I am experiencing this for the Bi2Se3 sputtering target. Initially, even if the target was 2:3 in Bi : Se, with a few sputtering runs, due to the high escaping tendency of selenium, the top layer of the target becomes BiSe which is mostly Bi:Se in a 1:1 ratio, although the bulk is still in 2:3 ratio (confirmed by EDS of bulk powder extracted from target). As a result, the film produced from it has a the similar BiSe composition instead of Bi2Se3. Similar reports have been seen for any compound material target or even the Bi2Se3 target itself earlier and it has been suggested to scrape off or polish the top layer of target to get back to the actual stoichiometry on the surface. Can anybody please suggest an effective method to do this for recovering the proper stoichiometry without damaging the target or wasting too much target material every time this happens?
P.S: I am attaching images of similar problem being reported from this paper, 'Thin Solid Films 727 (2021) 138676'
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