Sputtering yield measurements during low energy xenon plasma bombardment

The sputtering yields of molybdenum, titanium, beryllium, and carbon have been measured during xenon ion bombardment from a plasma in the energy range between 10 and 200 eV. The erosion rates of Mo, Be, and C are measured both spectroscopically in the plasma and using the standard weight loss technique. Spectroscopic measurements of Ti sputtering yields, where no atomic physics data is available, are normalized to the weight loss measurements. The erosion rates of the metals decrease with the reduced mass of the metal–xenon combination and decrease with the increasing metal’s binding energy, as expected. The erosion results for bombardment of graphite indicate that the sputtering rate of carbon, as atoms, from the surface is insufficient to explain the total carbon weight loss measured. The multiple mechanisms for carbon erosion during plasma bombardment are discussed and the sputter rates of carbon atoms and carbon dimers are presented.