Sputtering-yield studies on silicon and silver targets

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Abstract
The sputtering yield of vacuum-deposited silicon and silver targets has been measured with 15 different 45-keV ions throughout the periodic system. The dependence of the yield on the projectile atomic number follows rather closely Sigmund's prediction, especially for silicon. The self-sputtering yield of silver was measured in the 30–500 keV energy range. Similar to what is known to be the case for other heavy particles on silver, the maximum of the yield was found to be much more pronounced than predicted by Sigmund's theory. This effect, together with small systematic deviations in the Z1 dependence, is explained as being caused by non-linear effects in very dense collision cascades. This point of View is strongly supported by a comparison of the sputtering yield per atom for irradiation with atomic and molecular ions.