JP3398369B2 - Manufacturing method of sputtering target - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sputtering target and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a sputtering method is known as one of the methods for forming a thin film. The sputtering method is a method of obtaining a thin film by sputtering a sputtering target, and is used industrially because a film can be efficiently formed.

In particular, indium oxide-tin oxide (In ₂ O
_3- SnO ₂ composite oxide, hereinafter referred to as “ITO”)
Since the film has high visible light transmittance and high conductivity, it is widely used as a transparent conductive film for a liquid crystal display device, a heat generation film for preventing dew condensation on glass, an infrared reflection film, and the like.

For this reason, in order to form a film more efficiently and at a low cost, the sputtering conditions and the sputtering apparatus are being improved every day even now, and it is important how to operate the apparatus efficiently. .

In such ITO sputtering, the time from setting a new sputtering target until the initial arc (abnormal discharge) disappears to manufacture a product is short, and how long it can be used once set. Whether (cumulative sputtering time: target life) becomes a problem.

Conventionally, it is said that the initial arc of a sputtering target is reduced as the target surface is polished and smoothed, and a surface-polished target having a smooth surface is mainly used.

Further, it is said that when the sputtering is continuously performed, black deposits called nodules are generated on the target surface, which may cause abnormal discharge or may be a particle generation source. Therefore, in order to prevent a thin film defect, periodical removal of nodules is required, which causes a problem of lowering productivity.

Therefore, the IT which prevents the generation of nodules
Research on O sputtering targets is also being conducted.

[0009]

However, even if an ITO sputtering target having a predetermined surface roughness to prevent nodules is used, the initial arc cannot be prevented. Therefore, since a new sputtering target must be set and idled for a relatively long time, this is an obstacle to improving productivity.

In order to manufacture the ITO sputtering target having the above-mentioned predetermined surface roughness, after the sintering, the thickness is adjusted by grinding, and then a fine grinding wheel is gradually used for 3-4. Requires a number of polishing steps,
There is a problem that manufacturing time and cost increase.

Incidentally, such a problem also applies to a sputtering target of ceramics or metal other than ITO.

In view of such circumstances, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances.
An object of the present invention is to provide a sputtering target capable of preventing the generation of an initial arc, significantly improving the initial stability, and manufacturing at low cost, and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0013]

The inventors of the present invention have found that the cause of the initial arc is mainly due to burrs and grinding powder generated during polishing, and these are output with a predetermined pulse width rather than by polishing. It was found that the surface can be effectively removed by the above laser treatment, and the present invention has been completed.
That is, by performing a surface treatment with a laser, thermal shock from plasma hits the target surface at the start of sputtering, and powder particles and shell-like cracks on the target extreme surface that slide off due to the shock are sublimated before the start of sputtering. The present invention has been completed based on the finding that it can be prevented from slipping off due to thermal shock at the start of sputtering.

The first aspect of the present invention is 100 μs.
The sputtering target is characterized by being surface-treated by a laser output with a pulse width of ec or less.

In the first aspect, the surface treatment is performed by the laser output with a predetermined pulse width, and burrs and grinding powder generated during processing such as grinding as well as dust and dust are removed by sublimation. Perhaps because of this, the initial arc that occurs when the target is first used can be significantly reduced, and the initial stability can be improved. Further, since a laser output with a predetermined pulse width is used, energy by the laser does not diffuse in the depth direction, and an altered portion (in the case of an oxide, a reduced (lower oxide) portion) does not occur.

A second aspect of the present invention is the same as the first aspect.
And the laser is 3 MW / cm ^TwoMore peak energy
It is characterized by being output by the pulse of Rugie
The sputtering target.

In the second aspect, the surface treatment is performed with a laser output with a pulse having a predetermined peak energy, so that burrs and grinding powder generated during processing such as grinding, dust, and dust are sublimated. To be removed.

A third aspect of the present invention is the sputtering target according to the first or second aspect, characterized in that the wavelength of the laser is 1.1 μm or less.

In the third aspect, the surface treatment is performed with a laser having a wavelength of 1.1 μm or less, so that burrs, grinding powder, dust, dust, etc. generated during processing such as grinding are removed by sublimation.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is the sputtering target according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the laser is a YAG laser or an excimer laser.

In the fourth aspect, the surface treatment is effectively performed by the YAG laser or the excimer laser, and the initial stability is improved.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is the sputtering target according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, which is a target made of ceramics.

