Sputtering target and methods of making and using same

摘要

A target for use in sputtering may include a backing adapted to be operatively connected to a sputtering power source and an outer layer of a sputterable material carried by the backing The sputterable material comprises a mixture of zinc and a second metal having a melting point less than that of the zinc. The zinc and the second metal are present in the sputterable material in metallic form and are arranged as discrete volumes of the second metal in a matrix of zinc. This target may be manufactured by simultaneously plasma spraying zinc metal and the second metal onto a backing to create an outer layer of a sputterable material carried by the backing. The target may be used by placing the target and a substrate in a sputtering chamber and applying power to the target while maintaining in the sputtering chamber a reactive atmosphere comprising oxygen, thereby depositing on a surface of the substrate a film comprising oxides of zinc and the second metal.