  Magnetron sputtering is a perfect technique for processing nanomaterials for
engineering and medical applications. A material can be processed with specific
mechanical properties, microstructure, and surface texture by controlling the
parameters of magnetron sputtering. Therefore, studies should be conducted on
investigating the processing conditions on the performance of nanomaterials
processed by magnetron sputtering. In this study, effects of the processing
force on performance of micro/nano-resonators produced by magnetron sputtering
are revealed. The processing force is defined as the ratio of the sputtering
power-to-the substrates traveling velocity. By comparing the substrate
traveling velocity to the deposition rate of the sputtered particles, relations
are derived for the thickness and surface texture evolutions with the
processing force. The coefficients of these relations are experimentally
determined for mechanical resonators made of FeNiCr alloy. Then, the variations
of the natural frequencies of these resonators with the processing force of
magnetron sputtering and the deposition rate of the sputtered particles are
depicted. It is demonstrated that special considerations should be given for
the effects of the processing conditions when design mechanical resonators
produced by magnetron sputtering.
