Sputtering of uranium tetrafluoride in the electronic stopping region

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Abstract
We have studied the sputtering of 235U from UF4 surfaces by ions with energies in the electronic stopping region. The observed sputtering yields are very large and are associated with the electronic stopping power. Measured yields produced by 19F ions at energies ranging from 1/16 MeV/amu to 1½ Mev/amu exhibit a peak of S = 7.1 ± 1.5 for 19F+3 at an energy of ¼ MeV/amu. The data suggest that the yield depends on the charge state of the incident ion. The yields are independent of target temperature in the range between 70°C and 170°C. The energy spectrum of the neutral component of the sputtered particles produced by ¼ MeV/amu 19F+2 has been measured with the mechanical time-of-flight spectrometer developed by Weller and Tombrello. The spectrometer data indicate that a large fraction of the sputtered particles is charged. We also describe the behavior of high energy sputtering of UF4 by 4He, 16O and 20Ne. Experiments with 16O and 20Ne beams at 100 keV show that the Sigmund theory adequately describes the sputtering of UF4 in the nuclear stopping region.

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