The design and construction of a planar magnetron sputter deposition system with a beryllium chamber has been accomplished to perform in situ X-ray diffraction growth study of refractory coatings. The deposition system sits on top of a laboratory theta-2theta X-ray diffractometer. A 2D array detector was interfaced for observation of the Debye rings during growth. Integration along the 20 and X directions allows fast phase and texture determination. Two sputter depositions of tantalum films onto glass substrate in argon gas are reported, one was deposited at 25 mm target-detector distance, 3.9 Pa argon gas, and the other at 108 min target-detector distance and 1.3 Pa argon gas. The first film grew to 250 nm in 39 min at an average growth rate of 6.4 nm/min. It consisted of 45 nm of interface layer, which showed no crystalline structure, followed by 15-nm growth of beta-tantalum, followed by 190-nm growth of alpha-tantalum. From the full-width-half-maximum of the X-plot, it was determined that beta-tantalum was (0 0 2) textured, and alpha-tantalum was (110) textured and grew more textured with deposition time. The second film grew to 36 nm in 22 min at an average growth rate of 1.6 nm/min. It consisted of 31 nm of layer, which showed no crystalline structure, followed by 5 nm of surface layer of beta- and alpha-tantalum. Ex situ grazing incidence X-ray diffraction performed on the film surface confirmed the in situ results. Ex situ pole figure analysis showed: (110) fiber texture in a-tantalum, and highly (0 0 2) texture in beta-tantalum.