Abstract: The method manufactures high-purity ferromagnetic sputter targets by cryogenic working the sputter target blank at a temperature below at least −50° C. to impart at least about 5 percent strain into the sputter target blank to increase PTF uniformity of the target blank. The sputter target blank is a nonferrous metal selected from the group consisting of cobalt and nickel; and the nonferrous metal has a purity of at least about 99.99 weight percent. Finally, fabricating the sputter target blank forms a sputter target having an improved PTF uniformity arising from the cryogenic working.

Abstract: The sputtering target has a design for uniformly depositing a material on a substrate. The target contains a circular disk; and the disk has a radius and a top surface. The top surface has a center region within the inner half of the radius, an outer ring-shaped region within the outer half of the radius and a base region separating the center region from the ring-shaped region. The outer ring-shaped region has a projection height for extending the life of the sputtering target. The center region has a projection height of less than the projection height of the outer ring-shaped region for increasing the sputtering deposition rate on the substrate adjacent the center region.

Abstract: An aluminum alloy sputter target having a sputter target face for sputtering the sputter target is provided. The sputter target face has a textured-metastable grain structure. The textured-metastable grain structure has a grain orientation ratio of at least 35 percent (200) orientation. The textured-metastable grain structure is stable during sputtering of the sputter target. The textured-metastable grain structure has a grain size of less than 5 &mgr;m. The method forms aluminum alloy sputter targets by first cooling an aluminum alloy target blank to a temperature of less than −50° C. Then deforming the cooled aluminum alloy target blank introduces plastic strain into the target blank and reduces the grain size of the grains to form a textured-metastable grain structure. Finally, finishing the aluminum alloy target blank forms a finished sputter target that maintains the textured-metastable grain structure of the finished sputter target.

Abstract: The method manufactures sputter target assemblies. It first includes the step of manufacturing a target insert. The target insert has a yield strength, a diameter, a height, a planar top surface and a conical-shaped rear surface. Then a backing plate is manufactured. The backing plate has a cylindrical recess that corresponds to the diameter of the target insert. The cylindrical recess has a depth less than the height of the target insert and a yield strength less than the yield strength of the target insert. Finally, pressing the target insert into the cylindrical recess of the backing plate bonds the target insert to the backing plate to form a target assembly. The pressed target assembly contains the target insert with the conical-shaped rear surface.

Abstract: An apparatus and process for making metal oxide sputtering targets from volatile and thermally unstable metal oxide powder by hot-pressing the metal oxide powder in a graphite die assembly having a ceramic barrier sleeve disposed therein to isolate the metal oxide powder from the graphite die assembly components.

Abstract: A cermet powder for thermal spray coating, which is sprayed on a roll surface of a conveyer roll inside a furnace for heat treating a high tensile strength steel strip thereby to form a coating film, comprises: an alloy powder containing 3 to 8 mass % of Al, 16 to 25 mass % of Cr, 0.1 to 1 mass % of Y, and at least one of Co and Ni as the residual, with respect to the whole amount of the cermet powder; and a ceramic powder containing at least one of 1 to 5 mass % of a boride and 5 to 10 mass % of a carbide, with respect to the whole amount of the cermet powder.

Abstract: The coated device contains a coating for use with corrosive environments at high temperatures. The device has a bond coat consisting essentially of, by weight percent, 0 to 5 carbon, 20 to 40 chromium, 0 to 5 nickel, 0 to 5 iron, 2 to 25 total molybdenum plus tungsten, 0 to 3 silicon 0 to 3 boron and balance cobalt and essential impurities to provide sulfidation resistance at high temperatures. A zirconia-base ceramic coating covers the bond coat for heat resistance. Optionally, a boride or carbide coating covers the zirconia for additional resistance to erosion.

Abstract: The invention relates to a novel thermal spray process for the deposition of coatings with a graded or layered composition and the coated articles produced thereby. More particularly, the invention relates to feeding mixtures of coating materials to a thermal spray device and continuously or intermittently changing the composition of the deposited coatings by changing the thermal spray operating parameters. The continuous or intermittent change in the composition of the coating material during deposition creates a graded or layered coating structure.

Abstract: The invention is a corrosion resistant powder useful for deposition through thermal spray devices. The powder consists essentially of, by weight percent, 30 to 60 tungsten, 27 to 60 chromium, 1.5 to 6 carbon, a total of 10 to 40 cobalt plus nickel and incidental impurities plus melting point suppressants.

Abstract: The polishing slurry includes polishing particles having a mean particle diameter of less than about 5 &mgr;m. The slurry contains at least about 0.5 total weight percent oxidizer selected from at least one of the group consisting of HNO3, Ni(NO3)2, Al(NO3)3, Mg(NO3)2, Zn(NO3)2 and NH4NO3. A small but effective amount of a co-oxidizer selected from the group consisting of perbromates, perchlorates, periodates, persulfates, permanganates, ferric nitrate, cerium-containing salts, perbenzoic acids, nitrite compounds, perborate compounds, hypochlorite compounds, chlorite compounds and chloride compounds accelerates removal of substrates; and water forms the balance of the aqueous slurry.

