A facing-target sputtering system is described in detail. The plasma characteristics were studied With Cu targets. A step I-V Curve Was observed with decreasing pressure. A flat area of about 1 x 1 cm(2) at the center exists with maximum deposition rate. The growth rate varied with changing sputtering power almost linearly. La2.3Ca1.3MnO3 (LCMO) and YBa2Cu4O8, (YBCO) films were grown oil SrTiO3 (100) and LaAlO3 (100) substrates. Increasing the substrate temperature T-5 can significantly improve the superconductivity of YBCO. Although the lattice mismatch of YBCO-STO is smaller than that of YBCO-LAO, the properties of YBCO/STO films are not better than that of YBCO/LAO films. Because of larger lattice mismatch, LCMO/LAO film has lower T-p similar to 120 K with a wider transition than LCMO/STO film. X-ray diffraction confirmed the c-axis orientation of LCMO/YBCO/LCMO/STO sandwich. The temperature dependence of the resistance indicated the coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.