An approach to calculate sputtering rates in glow discharges by using a new crater volume evaluation method

In this work is presented a new approach to determine the crater volume based on a numerical model which calculates the crater volume from a 2D profile. Eight craters were made in a stainless steel at different experimental conditions (to obtain varied crater shapes) and the values offered by the model (a computer software) were compared with those obtained using an optical profilometer. The discrepancy between methods is lower than 15%. Moreover, 68 crater volumes were calculated by using a mathematical approximation to the crater profile (fitting it by analytical functions and integrating) and were compared with those reported by the numerical model, giving rise to discrepancies below than 5% in most cases.