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This table lists material parameters for the quartz crystal monitors (QCMs) used in several PVD tools in the 10k area: Electron-Beam Evaporation System #1 (Gomez), Electron-Beam Evaporation System #2 (PVD-75), GLAD System (Achilles), AJA Orion 8 Sputtering System (Moe).

The QCM controller for AJA Orion 8 Sputtering System (Moe) uses acoustic impedance (Z), whereas the controllers for all other tools use Z-factor (a.k.a. Z-ratio)

In the following table, * denotes that the Z-factor and acoustic impedance is unknown; a method for determining Z-factor empirically is given following the table.

Material name	Chemical formula	Density ρ (g•cm^–3)	Z-factor	Acoustic impedance Z (×10⁶ kg•m^–2•s^–1)
Aluminum	Al	2.700	1.080	8.18
Aluminum antimonide	AISb	4.360	0.743	11.88
Aluminum carbide	Al₄C₃	2.360	*1.000	*8.83
Aluminum fluoride	AIF₃	3.070	*1.000	*8.83
Aluminum nitride	AIN	3.260	*1.000	*8.83
Aluminum oxide	Al₂O₃	3.970	0.336	26.28
Antimony	Sb	6.620	0.768	11.50
Antimony trioxide	Sb₂O₃	5.200	*1.000	*8.83
Antimony trisulfide	Sb₂S₃	4.640	*1.000	*8.83
Arsenic	As	5.730	0.966	9.14
Arsenic selenide	As₂Se₃	4.750	*1.000	*8.83
Barium	Ba	3.500	2.100	4.20
Barium fluoride	BaF₂	4.886	0.793	11.13
Barium nitrate	BaN₂O₆	3.244	1.261	7.00
Barium oxide	BaO	5.720	*1.000	*8.83
Barium titanate (cubic)	BaTiO₃	6.035	0.412	21.43
Barium titanate (tetragonal)	BaTiO₃	5.999	0.464	19.03
Beryllium	Be	1.850	0.543	16.26
Beryllium fluoride	BeF₂	1.990	*1.000	*8.83
Beryllium oxide	BeO	3.010	*1.000	*8.83
Bismuth	Bi	9.800	0.790	11.18
Bismuth fluoride	BiF₃	5.320	*1.000	*8.83
Bismuth oxide	Bi₂O₃	8.900	*1.000	*8.83
Bismuth selenide	Bi₂Se₃	6.820	*1.000	*8.83
Bismuth telluride	Bi₂Te₃	7.700	*1.000	*8.83
Bismuth trisulfide	Bi₂S₃	7.390	*1.000	*8.83
Boron	B	2.370	0.389	22.70
Boron carbide	B₄C	2.370	*1.000	*8.83
Boron nitride	BN	1.860	*1.000	*8.83
Boron oxide	B₂O₃	1.820	*1.000	*8.83
Cadmium	Cd	8.640	0.682	12.95
Cadmium fluoride	CdF₂	6.640	*1.000	*8.83
Cadmium oxide	CdO	8.150	*1.000	*8.83
Cadmium selenide,	CdSe	5.810	*1.000	*8.83
Cadmium sulfide	CdS	4.830	1.020	8.66
Cadmium telluride	CdTe	6.200	0.980	9.01
Calcium	Ca	1.550	2.620	3.37
Calcium fluoride	CaF₂	3.180	0.775	11.39
Calcium oxide	CaO	3.350	*1.000	*8.83
Calcium silicate (3)	CaO-SiO₂	2.900	*1.000	*8.83
Calcium sulfate	CaSO₄	2.962	0.955	9.25
Calcium titanate	CaTiO₃	4.100	*1.000	*8.83
Calcium tungstate	CaWO₄	6.060	*1.000	*8.83
Carbon (diamond)	C	3.520	0.220	40.14
Carbon (graphite)	C	2.250	3.260	2.71
Cerium	Ce	6.780	*1.000	*8.83
Cerium (III) fluoride	CeF₃	6.160	*1.000	*8.83
Cerium (IV) dioxide	CeO₂	7.130	*1.000	*8.83
Cesium	Cs	1.870	*1.000	*8.83
Cesium bromide	CsBr	4.456	1.410	6.26
Cesium chloride	CsCI	3.988	1.399	6.31
Cesium iodide	CsI	4.516	1.542	5.73
Cesium sulfate	Cs₂SO₄	4.243	1.212	7.29
Chiolite	Na₅Al₃F₁₄	2.900	*1.000	*8.83
Chromium	Cr	7.200	0.305	28.95
Chromium (III) oxide	Cr₂O₃	5.210	*1.000	*8.83
Chromium boride	CrB	6.170	*1.000	*8.83
Chromium carbide	Cr₃C₂	6.680	*1.000	*8.83
Cobalt	Co	8.900	0.343	25.74
Cobalt oxide	CoO	6.440	0.412	21.43
Copper	Cu	8.930	0.437	20.21
Copper (I) sulfide (α)	Cu₂S	5.600	0.690	12.80
Copper (I) sulfide (β)	Cu₂S	5.800	0.670	13.18
Copper (II) sulfide	CuS	4.600	0.820	10.77
Copper oxide	Cu2O	6.000	*1.000	*8.83
Cryolite	Na₃AIF₆	2.900	*1.000	*8.83
Dysprosium	Dy	8.550	0.600	14.72
Dysprosium oxide	Dy₂O₃	7.810	*1.000	*8.83
Erbium	Er	9.050	0.740	11.93
Erbium oxide	Er₂O₃	8.640	*1.000	*8.83
