Proton Sputtering of Gold

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Abstract
Sputtering of gold by normally incident protons of energies between 500 eV and 8 keV has been studied. An ion source system delivering a magnetically analyzed proton beam to a target at a pressure of 5×10−8 Torr was utilized, and neutron activation established the quantities of sputtered material. The gold targets, consisting of microcrystals with preferred orientation, were sputtered predominantly on (100) and (110) planes, and the yields were not observed to depend perceptibly on the crystal orientation. The yield was a maximum of 0.022 atoms/proton at a proton energy of 4 to 5 keV, dropping off gradually at higher energies and sharply at lower ones. Analysis of the sputtered deposit spot patterns, using autoradiographs, indicated that focused collision sequences were of greater importance in proton sputtering than in sputtering by heavier ions. A readily detectable yield for sputtering by 500‐eV protons suggests a minimum atomic ejection energy of less than 10 eV for sputtering of gold.

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