Abstract: A sputtering apparatus having a vacuum treatment chamber, a backing plate arranged within the chamber, a sputtering target secured to the backing plate, evacuation means and a voltage source for applying a voltage to the sputtering target. The peripheral portion of the backing plate adjacent to the sputtering target is covered with a material having a high heat resistance temperature and excellent electrical insulating properties or the same material as the material of the sputtering target. The peripheral edge of the sputtering target can also be made larger than the peripheral edge of the backing plate so that the peripheral portion of the backing plate adjacent to the sputtering target is covered with or hidden by the sputtering target. In this sputtering apparatus, at least the peripheral portion of the backing plate adjacent to the sputtering target is not sputtered, and therefore, a metal film formed on a substrate by sputtering is not contaminated and this metal film is, therefore, easily dry-etched.