Europium	Eu	5.260	*1.000	*8.83
Europium fluoride	EuF₂	6.500	*1.000	*8.83
Gadolinium	Gd	7.890	0.670	13.18
Gadolinium oxide	Gd₂O₃	7.410	*1.000	*8.83
Gallium	Ga	5.930	0.593	14.89
Gallium antimonide	GaSb	5.600	*1.000	*8.83
Gallium arsenide	GaAs	5.310	1.590	5.55
Gallium nitride	GaN	6.100	*1.000	*8.83
Gallium oxide (β)	Ga₂O₃	5.880	*1.000	*8.83
Gallium phosphide	GaP	4.100	*1.000	*8.83
Germanium	Ge	5.350	0.516	17.11
Germanium nitride	Ge₃N₂	5.200	*1.000	*8.83
Germanium oxide	GeO₂	6.240	*1.000	*8.83
Germanium telluride	GeTe	6.200	*1.000	*8.83
Gold	Au	19.300	0.381	23.18
Hafnium	Hf	13.090	0.360	24.53
Hafnium boride,	HfB₂	10.500	*1.000	*8.83
Hafnium carbide	HfC	12.200	*1.000	*8.83
Hafnium nitride	HfN	13.800	*1.000	*8.83
Hafnium oxide	HfO₂	9.680	*1.000	*8.83
Hafnium silicide	HfSi₂	7.200	*1.000	*8.83
Holminum	Ho	8.800	0.580	15.22
Holminum oxide	Ho₂O₃	8.410	*1.000	*8.83
Inconel	NiCrFe	8.500	*1.000	*8.83
Indium	In	7.300	0.841	10.50
Indium antimonide	InSb	5.760	0.769	11.48
Indium arsenide	InAs	5.700	*1.000	*8.83
Indium phosphide	InP	4.800	*1.000	*8.83
Indium selenide	In₂Se₃	5.700	*1.000	*8.83
Indium sesquioxide	In₂O₃	7.180	*1.000	*8.83
Indium telluride	In₂Te₃	5.800	*1.000	*8.83
Iridium	Ir	22.400	0.129	68.45
Iron	Fe	7.860	0.349	25.30
Iron oxide	Fe₂O₃	5.240	*1.000	*8.83
Iron oxide	FeO	5.700	*1.000	*8.83
Iron sulfide	FeS	4.840	*1.000	*8.83
Lanthanum	La	6.170	0.920	9.60
Lanthanum boride	LaB₆	2.610	*1.000	*8.83
Lanthanum fluoride	LaF₃	5.940	*1.000	*8.83
Lanthanum oxide	La₂O₃	6.510	*1.000	*8.83
Lead	Pb	11.300	1.130	7.81
Lead chloride	PbCl₂	5.850	*1.000	*8.83
Lead fluoride	PbF₂	8.240	0.661	13.36
Lead oxide	PbO	9.530	*1.000	*8.83
Lead selenide	PbSe	8.100	*1.000	*8.83
Lead Stannate	PbSnO₃	8.100	*1.000	*8.83
Lead sulfide	PbS	7.500	0.566	15.60
Lead telluride	PbTe	8.160	0.651	13.56
Lithium	Li	0.530	5.900	1.50
Lithium bromide	LiBr	3.470	1.230	7.18
Lithium fluoride	LiF	2.638	0.778	11.35
Lithium niobate	LiNbO₃	4.700	0.463	19.07
Lutetium	Lu	9.840	*1.000	*8.83
Magnesium	Mg	1.740	1.610	5.48
Magnesium aluminate	MgAI₂O₄	3.600	*1.000	*8.83
Magnesium fluoride	MgF₂	3.180	0.637	13.86
Magnesium oxide	MgO	3.580	0.411	21.48
Manganese	Mn	7.200	0.377	23.42
Manganese (II) sulfide	MnS	3.990	0.940	9.39
Manganese oxide	MnO	5.390	0.467	18.91
Mercury	Hg	13.460	0.740	11.93
Molybdenum	Mo	10.200	0.257	34.36
Molybdenum boride	MoB₂	7.120	*1.000	*8.83
Molybdenum carbide	Mo₂C	9.180	*1.000	*8.83
Molybdenum disulfide	MoS₂	4.800	*1.000	*8.83
Molybdenum Trioxdide	MoO₃	4.700	*1.000	*8.83
Neodynium	Nd	7.000	*1.000	*8.83
Neodynium fluoride	NdF₃	6.506	*1.000	*8.83
Neodynium oxide	Nd₂O₃	7.240	*1.000	*8.83
Nichrome	NiCr	8.500	*1.000	*8.83
Nickel	Ni	8.910	0.331	26.68
Nickel oxide	NiO	7.450	*1.000	*8.83
Niobium	Nb	8.578	0.492	17.95
Niobium (V) oxide	Nb₂O₅	4.470	*1.000	*8.83
Niobium boride	NbB₂	6.970	*1.000	*8.83
Niobium carbide	NbC	7.820	*1.000	*8.83
Niobium nitride	NbN	8.400	*1.000	*8.83
Niobium trioxide	Nb₂O₃	7.500	*1.000	*8.83
Palladium	Pd	12.038	0.357	24.73
Palladium oxide	PdO	8.310	*1.000	*8.83
Parylene (Union Carbide)	C₈H₈	1.100	*1.000	*8.83
Permalloy	NiFe	8.700	*1.000	*8.83
Phosphorus nitride	P₃N₅	2.510	*1.000	*8.83
Platinum	Pt	21.400	0.245	36.04
Platinum oxide	PtO₂	10.200	*1.000	*8.83
Polonium	Po	9.400	*1.000	*8.83
Potassium	K	0.860	10.189	0.87
Potassium bromide	KBr	2.750	1.893	4.66
Potassium chloride	KCI	1.980	2.050	4.31
Potassium fluoride	KF	2.480	*1.000	*8.83
Potassium iodide	KI	3.128	2.077	4.25
Praseodymium	Pr	6.780	*1.000	*8.83
