of the sputtering plate.

An Ag alloy sputtering target of the present invention includes, as a composition, 0.1 at % to 3.0 at % of Sn, 1.0 at % to 10.0 at % of Cu, and a balance of Ag and inevitable impurities. In addition, an Ag alloy film of the present invention includes, as a composition, 0.1 at % to 3.0 at % of Sn, 1.0 at % to 10.0 at % of Cu, and a balance of Ag and inevitable impurities.

The invention relates to a method for coating a substrate 40, a coating system for carrying out the method, and a coated body. In a first method step 62, the substrate 40 is to pretreated in a ion etching process. In a second method step 64, a first coating layer 56a with a thickness of 0.1 μm to 6 μm is deposited on the substrate 40 by means of a PVD process. In order to achieve a particularly high-quality and durable coating 50, the surface of the first coating layer 56a is treated by means of an ion etching process in a third method step 66, and an additional coating layer 56b with a thickness of 0.1 μm to 6 μm is deposited on the first coating layer 56a by means of a PVD process in a fourth method step 68. The coated body comprises at least two coating layers 56a, 56b, 56c, 56d with a thickness of 0.1 μm to 6 μm on a substrate 40, wherein an interface region formed by ion etching is arranged between the coating layers 56a, 56b, 56c, 56d.

A sputtering target containing, as metal components, 0.5 to 45 mol % of Cr and remainder being Co, and containing, as non-metal components, two or more types of oxides including Ti oxide, wherein a structure of the sputtering target is configured from regions where oxides including at least Ti oxide are dispersed in Co (non-Cr-based regions), and a region where oxides other than Ti oxide are dispersed in Cr or Co—Cr (Cr-based region), and the non-Cr-based regions are scattered in the Cr-based region. An object of this invention is to provide a sputtering target for forming a granular film which suppresses the formation of coarse complex oxide grains and generates fewer particles during sputtering.

A method for producing a thin film according to the present disclosure comprises a step of forming the thin film on a substrate using a target. The target is formed of a mixture containing a first material and a second material. The first material has a composition represented by ATiO.sub.3 (where A is at least one selected from the group consisting of Ba and Sr). The second material has a composition represented by EH.sub.2 (where E is at least one selected from the group consisting of Ti and Zr). The thin film is formed of a first oxide containing A, Ti, and O. Some of oxide ions contained in the first oxide have been replaced by hydride ions.

A target for sputtering which enables to attain high rate film-formation of a transparent conductive film suitable for a blue LED or a solar cell. A oxide sintered body includes an indium oxide and a cerium oxide, and one or more oxide of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, molybdenum and tungsten. The cerium content is 0.3 to 9% by atom, as an atomicity ratio of Ce/(In+Ce), and the content of cerium is equal to or lower than 9% by atom, as an atomicity ratio of Ce/(In+Ce). The oxide sintered body has an In.sub.2O.sub.3 phase of a bixbyite structure has a CeO.sub.2 phase of a fluorite-type structure finely dispersed as crystal grains having an average particle diameter of equal to or smaller than 3 μm.

Embodiments of methods and systems for an inductively coupled plasma sweeping source for an IPVD system. In an embodiment, a method includes providing a large size substrate in a processing chamber. The method may also include generating from a metal source a sputtered metal onto the substrate. Additionally, the method may include creating a high density plasma from a high density plasma source and applying the high density plasma in a sweeping operation without involving moving parts. The method may also include controlling a plurality of operating variables in order to meet one or more plasma processing objectives.