Through‐thickness texture gradient of tantalum sputtering target

For sputtering targets, through‐thickness texture is critical for assuring reliable sputtering performance. In this paper, through‐thickness texture gradient of a rolled and subsequently annealed tantalum sputtering target was investigated. The results show that by carefully controlling the rolling process, shear‐related components at the surface of the rolled sample could be avoided. Both the rolled sample and the annealed target develop a through‐thickness texture gradient with the formation of a stronger {1 1 1} fiber in the center layer compared with that in the surface layer.