Praseodymium oxide	Pr₂O₃	6.880	*1.000	*8.83
Radium	Ra	5.000	*1.000	*8.83
Rhenium	Re	21.040	0.150	58.87
Rhodium	Rh	12.410	0.210	42.05
Rubidium	Rb	1.530	2.540	3.48
Rubidium iodide	Rbl	3.550	*1.000	*8.83
Ruthenium	Ru	12.362	0.182	48.52
Samarium	Sm	7.540	0.890	9.92
Samarium oxide	Sm₂O₃	7.430	*1.000	*8.83
Scandium	Sc	3.000	0.910	9.70
Scandium oxide	Sc₂O₃	3.860	*1.000	*8.83
Selenium	Se	4.810	0.864	10.22
Silicon	Si	2.320	0.712	12.40
Silicon (II) oxide	SiO	2.130	0.870	10.15
Silicon carbide	SiC	3.220	*1.000	*8.83
Silicon dioxide	SiO₂	2.648	1.000	8.83
Silicon nitride	Si₃N₄	3.440	*1.000	*8.83
Silver	Ag	10.500	0.529	16.69
Silver bromide	AgBr	6.470	1.180	7.48
Silver chloride	AgCI	5.560	1.320	6.69
Sodium	Na	0.970	4.800	1.84
Sodium bromide	NaBr	3.200	*1.000	*8.83
Sodium chlorate	NaCIO₃	2.164	1.565	5.64
Sodium chloride	NaCI	2.170	1.570	5.62
Sodium fluoride	NaF	2.558	0.949	9.30
Sodium nitrate	NaNO₃	2.270	1.194	7.40
Spinel	MgAI₂O₆	8.000	*1.000	*8.83
Strontium	Sr	2.600	*1.000	*8.83
Strontium fluoride	SrF₂	4.277	0.727	12.15
Strontium oxide	SrO	4.990	0.517	17.08
Sulfur	S₈	2.070	2.290	3.86
Supermalloy	NiFeMo	8.900	*1.000	*8.83
Tantalum	Ta	16.600	0.262	33.70
Tantalum (V) oxide	Ta₂O₅	8.200	0.300	29.43
Tantalum boride	TaB₂	11.150	*1.000	*8.83
Tantalum carbide	TaC	13.900	*1.000	*8.83
Tantalum nitride	TaN	16.300	*1.000	*8.83
Technetium	Tc	11.500	*1.000	*8.83
Tellurium	Te	6.250	0.900	9.81
Tellurium oxide	TeO₂	5.990	0.862	10.24
Terbium	Tb	8.270	0.660	13.38
Thallium	TI	11.850	1.550	5.70
Thallium bromide	TIBr	7.560	*1.000	*8.83
Thallium chloride	TICI	7.000	*1.000	*8.83
Thallium iodide (B)	TII	7.090	*1.000	*8.83
Thorium	Th	11.694	0.484	18.24
Thorium (IV) fluoride	ThF₄	6.320	*1.000	*8.83
Thorium dioxide	ThO₂	9.860	0.284	31.09
Thorium oxyfluoride	ThOF₂	9.100	*1.000	*8.83
Tin	Sn	7.300	0.724	12.20
Tin oxide	SnO₂	6.950	*1.000	*8.83
Tin selenide	SnSe	6.180	*1.000	*8.83
Tin sulfide	SnS	5.080	*1.000	*8.83
Tin telluride	SnTe	6.440	*1.000	*8.83
Titanium	Ti	4.500	0.628	14.06
Titanium (IV) oxide	TiO₂	4.260	0.400	22.08
Titanium boride	TiB₂	4.500	*1.000	*8.83
Titanium carbide	TiC	4.930	*1.000	*8.83
Titanium nitride	TiN	5.430	*1.000	*8.83
Titanium oxide	TiO	4.900	*1.000	*8.83
Titanium sesquioxide	Ti2O₃	4.600	*1.000	*8.83
Triuranium octoxide	U₃O₈	8.300	*1.000	*8.83
Tungsten	W	19.300	0.163	54.17
Tungsten boride	WB₂	10.770	*1.000	*8.83
Tungsten carbide	WC	15.600	0.151	58.48
Tungsten disilicide	WSi₂	9.400	*1.000	*8.83
Tungsten disulfide	WS₂	7.500	*1.000	*8.83
Tungsten trioxide	WO₃	7.160	*1.000	*8.83
Uranium	U	19.050	0.238	37.10
Uranium dioxide	UO₂	10.970	0.286	30.87
Uranium oxide	U₄O₉	10.969	0.348	25.37
Vanadium	V	5.960	0.530	16.66
Vanadium boride	VB₂	5.100	*1.000	*8.83
Vanadium carbide	VC	5.770	*1.000	*8.83
Vanadium dioxide	VO₂	4.340	*1.000	*8.83
Vanadium nitride	VN	6.130	*1.000	*8.83
Vanadium pentoxide	V₂O₅	3.360	*1.000	*8.83
Ytterbium	Yb	6.980	1.130	7.81
Ytterbium oxide	Yb₂O₃	9.170	*1.000	*8.83
Yttrium	Y	4.340	0.835	10.57
Yttrium oxide	Y2O₃	5.010	*1.000	*8.83
Zinc	Zn	7.040	0.514	17.18
Zinc antimonide	Zn₃Sb₂	6.300	*1.000	*8.83
Zinc fluoride	ZnF₂	4.950	*1.000	*8.83
Zinc oxide	ZnO	5.610	0.556	15.88
Zinc selenide	ZnSe	5.260	0.722	12.23
Zinc sulfide	ZnS	4.090	0.775	11.39
Zinc telluride	ZnTe	6.340	0.770	11.47
Zirconium	Zr	6.490	0.600	14.72
Zirconium boride	ZrB₂	6.080	*1.000	*8.83
Zirconium carbide	ZrC	6.730	0.264	33.45
Zirconium nitride	ZrN	7.090	*1.000	*8.83
Zirconium oxide	ZrO₂	5.600	*1.000	*8.83