In the fifth aspect, burrs and grinding powder generated during processing such as grinding of ceramics are removed.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is a sputtering target according to the fifth aspect, which is a target made of an oxide containing at least one of indium oxide and tin oxide.

In the sixth aspect, the initial stability of the ITO sputtering target is significantly improved.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is a method of manufacturing a sputtering target, which comprises a step of performing a surface treatment with a laser output with a pulse width of 100 μsec or less in the method of manufacturing a sputtering target. .

In the seventh aspect, by performing the surface treatment with the laser output with a predetermined pulse width, burrs and grinding powder generated during processing such as grinding, dust, and dust are removed by sublimation. Perhaps because of this, the initial arc that occurs when the target is first used can be significantly reduced, and the initial stability can be improved. Further, since a laser output with a predetermined pulse width is used, energy by the laser does not diffuse in the depth direction, and an altered portion (in the case of an oxide, a reduced (lower oxide) portion) does not occur.

An eighth aspect of the present invention relates to a method for producing a sputtering target according to the seventh aspect, characterized in that the laser is output with a pulse having a peak energy of 3 MW / cm ² or more. is there.

In the eighth aspect, the surface treatment is performed with a laser output with a pulse having a predetermined peak energy, so that burrs and grinding powder generated during processing such as grinding, dust, and dust are sublimated. To be removed.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is the method for manufacturing a sputtering target according to the seventh or eighth aspect, wherein the wavelength of the laser is 1.1 μm or less.

In the ninth aspect, the surface treatment is performed with a laser having a wavelength of 1.1 μm or less, so that burrs and grinding powder generated during processing such as grinding, dust, and dust are removed by sublimation.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is the method for manufacturing a sputtering target according to any one of the seventh to ninth aspects, wherein the laser is a YAG laser or an excimer laser.

In the tenth aspect, the surface treatment is effectively performed by the YAG laser or the excimer laser,
Initial stability is improved.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention is the method for producing a sputtering target according to any one of the seventh to tenth aspects, characterized in that the target is processed to adjust the thickness and then the surface treatment is performed. It is in.

In the eleventh aspect, the burr or grinding powder generated during processing such as grinding is removed by sublimation or the like, and the initial arc generated at the beginning of use of the target can be significantly reduced, and the initial stability can be improved. It is possible to improve the sex.

A twelfth aspect of the present invention is the method for producing a sputtering target according to any one of the seventh to eleventh aspects, characterized in that the surface treatment is performed at the final stage of the production process.

In the twelfth aspect, the initial arc can be effectively reduced by performing the surface treatment with the laser at the final stage as much as possible.

A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is the method for producing a sputtering target according to any one of the seventh to twelfth aspects, characterized in that the surface treatment is performed after the target is bonded to the backing plate.

In the thirteenth aspect, since the surface treatment is performed by the laser, it can be performed even after the surface is joined to the backing plate, and the initial arc can be more effectively reduced.

A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is the method for producing a sputtering target according to any one of the seventh to thirteenth aspects, which is a target made of ceramics.

In the fourteenth aspect, burrs and grinding powder generated during grinding of ceramics are removed.

A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is the method for producing a sputtering target according to the fourteenth aspect, which is a target made of an oxide containing at least one of indium oxide and tin oxide.

According to the fifteenth aspect, it is possible to provide an ITO sputtering target whose remarkably improved initial stability.

In the present invention, since the surface finishing of the sputtering target is performed by the laser output with a predetermined pulse width, it is generated during dusting, dust, hand grease, and the like, and during processing such as grinding (or polishing). Burr and grinding powder,
Furthermore, it is possible that the initial arc hardly occurs at the beginning of use of the sputtering target, probably because the part that is easily desorbed by thermal shock during sputtering is removed by sublimation, etc. The initial stability can be remarkably improved. Further, since a laser output with a predetermined pulse width is used, energy by the laser does not diffuse in the depth direction, and an altered portion (in the case of an oxide, a reduced (lower oxide) portion) does not occur. In this specification, the word "grinding" may mean "grinding (or polishing)".

Here, the laser having a pulse width of 100 μsec or less does not generate thermal stress on the target as much as possible, and stains such as dust, dust, and hand grease, and burrs and grinding that occur during processing such as grinding (or polishing). It is possible to effectively remove powder, and further, a portion that is easily desorbed by thermal shock during use of sputtering, and the type of medium, oscillation method, etc. are not particularly limited.

