Sorption and replacement of ionized noble gases at a tungsten surface

Experiments are described in which ion beams of the order of five micro-amperes with a low energy spread have been used to bombard a tungsten surface. Sorption values for the surface are given for neon, argon and krypton and show that a maximum sorption exists at any particular bombarding ion energy. Using several simplifications a value for the depth of penetration of the ions is derived from the results and this is shown to be in reasonable agreement with values quoted by other workers. Results from a second series of experiments where ions of a second gas release the sorbed ions of the first gas are also presented.