Determining Z-factor empirically

Z-factor, also known as Z-ratio, is used to match the acoustic properties of the material being deposited to the acoustic properties of the base quartz material of the QCM sensor crystal, and is defined as:

Z-factor = Z_q / Z_m

where Z_q = 8.83×10⁶ kg•m^–2•s^–1 is the acoustic impedance of quartz. For example, the acoustic impedance of gold is Z = 23.18×10⁶ kg•m^–2•s^–1 , so:

Z-factor_Au = 8.83 / 23.18 = 0.381

Unfortunately, Z-factor is not readily available for many materials, but it can be calculated empirically using this method:

Deposit the material until crystal life is near 50%, or near the end of life, whichever is sooner.
Place a new substrate adjacent to the used quartz sensor.
Set QCM density to the calibrated value, tooling to 100%, and zero thickness.
Deposit approximately 1000 to 5000 Å of material on the substrate.
Use a profilometer or interferometer to measure the actual substrate film thickness.
Adjust the Z-factor of the instrument until the correct thickness reading is shown.

Another alternative is to change crystals frequently: for a crystal with 90% life, the error is negligible for even large errors in the programmed versus actual Z-factor.

The information on this page is adapted from the KJLC FTC-2800 Multi-Channel Quartz Crystal Controller operation manual.