The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 18, 1995
Filed:
Oct. 26, 1993
Gilbert Rancoule, Monaca, PA (US);
Jerald L Bliton, Beaver Falls, PA (US);
Vesuvius Crucible Company, Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
The invention encompasses a method for manufacturing a high density indium oxide/tin oxide (ITO) sintered body, as well as the ITO sintered body itself. The method produces an ITO sintered body of high homogeneity for use as a sputtering target in manufacturing processes where thin, transparent and electrically conductive ITO layers are deposited over transparent substrates. The method comprises the steps of preparing a slurry whose solid constituents consist of a finely divided mixture of between 99 and 50 weight percent of In.sub.2 O.sub.3 and 1 to 50 weight percent of SnO.sub.2, and between about 0.05 through 0.25 percent of a sintering agent formed from an oxide of, only one of the group consisting of aluminum, magnesium, yttrium, and silicon; forming the resulting slurry into a green body having a density of between about 4.0 and 4.8 gm/c.sup.3 and heating the green body to a sintering temperature of between about 1500 and 1600 C. while maintaining a flow of oxygen over the green body sufficient to avoid the creation of a reducing atmosphere around the body, but insufficient to cause substantial disassociation of the In.sub.2 O.sub.3 and SnO.sub.2 . The green body may be formed by casting the resulting slurry or by adding a powdered binder to the slurry, spray drying it, and cold pressing the resulting powder.