We are using 63 watts (2 inch cathode), 30 mins deposition gives 10 nm film.
there is nothing like universal optimum parameters, you just have to test your system. Is it magnetron sputtering system? Is it reactive sputtering? Is it DC or RF?
Anyway I guess you can go up with the power but be carefull to not overheat the target, deposition time adjust according to the dep. rate and thickness you want. You can play also with the pressure, there is a pressure where the deposition rate has a maximum.
you can enhance deposition rate by increasing the Ar gas pressure and also by decreasing substrate to target distance. Keep substrate to target distance 3-4 cm and gas pressure 2* 10-2 mbar
Thanks. Pressure is already in 10-2 range, no scope for increase. Target distance is 5 cm is already optimized. It is RF magnetron. We will try with increase in power. Plan to increase till say about 125 watts, no sparking till then. I was trying to find out if any thumb rules for a crud estimate so that I can play around in that range. Thanks Jan and Tarun.
We are also having an RF magnetron sputtering and we deposit ceramics in that like ferrites, garnets and even some more harder materials like alumina and PMN-PT. Generally we do 1 hour deposition at 100W RF power with substrate to target distance 4.5 cm at a deposition pressure 5*10-3 mbar. We get around 300-500nm thickness. I think you should increase your deposition time say to1.5 hr and also check whether you are measuring the correct value of thickness. I would like to know how are you measuring thickness of your film by profilometer, ellipsometer or cross-sectional SEM.
Why don't you run the experiment systematically, plot the graph and you could create the deposition rate of your system....later change the parameters involved, such as pressure, RF, time, a thorough study of your system. These graphs will be as your references in the future...
That of course anybody would do and we are also doing. I guess any researcher would be aware of those suggestion. But if anybody has already done that no point in re-inventing the wheel. One can work near to the known parameters. The purpose of the question is just to know if anyone can share the deposition conditions for Gd2O3 ( if it can be shared)
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