In the present invention, when a laser output with a pulse having a pulse width of 100 μsec or less, preferably 0.2 μsec or less, and particularly preferably 0.1 μsec or less is used, thermal diffusion does not occur, and the extremely high surface of the target does not occur. Only the sublimation of dust and the like occurs, and the particles forming the surface layer are not melted and integrated.

Further, the laser irradiation does not generate thermal stress on the target as much as possible, stains such as dust, dust and hand grease, and burrs and grinding powder generated during processing such as grinding (or polishing), and further sputtering. The conditions should be such that a part that is easily detached by thermal shock during use can be effectively removed. A large amount of energy is required to efficiently cause sublimation and the like, and it is preferable to use a laser having a peak energy of 1 MW / cm ² or more, preferably 3 MW / cm ² or more. The irradiation method is not particularly limited, and a laser having a large diameter may be scanned or a laser beam having a small diameter may be scanned.

In the present invention, it is preferable to use a laser having a wavelength of 5 μm or less, preferably 1.1 μm or less. This is because the energy of the laser does not diffuse in the depth direction and the altered portion (in the case of oxide, reduction (lower oxide) portion) does not occur. Lasers that can be used in the present invention include YAG: Nd laser (wavelength 1.06 μm) and ArF.
An excimer laser (wavelength 192 nm) etc. can be mentioned.

The sputtering target to which the present invention can be applied is not particularly limited, and a sputtering target of a refractory metal to a ceramic target made of an oxide or the like can be applied.

In particular, in the case of a ceramic target obtained by sintering an oxide powder material, a brittle portion that easily separates due to burr or thermal shock is easily formed in grinding or surface polishing for adjusting the thickness. The invention can be effectively applied. Among these, an ITO sputtering target made of an oxide containing indium oxide and tin oxide requires a high degree of initial stability for efficient sputtering, and thus the present invention can be applied particularly effectively.

An example of the method of manufacturing a sputtering target according to the present invention will be described by taking a ceramic target as an example.

First, the raw material powders are mixed at a desired blending ratio, shaped by various conventionally known wet methods or dry methods, and fired.

As a dry method, cold press (Col
d Press method and hot press (Hot Press)
s) method etc. can be mentioned. In the cold pressing method, a mixed powder is filled in a molding die to prepare a molded body, which is then fired and sintered in an air atmosphere or an oxygen atmosphere. In the hot pressing method, the mixed powder is directly sintered in the molding die.

As the wet method, it is preferable to use, for example, a filtration molding method (see JP-A No. 11-286002). This filtration molding method is a filtration type molding die made of a water-insoluble material for draining water from a ceramic raw material slurry under reduced pressure to obtain a shaped body, and a lower molding die having one or more drain holes. , A water-permeable filter placed on the lower molding die, and a molding frame sandwiched from the upper surface side through a sealing material for sealing the filter, the lower molding die, molding The mold, sealing material, and filter are assembled so that they can be disassembled, and a filter-type molding die that drains water in the slurry under reduced pressure only from the filter surface side is used. Mixed powder, ion-exchanged water, and organic addition are used. A slurry containing the agent is prepared, the slurry is poured into a filtration type mold, and the moisture in the slurry is drained under reduced pressure only from the filter surface side to produce a molded body, and the obtained ceramic molded body is obtained. After dry degreasing, baking is performed.

In each method, the firing temperature is, for example, I
In the case of a TO target, the temperature is preferably 1300 to 1600 ° C, more preferably 1450 to 1600 ° C. Then, the target is machined to a predetermined size for forming and processing.

In general, after molding, the surface is ground to adjust the thickness, and further, several stages of polishing are performed to smooth the surface. The surface treatment by the laser of the present invention may be performed after grinding for thickness adjustment or after polishing. In any case, after the surface treatment with the laser, no subsequent treatment such as polishing is performed.

When such a surface treatment with a laser is applied, even if the surface is not smooth, burrs and grinding powder generated during grinding, and a portion which is easily detached due to thermal shock during the use of sputtering causes sublimation or the like. It is thought to be removed by doing. That is, when the present invention is applied, it is preferable that the step of polishing the surface can be omitted, and further, the surface treatment by the laser be performed by omitting the polishing step after the grinding step.

Therefore, the surface roughness Ra of the sputtering target of the present invention is 0.5 which is considered to be preferable in the past.
may be larger than μm, and 0.8 μm <Ra <3
It may be about μm. This has a surface roughness Ra of 0.
Even if it is larger than 5 μm, since the surface treatment is performed by the laser, the initial arc is greatly reduced and the initial stability is improved. Further, since the surface roughness Ra tends to increase due to the surface treatment with a laser, the surface roughness may be increased as a result.