Abstract: The method is used to fabricate pure copper sputter targets. It includes first heating a copper billet to a temperature of at least 500° C. The copper billet has a purity of at least 99.99 percent. Then warm working the copper billet applies at least 40 percent strain. Cold rolling the warm worked copper billet then applies at least 40 percent strain and forms a copper plate. Finally, annealing the copper plate at a temperature above about 250° C. forms a target blank. The target blank has equiaxed grains having an average grain size of less than 40 &mgr;m. The grains of the target blank have (111), (200), (220) and (311) orientations with the amount of the grains having each of the orientations being less than 50 percent.

Abstract: The sputter target deposits nickel from a binary alloy. The binary alloy contains, by weight percent, 9 to 15 titanium and the balance nickel and incidental impurities. The binary alloy has, by weight percent, 35 to 50 TiNi3 needle-like intermetallic phase and balance &agr;-nickel phase. The TiNi3 needle-like intermetallic phase and &agr;-nickel phase are formed from a eutectic decomposition. The &agr;-nickel phase has a grain size between 50 and 180 &mgr;m. The binary alloy has a Curie temperature of less than or equal to a temperature of 25° C. and exhibits paramagnetic properties at temperatures of 25° C. or lower.

Abstract: The polishing slurry includes by weight percent, 0.1 to 50 metal oxy-acid accelerator, 0.5 to 50 cerium oxide abrasive particles and balance water. The metal oxy-acid accelerator is formed with a metal selected from the group consisting of chromium, lanthanum and rare earth metals 59 to 71, manganese, molybdenum, niobium, osmium, rhenium, ruthenium, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, yttrium and zirconium.

Abstract: A material useful for forming high temperature coatings. The material contains a MCrAlY powder wherein M is selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, cobalt, iron-base alloys, nickel-base alloys and cobalt-base alloys. An aluminum layer coats the powder. The method forms a high temperature coating with the powder. Thermally spraying the MCrAlY powder towards a substrate reacts the aluminum coating with the MCrAlY powder to metallurgically bond the MCrAlY powder and coat the substrate.

Abstract: A nickel/vanadium sputter target for depositing magnetic nickel is provided having high homogeneity, high purity and an ultra-low level of alpha emission. Source materials having high purity and alpha emissions of equal or less than 10−2 counts/cm2-hr are melted and cast under a vacuum and low pressure, hot or cold rolled, and heat treated to form a sputter target having an alpha emission of equal or less than 10−2counts/cm2-hr, and preferably less than 10−3 counts/cm2-hr. From this target may be deposited a thin film of magnetic nickel having an alpha emission equal or less than 10−2 counts/cm2-hr, preferably less than 10−3 counts/cm2-hr and more preferably less than 10−4 counts/cm2-hr.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for pixel-by-pixel motion and/or still video data compression and decompression. Each pixel may be encoded as static, new, or direcionally estimated. Directionally estimated pixels are encoded with a value corresponding to a direction in a reduced set of substantially unique directions, wherein each direction may correspond to one or a combination of pixels. Directionally estimated pixels are further encoded using an adaptive variable length code (VLC), while static pixels and new pixels are encoded using run-lenth (RL) coding and delta coding techniques, respectively. Performance parameters, such as compression ratio, quality, etc., may be monitored to dynamically and adaptively update compression thresholds. Pixel processing may be performed in a plurality of directions to improve performance.

Abstract: A method is provided for achieving an enhanced finish on a sputter target surface that results in good film uniformity, low particle counts, and little to no bum-in time. The method involves chemically etching the surface of the sputter target by immersing the surface one or more times in an etching solution, with intermediate rinsing steps. The result is a surface substantially free of mechanical deformation that exhibits a surface similar to a sputtered target with a surface roughness of 10-30 &mgr;in.

Abstract: A method is provided for fabricating Cu/Cr sputter targets having a density of at least about 90% of theoretical density and an oxygen content of less than about 1000 ppm. According to the principles of the present invention, Cu and Cr powders, each having particles in the size range of about 20 &mgr;m to about 150 &mgr;m and having oxygen contents preferably less than about 1200 ppm and 600 ppm, respectively, are blended and pressed by hot pressing. A low-oxygen content, high-density Cu/Cr target is thereby achieved for the sputtering of thin films having a defect generation of about 0%.

Abstract: The polishing slurry includes polishing particles having a mean particle diameter of less than about 5 &mgr;m. The slurry contains at least about 0.5 weight percent oxidizer selected from at least one of the group consisting of HNO3, Ni(NO3)2, Al(NO3)3, Mg(NO3)2, Zn(NO3)2 and NH4NO3. A small but effective amount of a co-oxidizer selected from the group consisting of perbromates, perchlorates, periodates, persulfates, permanganates and ferric nitrate accelerates removal of substrates; and water forms the balance of the aqueous slurry.

Abstract: A method is provided for forming clad hollow cathode magnetron sputter targets that are lighter in weight and/or less expensive than monolithic targets. A plate of sputter target material is bonded to a sheet of cladding material that is lighter in weight and/or less expensive than the sputter target material. This clad target assembly is then formed into a hollow cathode magnetron sputter target, such as by deep drawing. The clad hollow cathode magnetron further provides greater percent utilization of sputter target material than monolithic targets.