Metal film and metal film-coated member, metal oxide film and metal oxide film-coated member, thin film forming apparatus and thin film forming method for producing metal film and metal oxide film

Abstract

The metal film of the present invention is a dense film of a single crystal that has very low surface roughness and very good crystal orientation because an arithmetic mean roughness of the surface is not larger than 2 nm and a (111) peak intensity of X-ray diffraction is not less than 20 times the sum of all other peaks. Also the metal oxide film of the present invention is a dense film that includes less oxygen defects and almost no voids therein because a content of a non-oxidized metal is not higher than 1 mole % of a metal component that constitutes the metal oxide and a packing density is 0.98. or higher.

1 - 48 . (canceled)  
     
     
         49 . A thin film forming method, which comprises the steps of: 
 holding a substrate, over the surface of which the thin film is to be formed, in the chamber;    supplying the gas for generating plasma into the chamber;    applying high frequency electric field in the inner space of the chamber;    heating and evaporating the evaporation material that is the material of the thin film in the chamber; and    controlling the gas supply wherein the quantity of gas supplied into the chamber is controlled so as to be larger in the early stage of the thin film forming process than in the latter stage.    
     
     
         50 . The thin film forming method according to  claim 49 , wherein the gas supply control step controls the quantity of gas supplied by the gas supply means so that pressure in the chamber measured by the vacuum level measuring means is maintained at a predetermined level.  
     
     
         51 . The thin film forming method according to  claim 49 , further comprising the step of applying a direct current voltage across the substrate and the boat that holds the evaporation material, with the boat serving as an anode.  
     
     
         52 . The thin film forming method according to  claim 49 , wherein the chamber comprises an electrically conductive material.  
     
     
         53 . The thin film forming method according to  claim 49 , wherein the substrate is maintained at a temperature not higher than 100° C. when the thin film is formed on the substrate surface.  
     
     
         54 . The thin film forming method according to  claim 49 , wherein the evaporation material is a metal, a metal oxide, a metal salt or a polymer compound.  
     
     
         55 . (canceled)  
     
     
         56 . A thin film forming method, which comprises the steps of: 
 holding a substrate by a substrate holding means that is made of an electrically conductive material in the electrically conductive chamber that is electrically floated;    supplying high frequency electric power to the substrate holding means;    heating the boat that holds the evaporation material used as the material of the thin film, in the chamber;    supplying a gas for generating plasma into the chamber; and    applying a DC voltage between the substrate holding means and the boat, while using the boat as an anode.    
     
     
         57 - 59 . (canceled)