Needless to say, even when the surface roughness Ra is 0.5 μm or less, when the present invention is applied, there is an effect that the initial arc is greatly reduced.

Further, conventionally, after the polishing process is completed, the target is bonded to the backing plate to form a sputtering target, but the surface treatment by the laser of the present invention can be performed after bonding to the backing plate. Further, in consideration of the initial stability of the manufactured sputtering target, it is preferable to carry out after bonding to the backing plate. This is to prevent dust, dust and the like from adhering to the surface after the surface treatment with the laser.

Therefore, it is preferable to immediately package after performing the surface treatment with the laser of the present invention. In the case of packing with a resin film, particles may be transferred to the target surface in contact with the resin film, so it is preferable to use a resin film that does not contain releasable particles. It is preferable to perform packaging so that nothing touches.

Generally, when a target such as cleavable ceramics is ground and polished by a grindstone as described above, specifically, the rotating grindstone is slid to grind and polish the target. As a result, a linear grinding scratch (grinding mark) on the target parallel to the polishing direction (grinding scratch, in the present specification,
Although "polishing scratches" are left together with the polishing scratches, the surface treatment by the laser of the present invention reduces the processing scars.

Further, in the case of a metal-based target, the thickness direction is processed by a milling machine or a lathe, or the thickness is adjusted by rolling or the like. It becomes a "processing mark" in. Such processing marks are also reduced by the surface treatment with the laser, and in some cases, substantially removed.

Here, the term “reduced” means that, for example, a sharp machining mark is rounded or removed so that it cannot be clearly seen, and in some cases, is substantially eliminated. Say. The reduction of processing marks is determined by the relationship between the material of the target and the wavelength or output of the laser, and it is necessary to eliminate the processing marks when the surface treatment by the laser of the present invention is performed. is not.

Although it depends on the laser irradiation conditions, for example, when a YAG: Nd laser (wavelength 1.06 μm) is used, the processing marks are often reduced and become substantially invisible. However, an ArF excimer laser is used. (Wavelength 192n
In m), there are some reductions in the processing marks, but they do not become visible.

In any case, according to the present invention, the surface treatment by the laser causes the thermal shock due to the plasma to hit the target surface at the start of sputtering, and the powder and the particles and the shells on the outermost surface of the target that slide off by the shock. -Like crack, by sublimation before the start of sputtering, due to the thermal shock at the start of sputtering, the effect of not slipping off, the initial arc that occurs at the beginning of use of the target can be significantly reduced, The initial stability can be improved.

In particular, when the pulse width is 100 μsec or less,
By using a laser having a peak energy of 3 MW / cm ² or more, partial alteration (in the case of oxide, partial reduction (lower oxide)) due to diffusion of energy in the depth direction by laser irradiation can be prevented, Only sublimation of dust or the like occurs on the extreme surface of the target, and the particles forming the surface layer are not integrated by melting,
The target life can be improved.

In JP-A-60-215761, the surface of the sintered body is irradiated with an energy ray such as a near-infrared laser beam to melt the particles in the surface layer and integrate them to form a molten layer on the surface portion. Disclosed is a method of forming a sputtering target which is formed and reduces or eliminates the collapse of the powder body from the target. Such a method is to melt fine powder particles on the surface portion by energy beam irradiation to form a dense solid layer and prevent the powder from collapsing, and the surface treatment of the present invention is intended and intended. The effect is completely different. The molten layer as described in the publication cannot be formed by a laser output with a very short pulse width, and the laser actually used in the publication is a carbon dioxide gas laser having a wavelength of about 10 μm and is used in the present invention. It is different from the one.
Further, when the powder is melted by a laser beam to form a molten layer in this manner, conversion to a low-order oxide occurs due to reduction (see page 3, lines 1 and 2 of the same publication).
It is expected that the target life will be significantly reduced.

[0069]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below based on Examples, but the invention is not limited thereto.

(Example 1) Purity> 99.99% of In ₂
O ₃ powder and SnO ₂ powder were prepared. Sn this powder
About 1.5 kg of O ₂ 10 wt% and In ₂ O ₃ 90 wt% in total were prepared, and a molded body was obtained by a filtration molding method. After that, the fired body was heated to 1600 ° C. in an oxygen atmosphere
Was fired and sintered at 8 hours. This sintered body was processed to obtain a target having a relative density of 99.5% with respect to the theoretical density.

