Methods of forming sputtering targets

1. A method of forming a sputter target, the method comprising:

providing a structure comprising:

a backing plate comprising a backing-plate material, and

disposed on the backing plate, an intermediate layer; and

applying to the intermediate layer a target material,

wherein the intermediate layer (i) has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between a CTE of the backing plate and a CTE of the target material and (ii) comprises a powder mixture of the backing-plate material and the target material.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target material consists essentially of non-melted metal powder.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein, after being applied to the intermediate layer, the target material is substantially free of grain-size banding and texture banding.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein, after being applied to the intermediate layer, the target material has a substantially uniform equiaxed grain structure and an average grain size less than 44 microns.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the average grain size of the target material is less than 10 microns.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the backing-plate material comprises copper, aluminum, or an alloy of beryllium with at least one of copper or aluminum.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target material is selected from the group consisting of: niobium, tantalum, tungsten, molybdenum, zirconium, titanium, and alloys thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the target material comprises spray deposition.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein applying the target material comprises cold spray.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein, while applying the target material on the intermediate layer, neither the target material nor any portion of the backing plate melts.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein, after being applied to the intermediate layer, the target material is substantially free of preferred crystalline texture.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, after applying the target material, annealing the structure.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

placing the (i) the structure comprising the backing plate, the intermediate layer, and the target material and (ii) a substrate within a sputtering chamber;

after substantially no burn in, sputtering the target material, thereby forming a thin film on the substrate, the thin film comprising the target material.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein a non-uniformity of the thin film ranges from approximately 1.5% to approximately 4%.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising annealing the structure comprising the backing plate, the intermediate layer, and the target material prior to placing it within the sputtering chamber.