The target was ground by a grindstone of No. 170 with a surface grinder to adjust the thickness, and then subjected to surface treatment using a YAG: Nd laser (wavelength 1064 nm).

The irradiation conditions of the YAG laser were spot size φ2 mm, pulse width 10 nsec, peak energy 320 MW / cm ² , pulse frequency 10 Hz, and output per pulse was 100 mJ / pulse. The average effective irradiation energy was 6.4 J / cm ² .

The surface roughness Ra after the surface treatment is measured according to JIS B0.
When measured according to 601, it was 2.06 μm. Specifically, a stylus type surface roughness meter (P10 manufactured by Tencor) is used, and a stylus having a tip radius of 0.5 μm is used.
The needle pressure was 15 mg, the feed rate was 20 μm / sec, the measurement width was 1.5 mm, and the cutoff filter was 800 μm.

Also, a scanning electron microscope (SE
The surface condition observed by M) is shown in FIG. No linear polishing marks could be observed. It should be noted that 500 times scanning electron microscope
The observation field of view of the microscope (SEM) is about 230 μm x about 1
70 μm, and also in the following examples and comparative examples.
It is the same.

(Example 2) Ar instead of YAG laser
Other than using the F excimer laser (wavelength 192 nm),
A target was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1.

Irradiation conditions of the excimer laser are as follows: spot size 3.3 mm × 1.5 mm, pulse width 30 nsec,
Peak energy 11 MW / cm ² , pulse frequency 1H
In z, the output per pulse was set to 16 mJ / pulse. The average effective irradiation energy was 0.32 J / cm ² .

The surface roughness Ra after the surface treatment is measured according to JIS B0.
When measured according to 601, it was 1.77 μm.

Further, a scanning electron microscope (SE
The surface condition observed by M) is shown in FIG. Ten linear polishing marks could be observed. However, it was not clearly observed like polishing marks of Comparative Examples described later, and was slightly rounded and was in a reduced state.

Example 3 The target of Example 1 was ground on a surface grinder with a 170th grindstone to adjust the thickness, and then ground three times, 400th, 600th and 1000th. After that, YAG: Nd laser (wavelength 1064n
m) was used for the surface treatment.

The irradiation conditions of the YAG laser were spot size φ2 mm, pulse width 10 nsec, peak energy 320 MW / cm ² , pulse frequency 10 Hz, and output per pulse was 100 mJ / pulse. The average effective irradiation energy was 3.2 J / cm ² .

The surface roughness Ra after the surface treatment is measured according to JIS B0.
When measured according to 601, it was 0.50 μm.

Further, a scanning electron microscope (SE
The surface state observed by M) is shown in FIG. No linear polishing marks could be observed.

Example 4 The target of Example 1 was ground on a surface grinder with a No. 170 grindstone to adjust the thickness, and then surface-treated using a YAG: Nd laser (wavelength 1064 nm). .

The irradiation conditions of the YAG laser are: spot size φ0.82 mm, pulse width 104 nsec, peak energy 6.6 MW / cm ² , pulse frequency 500 Hz.
Then, the output per pulse was set to 3.6 mJ / pulse. The average effective irradiation energy was 2.05 J / cm ² .

The surface roughness Ra after the surface treatment is measured according to JIS B0.
When measured according to 601, it was 1.70 μm.

Further, a scanning electron microscope (SE
The surface state observed by M) is shown in FIG. Six linear polishing marks could be observed.

(Comparative Example 1) A target of Comparative Example 1 was obtained by performing surface grinding in Example 1 but not performing surface treatment with a laser.

The surface roughness Ra was measured according to JIS B0601 and found to be 1.68 μm.

Further, a scanning electron microscope (SE
The surface condition observed by M) is shown in FIG. Eleven linear polishing marks were observed. However, it was observed more clearly than the polishing marks of Example 2 described above.

(Comparative Example 2) A target of Comparative Example 2 was prepared by polishing the surface of No. 1000 in Example 3 and then not performing the surface treatment with a laser.

The surface roughness Ra was measured according to JIS B0601 and found to be 0.19 μm.

A scanning electron microscope (SE
The surface condition observed by M) is shown in FIG. About 140 linear polishing marks could be observed.

Comparative Example 3 A target was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a YAG laser having the following irradiation conditions was used.

The irradiation conditions of the YAG laser were spot size φ2 mm, pulse width 0.3 msec, peak energy 22 kW / cm ² , pulse frequency 20 Hz, and output per pulse was 10 mJ / pulse. The average effective irradiation energy was 19 J / cm ² .

The surface roughness Ra after the surface treatment is measured according to JIS B0.
When measured according to 601, it was 1.70 μm.

Further, a scanning electron microscope (SE
The surface condition observed by M) is shown in FIG. Twelve linear polishing marks could be observed. However, it is not clearly observed like polishing marks of Comparative Example described later, and is slightly rounded,
It was in a reduced state. In addition, in some places, a partially reduced portion (lower oxide: a portion that looks black) was observed.

(Test Example) Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3
The target was used for continuous sputtering by DC magnetron sputtering under the following conditions, and the number of initial arcs and the 50 Counts life were measured. The results are shown in Table 1 below. In addition, Table 2 shows the laser irradiation conditions of each Example and Comparative Example 3.

Here, the initial number of arcs is the number of arcing (abnormal discharge) that has occurred from the start of use of each target to the input power amount of 10 Wh / cm ² . The arcing was detected by an arc detector (MAM Genesis) manufactured by Landmark Technology.

The 50Counts life is the input power amount (Wh / cm ² ) when the cumulative number of arcing times reaches 50, excluding the number of initial arcs from the start of use of each target to the input power amount 10Wh / cm ^2. Say.

Sputtering conditions Target size: diameter 6 inch, thickness 6 mm Sputtering method: DC magnetron sputter evacuation device: rotary pump + cryopump ultimate vacuum degree: 3.0 × 10 ⁻⁷ [Torr] Ar pressure: 3.0 × 10 ^-3 [Torr] Oxygen partial pressure: 3.0 × 10 ^-5 [Torr] Sputtering power: 300 W (power density 1.6 W / cm
² )

[0101]

[Table 1]

[0102]

[Table 2]

From the above results, it was confirmed that the surface treatment with the laser significantly reduced the number of initial arcs and significantly improved the initial stability regardless of the surface roughness. It was also found that the extent to which the machining marks are reduced by the surface treatment with the laser depends on the type of the laser, and that even if the machining marks are substantially left, it does not directly affect the number of initial arcs. Further, it was also confirmed that the target life is improved when the surface treatment with the laser is performed, probably because the generation of nodules is reduced.

When the laser of relatively weak energy is irradiated for a relatively long time as in Comparative Example 3, the energy is diffused in the depth direction of the target, probably because the reducing portion (lower oxide: The part that looks black) was observed, and as a result, the target life was significantly reduced.

[0105]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Due to the surface treatment by laser, thermal shock from plasma hits the target surface at the start of sputtering, and powder particles and shell-like cracks on the target's extreme surface that slide off due to the shock are sublimated before the start of sputtering. In addition, the effect of preventing slippage due to thermal shock at the start of sputtering can be significantly reduced, and the initial arc that occurs at the beginning of use of the target can be significantly reduced, and the initial stability can be improved. Further, when the surface treatment is performed by the laser, a plurality of polishing steps can be omitted, and as a result, the manufacturing can be performed at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a surface state observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at a magnification of 500 of Example 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a surface state observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at a magnification of 500 according to Example 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a surface state observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at a magnification of 500 of Example 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a surface state observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at a magnification of 500 according to Example 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a surface state observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) of 500 times that of Comparative Example 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a surface state observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) of 500 times that of Comparative Example 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a surface state observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) of 500 times that of Comparative Example 3 of the present invention.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-11-117062 (JP, A) Special Table 2001-500467 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C23C 14/00-14/58 C04B 41 / 80,41 / 91 C04B 35 / 457,35 / 495

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a sputtering target, wherein the pulse width is 100 μsec or less and 3 MW /
A method for producing a sputtering target, comprising the step of subjecting a surface of the laser to a laser having a peak energy of not less than ² cm ² without diffusing the energy in the thickness direction . 2. The method for manufacturing a sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein the wavelength of the laser is 1.1 μm or less. 3. The method for manufacturing a sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein the laser is a YAG laser or an excimer laser. 4. The method of manufacturing a sputtering target according to claim 1 , wherein the surface treatment is performed after processing the target to adjust the thickness. 5. The method of manufacturing a sputtering target according to claim 1 , wherein the surface treatment is performed at the final stage of the manufacturing process. 6. The method of manufacturing a sputtering target according to claim 1 , wherein the surface treatment is performed after the target is bonded to a backing plate. 7. The method of manufacturing a sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein the target is made of ceramics. 8. The method for manufacturing a sputtering target according to claim 7, which is a target made of an oxide containing at least one of indium oxide and tin oxide.